NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt women’s basketball sophomore Khamil Pierre was selected to the John R. Wooden Award midseason top 25 watch list, as announced by the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Tuesday.
Pierre earns a selection to the Wooden Award midseason top 25 watch list after a spectacular start to her sophomore campaign. The Wooden Award, named after the legendary UCLA men’s basketball coach, is given annually to the most outstanding men’s and women’s college basketball players. Starting in 2004, the award was extended to women’s basketball.
The 6-2 forward is averaging 22.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 3.5 steals per game through 15 contests this season. Pierre has helped Vanderbilt get off to a 14-2 start to put them in the position to make the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season after a 10-year hiatus.
The Phoenix, Arizona, native is the only player in all of NCAA Division I to average over 22.0 points and 10.5 rebounds this season. Additionally, Pierre ranks second in all of NCAA Division I in made field goals (148) and double-doubles (11), while she is featured in the top 10 nationally in seven other categories. The forward is the only women’s basketball player to rank inside the top 10 in scoring (7th; 22.8 ppg), steals (8th; 3.47 spg), and rebounding (9th; 10.9 rpg).
The sophomore put on one of the most memorable performances in Vanderbilt women’s basketball history on Dec. 14, as Pierre registered 42 points, 18 rebounds, and eight steals in a 106-40 win, outscoring the Purple Aces by herself. Her 42-point performance set a new program record for most points scored in a single game, passing the previous mark of 41 points shared by Chantelle Anderson (Feb. 8, 2001) and Ciaja Harbison (Jan. 29, 2023).
The 42 points, 18 rebounds, and eight steals against Evansville establish new career highs for Pierre in each category. Pierre’s combined 60 points and rebounds are the most collected by a Vanderbilt women’s basketball player in a game in program history.
Pierre has twice been named the SEC Player of the Week this season and earned a spot on the USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week squad on Dec. 17 after her 42-point performance vs. Evansville.
The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team jumps back into action Thursday, as the Commodores travel down to Oxford, Mississippi, to battle Ole Miss. Tipoff against the Rebels is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and streams live on SEC Network+.
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