Lincoln - Nebraska's Jaz Shelley was one of 50 women's basketball players nationally named to the Wooden Award Preseason Watch List announced on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

The John R. Wooden Award presented by Principal is selected by a panel of college basketball experts, and the candidates are also in contention for the Wooden Award All-America Team.

Shelley, a 5-9 guard from Moe, Australia, is one of 20 shooting guards nationally in the hunt for the Ann Meyers-Drysdale Award. The preseason first-team All-Big Ten selection was also a first-team All-Big Ten guard last season for the Huskers. Through two games in 2023-24, Shelley is leading Nebraska with team-best averages of 16.0 points, 6.5 assists and 3.0 steals to go along with 4.0 rebounds per game for the 2-0 Huskers.

Last season, Shelley averaged 14.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. In her first year as a Husker in 2021-22, she averaged 13.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists to earn second-team All-Big Ten accolades while also claiming a spot on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team.

A standout in the classroom, Shelley was a CSC Academic All-District honoree while earning Academic All-Big Ten honors last season. A two-time participant at the NBA Student-Athlete Summit, Shelley was the only collegian on the Australian National Team at the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup, winning a bronze medal as a member of the Opals.

Shelley and the Huskers will be in action tonight at Pinnacle Bank Arena when they play host to Alcorn State. Tip-off with the Lady Braves is set for 7 p.m. and tickets are available now at Huskers.com.

2023 Wooden Award Preseason Top 50
Georgia Amoore, 5-6, Sr., G - Virginia Tech
Sarah Andrews, 5-6, Sr., G - Baylor
Lauren Betts, 6-7, So., C - UCLA
Cameron Brink, 6-4, Sr., F - Stanford
Paige Bueckers, 6-0, Jr., G - UConn
Kamilla Cardoso, 6-7, Sr., C, South Carolina
Jessika Carter, 6-5, Sr., F/C, Mississippi State
Sonia Citron, 6-1, Jr., G, Notre Dame
Caitlin Clark, 6-0, Sr., G, Iowa
Olivia Cochran, 6-3, Sr., F, Louisville
Makira Cook, 5-6, Sr., G, Illinois
Aaliyah Edwards, 6-3, Sr., F, UConn
Dyaisha Fair, 5-5, Sr., G, Syracuse
Azzi Fudd, 5-11, Jr., G, UConn
Gabby Gregory, 6-0, Sr., G, Kansas State
Rori Harmon, 5-6, Jr., G, Texas
Mackenzie Holmes, 6-3, Sr., F, Indiana 
Abbey Hsu, 5-11, Sr., G, Columbia
Rickea Jackson, 6-2, Sr., F, Tennessee
Taiyanna Jackson, 6-6, Sr., C, Kansas
Flau'jae Johnson, 5-10, So., G, LSU
Hannah Jump, 6-0, Sr., G, Stanford
Deja Kelly, 5-8, Sr., G, North Carolina
Elizabeth Kitley, 6-6, Sr., C, Virginia Tech
Gianna Kneepkens, 6-0, Jr., G, Utah
Ta'Niya Latson, 5-8, So., G, Florida State
Ayoka Lee, 6-6, Sr., C, Kansas State
Charlisse Leger-Walker, 5-10, Sr., G, Washington State
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, 6-1, So., G/F, Baylor
Quinesha Lockett, 5-10, Sr., G, Toledo
Rayah Marshall, 6-4, Jr., C/F, USC
Cotie McMahon, 6-0, So., F, Ohio State
Olivia Miles, 5-10, Jr., G, Notre Dame
Aneesah Morrow, 6-1, Jr., G, LSU
Charisma Osborne, 5-9, Sr., G, UCLA
Te-Hina Paopao, 5-9, Sr., G, South Carolina
Laila Phelia, 6-0, Jr., G, Michigan
Alissa Pili, 6-2, Sr., F, Utah
Angel Reese, 6-3, Jr., F, LSU
Kiki Rice, 5-11, So., G, UCLA
Saniya Rivers, 6-1, Jr., G, NC State
Madison Scott, 6-2, Sr., F, Ole Miss
Shyanne Sellers, 6-2, Jr., G, Maryland
Jacy Sheldon, 5-10, Sr., G, Ohio State
Jaz Shelley, 5-9, Sr., G, Nebraska
Jaylyn Sherrod, 5-7, Sr., G, Colorado
Celeste Taylor, 5-11, Sr., G, Ohio State
Alyssa Ustby, 6-1, Sr., G/F, North Carolina
Hailey Van Lith, 5-7, Sr., G, LSU
JuJu Watkins, 6-2, Fr., G, USC

HUSKERS TO COMPETE IN INAUGURAL ESPN EVENTS GYMNASTICS INVITATIONAL

The Nebraska women’s gymnastics team is set to compete in the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad this season. It will be held at the Maverik Center in West Valley, Utah, and is the first ever gymnastics invitational to be presented by ESPN Events.

Twelve programs are set to participate in the event, as NU will compete against North Carolina, Boise State and Arizona in the first session on Jan. 12, 2024. It is set to start at 8 p.m. (CT). BYU, Cal, LSU, Michigan, NC State, Oklahoma, UCLA and Utah are also competing in the event. 

Public sale tickets are available now and can be purchased here. The meet will be televised nationally on the ESPN family of networks.

About Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc.
True to its farm-stand heritage, Sprouts offers a unique grocery experience featuring an open layout with fresh produce at the heart of the store. Sprouts inspires wellness naturally with a carefully curated assortment of better-for-you products paired with purpose-driven people. The healthy grocer continues to bring the latest in wholesome, innovative products made with lifestyle-friendly ingredients such as organic, plant-based and gluten-free. Headquartered in Phoenix, and one of the largest and fastest growing specialty retailers of fresh, natural and organic food in the United States, Sprouts employs approximately 31,000 team members and operates more than 400 stores in 23 states nationwide. To learn more about Sprouts, and the good it brings communities, visit about.sprouts.com.

About ESPN Events
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In 2023, the 33-event schedule includes four early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, nine college basketball events, a college softball event and the inaugural Band of the Year National Championship, in addition to a new college gymnastics event coming in 2024. Collectively, these events account for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, while reaching 60 million viewers and attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans. Follow ESPN Events on Facebook, Twitter/X and YouTube.

HUSKER DIVERS HEAD TO MIZZOU INVITATIONAL

The Nebraska divers head to Columbia, Mo. for the Mizzou Invitational Nov. 15-17. The competition is spread out over three days, with the one-meter on Wednesday, three-meter on Thursday and platform on Friday. 

In a dual with Iowa on Nov. 10, Kelsey Clairmont and Abby Baxter each took home a first-place finish. Clairmont logged a 339.20 on the three-meter and Baxter posted a 320.00 on the one-meter to claim victories.

Baxter and Antonina Harned have been steady forces for the Huskers during their freshmen campaigns. The two have a combined 13 top-three finishes on the season. Baxter racked up two first-place finishes on the opening weekend of the season against Iowa State. The next weekend, she logged another first-place finish on the one-meter (305.55) and a second-place finish on the three meter (304.28). Against Kansas, Baxter recorded a second-place finish on the one-meter (285.53) and a third-place finish on the three-meter, with a career-best score of 315.23.

Harned opened the season with two second-place finishes against the Cyclones. The freshman from Windermere, Fla. logged a 284.85 on the one-meter, good for second-place and a career-best, which was later broken against the Hawkeyes (Nov. 10). She also took second on the three-meter (290.55). Harned grabbed a first-place finish on the three-meter the next weekend against South Dakota State (318.68) and topped her score against the Jayhawks (331.50), to set a new career-best.

Sophomore Clairmont has recorded seven top-five finishes on the season, including a first-place finish against the Hawkeyes. She logged third-place finishes on the one-meter against Iowa State (274.20) and Kansas (284.03). She also finished third on the three-meter against South Dakota State (294.75).

Ellee Delcamp logged seventh and eighth-place finishes this season in the three-meter against Kansas (280.65) and Minnesota/South Dakota (250.60), respectively. She set career-bests on both the one-meter (248.93) and three-meter (282.38)  this season. 

The invitational will be streamed on SECN+ and results will be provided by Meet Mobile. Prelims begin at 9:30 a.m. (CT) each day, with finals to follow at 5:30 p.m. (CT).

 

Mizzou Invitational
Nov. 17-19
Columbia, Mo. (Mizzou Aquatic Center)
Watch: SECN+
Results: Meet Mobile

Nebraska Order of Events
Wednesday, Nov. 17
One-Meter

Thursday, Nov. 18
Three-Meter

Friday, Nov. 19
Platform

ORTIZ NAMED SEMIFINALIST FOR PATRICK MANNELLY AWARD

Marco Ortiz was one of 10 long snappers recognized as a semifinalist for the Patrick Mannelly Award.

The award, named after former NFL long snapper Patrick Mannelly, is presented annually to the top snapper in the FBS. In its fifth year of existence, the award benefits Bernie’s Book Bank, a non-profit that provides books for underserved communities in the Chicago area.

A first-year transfer from Florida, Ortiz has flawlessly handled every long snap of the season for Nebraska. His snapping has helped Tristan Alvano make six of his last seven field goals, including a 55-yarder that is the second-longest field goal in school history. Ortiz has also helped Brian Buschini place 40 percent of his punts this season inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

The list of 10 semifinalists will be narrowed to three finalists on Nov. 27. The three finalists will be invited to the award presentation dinner in the Chicago area on Dec. 9.