SAN DIEGO – San Diego State junior guard Malachi Flynn, the Mountain West Conference's Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team All-Mountain West performer, has been included on the men's national ballot of the 2020 John R. Wooden Award, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced today on ESPN College GameDay.
Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the national ballot consists of 15 student-athletes who are candidates for the Wooden Award All-American Team and Wooden Award Trophy as the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States.
The Tacoma, Wash., native leads the 30-1 and No. 5-ranked Aztecs in points (17.7/g), assists (161), assists per game (5.2/g), assist-to-turnover ratio (3.16:1), steals (54), field goals (178), three-point field goals (74) and free throws (118). He ranks first in the Mountain West in assists, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio and is third in free throw percentage (85.5 percent) and scoring, fourth in field goal percentage (44.8 percent) and fifth three-pointers per game (2.39).
Nationally, based on games through March 5, Flynn ranks in the top-100 in assist-to-turnover ratio (No. 9), is No. 45 in assists, No. 47 in assists per game, No. 51 in steals, No. 59 in free throw percentage, No. 61 in steals per game (1.80/g), No. 92 in points per game and No. 95 total points (526).
The players whose names appear on the ballot have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award as set forth by Coach Wooden when the Award was established. The qualifications include: candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season.
Voting will take place from March 16th to March 23rd, and voters take into consideration a player's entire season of play, as well as the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation's top five players and the finalists for the Wooden Award, which is widely considered the most prestigious honor in college basketball, will be announced following the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament and will be the focus of a 30-minute show on April 3rd on ESPNU at 6:30pm ET.
Earlier this week, Flynn was named a semifinalist for the 2020 Citizen Naismith Trophy and a finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award. In addition, he is on the watch list for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year and was a Sporting News Midseason second-team All-American.
Flynn and San Diego State plays for the championship of the 2020 Air Force Reserve Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship on Saturday, March 7 at 2:30 p.m. against Utah State. The game will be broadcast on CBS.
2020 John R. Wooden Award Men's National Ballot
Udoka Azubuike, Kansas
Saddiq Bey, Villanova
Jared Butler, Baylor
Anthony Cowan Jr., Maryland
Devon Dotson, Kansas
Malachi Flynn, San Diego State
Luka Garza, Iowa
Markus Howard, Marquette
Tre Jones, Duke
Jordan Nwora, Louisville
Filip Petrusev, Gonzaga
Myles Powell, Seton Hall
Payton Pritchard, Oregon
Obi Toppin, Dayton
Cassius Winston, Michigan State
-SDSU-