EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon forward Grace VanSlooten was selected to the preseason watch list for the Cheryl Miller Award, presented annually to the nation’s best small forward, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Wednesday.
VanSlooten is one of just four sophomores named to the 20-member preseason watch list, and one of two representatives from the Pac-12. The list will be narrowed down to 10 in late January, with the announcement of the final five in late February, and fans are encouraged to participate in fan voting in starting, Friday, Oct. 20.
VanSlooten, a 6-foot-3 product of Toledo, Ohio, was voted to the all-Pac-12 preseason team earlier this month, and was a 2022-23 Pac-12 all-freshman team and all-Pac-12 honorable mention selection after averaging 13.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game last season. She was a four-time Pac-12 freshman of the week award winner, becoming just the third player in Pac-12 history to sweep both freshman and player of the week honors on Dec. 26 of last season.
Making 30 starts, VanSlooten ranked second in the league in scoring among conference freshmen, and was one of only three Power 5 freshmen to average at least 13.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 45.0 percent or better from the field (46.5).
VanSlooten logged a pair of double-doubles and dropped a season-high 29 points against third-ranked Ohio State at the San Diego Invitational. She tied for the team-lead with five 20-points scoring efforts and with 25 games scoring in double figures.
With her 423 points, VanSlooten produced the fifth-most points by a Duck freshman while tying for seventh with 155 made field goals. Additionally, her 113 made free throws tied for third-most in UO freshman history.
Oregon opens its exhibition slate with a home matchup against Southern Oregon on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. PT. The 2023-24 season officially begins on Monday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. against Northern Arizona at Matthew Knight Arena.
CHERYL MILLER SMALL FORWARD OF THE YEAR AWARD WATCH LIST
