Gonzaga's Ryan Nembhard named to Wooden Award midseason watchlist

Bulldogs senior guard leads the country in assists

Gonzaga Bulldogs senior guard Ryan Nembhard. | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

From the Naismith Trophy to the Bob Cousy Award, the list of notable honors that Gonzaga's Ryan Nembhard is in contention for continues to grow.

Nembhard's name was thrown into the mix for another prestigious award on Tuesday, as the senior guard was one of the 20 players selected to the Wooden Award late midseason watch list, which includes the frontrunners for the Wooden Award All-America team and the Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player award.

Nembhard is days removed from breaking his own record for the most assists by a Gonzaga player in a single season during the team's 78-61 victory at Pacific on Saturday. Nembhard, who initially set the benchmark with 244 assists in 35 games last season, rewrote that part of the program's record books once again — in 10 fewer games too — after dishing out eight assists against the Tigers, bringing his total to 246 through the first 25 games of the 2024-25 campaign.

Nembhard's 246 assists are 30 more than second place on the country's leaderboard for most assists (Purdue's Braden Smith). Nembhard is also No. 1 in the nation with 9.8 assists per game, while his 4.39 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks second. He chips in 11.0 points per game and knocks down 39.4% of his 3-point attempts (2.8 per game).

Nembhard has dished out 10 or more assists in 14 of his 25 appearances this season. He's tied for 14th in the country with 10 double-doubles.

Nembhard is one of the 20 players who are considered a strong candidate for the 2025 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year, though players not selected for the late midseason list remain eligible for inclusion on the Wooden Award National Ballot. The ballot will cut the list down to 15, then the top 10 will be voted on during the NCAA Tournament.

The Wooden Award all-America team will be announced during the week of the Elite Eight. The winners and the all-Americans of the 2025 John R. Wooden Award will be honored at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 11.

John R. Wooden Award Men's Late Midseason Top 20
Airious "Ace" Bailey, Rutgers
Johni Broome, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Eric Dixon, Villanova
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State
PJ Haggerty, Memphis
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Kasparas Jakučionis, Illinois
Curtis Jones, Iowa State
Kam Jones, Marquette
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Alex Karaban, UConn
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford
Mark Sears, Alabama
Javon Small, West Virginia
Braden Smith, Purdue

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

• WCC basketball power rankings: San Francisco jumps Gonzaga with win vs. Saint Mary's

• What Gonzaga's Mark Few said after win vs. Pacific

• What Gonzaga's Ryan Nembhard said after win vs. Pacific

• Ryan Nembhard makes history in Gonzaga's win over Pacific: 3 takeaways

• ESPN BPI: Gonzaga a 'lock' to make NCAA Tournament

• Former Gonzaga star earns prestigious NBA honor

• College basketball analyst: ‘It’s time to sound some alarms with Gonzaga’

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