Wooden Award

The Player of the Year and All-American Team members are selected each year by a large panel of voters. Voters are sports writers or sportscasters who collectively represent each of the 50 states, with the number of voters from each state dependent on the state’s population.

The Awards’ National Advisory Board selects around 20 of the top candidates for the men's awards and around 15 for the women. The Awards criteria does include that the student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or higher throughout the candidate’s college career. The top candidates are announced prior to the NCAA Tournament and are listed on a ballot that is sent to over a 1,000 voters for the men's award and over 250 voters for the women's award.

Voters may vote via an online system that allows them to evaluate players up until the day after the Final Four is determined. Voters choosing to vote by mail must have their ballots postmarked prior to the “Sweet Sixteen ” round of the tournament. The official accounting firm of the John R.Wooden Award, Deloitte & Touche LLP, tabulates all votes and delivers a sealed envelope to Coach Wooden for a televised announcement live from The Los Angeles Athletic Club.