STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford senior Alanna Smith has been named the Pac-12 Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The award, which is presented in each of the 24 sports the league sponsors, was established in 2007-08 to honor student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline. Smith is Stanford's fifth women's basketball awardee, joining Brittany McPhee (2017-18), Chiney Ogwumike (2013-14), Kayla Pedersen (2010-11) and Jayne Appel (2009-10).
A psychology major with a 3.47 cumulative GPA, Smith has twice earned Pac-12 all-academic recognition. Late last month she was selected to the 2018-19 CoSIDA Academic All-District Women's Basketball First Team and is now eligible for academic All-America honors that will be announced later in March.
In January, she created Stanford's first Human Trafficking Awareness game against Washington State after taking a class from Professor Katherine Jolluck on the issue last quarter and listening to a presentation from women's basketball public address announcer Betty Ann Hagenau, who is also the founder of the Bay Area Anti-Trafficking Coalition.
Intensely interested in early childhood development, Smith also spent a quarter last year at the Bing Nursery School on campus as part of her PSYCH 147 class. A supervised experience with young children, Smith was active in the seminar on developmental issues in the teaching and learning environment at Bing, which is a program within the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford with a mission to promote understanding of child development and improve the lives of young children.
Smith remains on every major watch list in addition to the Naismith Trophy, including the Katrina McClain Award, Wooden Award, Wade Trophy and Senior CLASS Award, and has backed up that recognition with her play. She is shooting 51.7 percent from the field (215-of-416), 39.9 percent from behind the arc (65-of-163) and averaging a team-high 19.7 points per game to go with 8.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks.
Smith, who averaged 20.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in 18 Pac-12 games this season, was one of two players in the country to average 20.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in conference. She is also one of two nationally averaging 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game overall and is attempting to become just the fifth player in program history to average 20.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in a season, joining Chiney Ogwumike (2013-14 and 2012-13), Nneka Ogwumike (2011-12), Nicole Powell (2003-04) and Jeanne Ruark Hoff (1979-80 and 1978-79).
Smith is also tracking to join Elena Delle Donne as the only players 6-foot-4 and taller over the past 20 years to shoot better than 40 percent from 3-point range for an entire season. Delle Donne made 41.3 percent as a freshman at Delaware in 2009-10 (NCAA minimum of two made 3-pointers per game).
The 6-foot-4 Smith is 13th in school history in scoring (1,576) and second in blocks (218) and has made 139 career 3-pointers. She is within range of joining an elite company of players that have put together careers of 1,600 points, 150 made triples and 200 blocks. Since 1999-00, the only three to do that are Delle Donne (3,039 points; 206 3-pointers; 273 blocks), Maya Moore (3,036 points; 311 3-pointers; 204 blocks) and Breanna Stewart (2,676 points; 152 3-pointers; 414 blocks).
This season she is 28th in the country in scoring (19.7) and 19th in blocks per game (2.45), the only player in the NCAA in the top 30 in both categories. Smith is one of six players to have 60+ 3-pointers and 60+ blocks in a single season across all of NCAA women's basketball since 1999-00 and with five more makes from deep would be just the second to accumulate 70 3-pointers and 70 blocks in a season. Her 71 rejections this year are second in Stanford history behind Jayne Appel's 84 in 2007-08.
In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50% of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport's regular season. The athletic accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in the voting for the award.
Smith and the Cardinal are the No. 2 seed at next weekend's Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas and will open in the quarterfinals on Friday at 6 p.m. against the winner of No. 7 Cal and No. 10 Washington State.
