The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The Wooden Award program consists of the men's and women's player of the year awards, the Legends of Coaching Award, and recognizing All-America teams. The player of the year award was originally given only to men's basketball players starting in 1977 and expanded to women's players in 2004. Meanwhile, the Legends of Coaching Award was first presented in 1999.
The awards are given by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. They are named in honor of John Wooden, the 1932 national collegiate basketball player of the year from Purdue. Wooden later taught and coached men's basketball at Indiana State and UCLA. His 1947–48 Indiana State team was the NAIA national runner-up.
About the award
Selection process
At the end of each February, the award's National Advisory Board, a 26-member panel, selects 15 men's and 15 women's candidates for player of the year and All-American Team honors. The concept for the trophy originated with Wooden Award Chairman, Richard "Duke" Llewellyn. According to Wagonheim Law in Hunt Valley, Maryland, "The LAAC chose to name the award after John Wooden, who signed over the right to use his name to the LAAC, which trademarked it as soon as the contracts were signed.
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| 1977–78
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| North Carolina
| PG
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| 1978–79
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| Indiana State
| SF
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| 1979–80
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| Louisville
| SG
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| 1980–81
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| BYU
| SG
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| 1981–82
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| Virginia
| C
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| 1982–83
| (2)
| Virginia
| C
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|-
| 1983–84
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| North Carolina
| SG
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| 1984–85
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| St. John's
| SF / SG
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| 1985–86
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| St. John's
| PF
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| 1986–87
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| Navy
| C
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| 1987–88
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| Kansas
| PF
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|-
| 1988–89
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| Arizona
| SF
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|-
| 1989–90
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| La Salle
| SF
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|-
| 1990–91
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| UNLV
| PF
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|-
| 1991–92
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| Duke
| F
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|-
| 1992–93
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| Indiana
| SF
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|-
| 1993–94
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| Purdue
| SF / PF
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|-
| 1994–95
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| UCLA
| SF
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|-
| 1995–96
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| UMass
| C
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|-
| 1996–97
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| Wake Forest
| C
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| 1997–98
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| North Carolina
| PF
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|-
| 1998–99
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| Duke
| C
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|-
| 1999–00
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| Cincinnati
| PF
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| 2000–01
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| Duke
| SF / PF
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|-
| 2001–02
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| Duke
| PG
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|-
| 2002–03
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| Texas
| PG
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|-
| 2003–04
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| Saint Joseph's
| PG
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| 2004–05
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| Utah
| C
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|-
| 2005–06
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| Duke
| SG
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|-
| 2006–07
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| Texas
| SF
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|-
| 2007–08
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| North Carolina
| PF
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|-
| 2008–09
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| Oklahoma
| PF
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|-
| 2009–10
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| Ohio State
| SF
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|-
| 2010–11
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| BYU
| PG
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|-
| 2011–12
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| Kentucky
| C
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|-
| 2012–13
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| Michigan
| PG
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| 2013–14
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| Creighton
| SF / PF
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|-
| 2014–15
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| Wisconsin
| PF
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| 2015–16
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| Oklahoma
| SG
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|-
| 2016–17
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| Kansas
| PG
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|-
| 2017–18
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| Villanova
| PG
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|-
| 2018–19
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| Duke
| SF / PF
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|-
| 2019–20
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| Dayton
| PF
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|-
| 2020–21
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| Iowa
| C
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| 2021–22
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| Kentucky
| C
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|-
| 2022–23
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| Purdue
| C
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|-
| 2023–24
| (2)
| Purdue
| C
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|-
| 2024–25
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| Duke
| SG / SF
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|-
| 2025–26
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| Duke
| PF
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|-
|}
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{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Women
! Season
! Player
! School
! Position
! Class
! class="unsortable" | Reference
|-
| 1976–77 || colspan=5 rowspan=27|No award
|- align=center
| 1977–78
|- align=center
| 1978–79
|- align=center
| 1979–80
|- align=center
| 1980–81
|- align=center
| 1981–82
|- align=center
| 1982–83
|- align=center
| 1983–84
|- align=center
| 1984–85
|- align=center
| 1985–86
|- align=center
| 1986–87
|- align=center
| 1987–88
|- align=center
| 1988–89
|- align=center
| 1989–90
|- align=center
| 1990–91
|- align=center
| 1991–92
|- align=center
| 1992–93
|- align=center
| 1993–94
|- align=center
| 1994–95
|- align=center
| 1995–96
|- align=center
| 1996–97
|- align=center
| 1997–98
|- align=center
| 1998–99
|- align=center
| 1999–00
|- align=center
| 2000–01
|- align=center
| 2001–02
|- align=center
| 2002–03
|- align=center
| 2003–04
|
|
| SG / SF
|
|
|-
| 2022–23
|
| Iowa
| PG
|
|
|-
| 2025–26
|
| UConn
| SF
|
|
|-
| 1999–00
|
| Duke
|
|-
| 2000–01
|
| Arizona
|
|-
| 2001–02
|
| Louisville
|
|-
| 2002–03
|
| Kansas
|
|-
| 2003–04
|
| Stanford
|
|-
| 2004–05
|
| UConn
|
|-
| 2005–06
|
| Syracuse
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|-
| 2006–07
|
| Purdue
|
|-
| 2007–08
|
| Tennessee (women)
|
|-
| 2008–09
|
| Texas
|
|-
| 2009–10
|
| Florida
|
|-
| 2010–11
|
| Michigan State
|
|-
| 2011–12
|
| UConn (women)
|
|-
| 2012–13
|
| Kansas
|
|-
| 2013–14
|
| Stanford (women)
|
|-
| 2014–15
|
| San Diego State
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|-
| 2015–16
|
| Texas Tech
|
|-
| 2016–17
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| Notre Dame (women)
|
|-
| 2017–18
|
| Villanova
|
|-
| 2018–19
|
| Oklahoma
|
|-
| 2019–20
|
| Rutgers (women)
|
|-
| 2020–21
|
| Cal State Los Angeles
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|-
| 2021–22
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| Belmont
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|-
| 2022–23
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| South Carolina (women)
|
|-
| 2023–24
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| Kentucky
|
|-
| 2024–25
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| Gonzaga
|
|-
| 2025–26
|
| Purdue
|
|-
|}
- The school at which these coaches were presented the Legends of Coaching Award is only listed, for conciseness. Some of them have coached at multiple schools throughout their careers.
See also
- List of U.S. men's college basketball national player of the year awards