Zee Spearman, Tennessee
The 6-foot-4 forward from Dacula, Ga., appeared in all 34 games a year ago, starting 23 and averaging career bests of 11.7 ppg. and 6.0 rpg. Spearman shot percentages of 51.5 from the field, 30.0 from three-point range and 71.0 from the charity stripe, leading UT in rebounds (204) and finishing second on the squad in blocks (23) and sixth in three-pointers (24).

Jordan Obi, Kentucky
Obi, a Hartford, Connecticut, native, sat out last season with an Achilles rupture. She spent the previous four seasons at Penn from 2021-24. In 83 games there, she averaged 13.7 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game, 1.9 assists per game, 1.0 blocks per game and 0.9 steals per game.

In just three seasons of action at Penn – Ivy League winter sports were canceled her freshman season because of the coronavirus outbreak – she combined for 1,142 points, 88 3-pointers, 631 rebounds, 165 assists, 85 blocks and 72 steals. She was the 25th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points and became the seventh fastest to do so in just 74 games.

Yardem Garzon, Maryland
Garzon averaged 14.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists per game last year as the Hoosiers' leading scorer. She led the Big Ten in three-pointers made (88) and was second in the league in three-point percentage (40.7%). At Indiana, she was the program's all-time leader in three pointers made (220) and three point percentage (42.6%) in three years.

Grace VanSlooten, Michigan State
In her first season with the Spartans, VanSlooten earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. She was first on the team in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game. She scored a career-high 480 points her junior season.  She was tied for 15th in the Big Ten in rebounding, averaging 7.3 rebounds per game.

Madison Booker,  Texas
Booker had a stellar sophomore season at Texas as she earned First Team All-America honors from the Associated Press and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. She was the SEC Player of the Year and for the second time earned the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award.  In addition, she was very close on winning World Exposure Report National Player of the Year award back in April. 

Booker averaged 16.3 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 46.4 percent from the field, 40.3 percent from 3-point range and 82.3 percent from the free-throw line. 

2025 Cheryl Miller Award Candidates*

Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds starting Friday, October 31. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2024 Cheryl Miller Award will be narrowed to 10, and then in late February to just five. In March, the five finalists will be presented Cheryl Miller and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee.  

Previous winners of the Cheryl Miller Award are Madison Booker, Texas (2024, 25), Ashley Joens, Iowa State (2021-23), Satou Sabally, Oregon (2020), Bridget Carleton, Iowa State (2019), and Gabby Williams, Connecticut (2018).

For more information on the 2025 Cheryl Miller Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophallu, #MillerAward on X and Instagram. 

About the WBCA: 

Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. The WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers, and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to those organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players, and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. For more information, visit us online: WBCA.org, follow @wbca1981 or call 1-770-279-8027.

About the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame 

Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was born, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting, preserving, and celebrating the game of basketball at every level – men and women, amateur and professional players, coaches, and contributors, both domestically and internationally. The Hall of Fame museum is home to more than 450 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Nearly 200,000 people visit the Hall of Fame museum each year to learn about the game, experience the interactive exhibits and test their skills on the Jerry Colangelo "Court of Dreams." Best known for its annual marquee Enshrinement Ceremony honoring the game’s elite, the Hall of Fame also operates over 70 high school and collegiate competitions annually throughout the country and abroad. For more information on the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame organization, its museum, and events, visit hoophall.com, follow @hoophallu, or call 1-877-4HOOPLA.