STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford senior forward Erica McCall is one of 50 players under consideration for the 2017 Naismith Women's College Player of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Wednesday.
The Atlanta Tipoff Club administers the Naismith Awards, which have become the most prestigious national honors in all of college basketball. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, the Naismith Trophy recognizes the top Men's and Women's College Basketball Players of the Year. The midseason list of 30 will be announced Feb. 8.
McCall paces Stanford in scoring (17.1), rebounding (7.4) and blocks (2.3) through the season's first seven games and is coming off a MVP performance at the Cancun Challenge in which she led the Cardinal to three wins and a tournament title by averaging 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds.
Since the start of her junior year, McCall is averaging 15.3 points on 51.6 percent shooting, 9.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. She is one of only two players in the country averaging 15.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while converting more than half of her shots since the beginning of last season.
Her 22 career double-doubles are tied for 18th among active NCAA players and she's had 20 in her last 41 games. Among those active players, only Alaina Coates of South Carolina (24), Lexi Martins of George Washington (24), Nia Coffey (21) of Northwestern and Brionna Jones (21) of Maryland have had more since the start of the 2015-16 season.
McCall's 66 blocks last season tied for third in Stanford single-season history and her 153 career blocks rank fifth at Stanford behind Jayne Appel (278), Chiney Ogwumike (202), Val Whiting (201) and Kristen Newlin (163).
An All-Pac-12 pick and Pac-12 All-Defensive Team selection as a junior, McCall checked in at No. 23 in espnW's preseason list of the best women's college basketball players in 2016-17 and was also named to the five-person preseason All-Pac-12 team.
Stanford has had two players take home Naismith National Player of the Year honors, Jennifer Azzi in 1990 and Kate Starbird in 1997.
McCall and the Cardinal will make the drive south to Bakersfield for a game with the Roadrunners on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. It'll be a homecoming for the Stanford senior, who starred at Ridgeview High School and whose father Greg is the head women's coach at CSU Bakersfield.
