Oct. 26, 2006

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego State senior guard Brandon Heath and Colorado State junior Jason Smith have been selected as two of 50 preseason candidates for the 2006-07 Wooden Award All-American Team, the John R. Wooden Award announced Wednesday (Oct. 25). Heath and Smith are the first two MWC players to earn the recognition since Utah's Andrew Bogut during the 2004-05 season. Bogut went on to win the award in 2005.

The preseason list is composed of 50 student-athletes who, based on last year's individual performance and team records, are the early front-runners for college basketball's most coveted trophy. These top 50 candidates are comprised of returning players, although transfers, freshmen, medical redshirts and other players who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for both the Midseason top 30 list and the National Ballot. Players not on the preseason list are eligible for the midseason top 30 and ballot.

In January, the Wooden Award committee will release the midseason top 30 followed by the national ballot in early March. On Tuesday, March 27, the 10-player Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced. The 2007 award ceremony will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 7, 2007. The top five male and female finalists will be invited to Los Angeles for the awards ceremony and will receive a contribution from The Los Angeles Athletic Club for their university's general scholarship fund.

Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Andrew Bogut ('05), and last year's recipients, Seimone Augustus and J.J. Redick.