Texas A&M junior guard Kayla Wells has been named to the 2020 Cheryl Miller Award Watch List, according to a press release Wednesday. The honor goes to the nation’s best small forward in women’s basketball each year.
Wells was one of 20 players named to the Watch List, which is awarded by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
After averaging 2.8 points as a freshman for the Aggies, Wells significantly improved as a sophomore and became a key guard beside All-American Chennedy Carter in the 2018-2019 season. The junior averaged 15.1 points per game while shooting 48 percent from the floor and started all 34 games last season.
According to 12thman.com, Wells was the most-improved scorer in the SEC, and the 28 points she scored against Auburn in the SEC Tournament were the most scored by an A&M player in a conference tournament contest since 2012-2013.
Wells led A&M in minutes played for a team that went on to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament last season, averaged 3.3 rebounds a game along the way.
The award’s namesake, Cheryl Miller, was a standout women’s basketball player at the University of Southern California from 1982 to 1986. During her time in Los Angeles, the four-time All American won a multitude of awards, including three Naismith College Player of the Year awards, along with two national championships and NCAA Tournament MVP awards.
The Miller award was established in 2018. In March, the five candidates will be presented to Miller and the Hall of Fame selection committees.
The Aggies open the 2019-20 season with an exhibition against NAIA Oklahoma City University on Friday, Nov. 1, and will tip off at 6 p.m. at Reed Arena.
A&M will then start regular season play against Arkansas-Little Rock on Tuesday, Nov. 5, at Reed Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on SEC Network +.