Rhyne Howard earning more preseason praise ahead of season-opener

Something felt off about the last few days in the world of UK Athletics, and then it hit me: Rhyne Howard hadn’t been named to a preseason award watch list in over a week. Shocking, I know! But don’t worry, the senior guard returned to the spotlight on Tuesday with a vengeance.

Howard, Kentucky Women’s Basketball’s star player, was tabbed to two more preseason award watch lists ahead of tonight’s season-opener against Presbyterian College: the Wooden Award and Wade Trophy, which are both national player of the year honors.

Another award watchlist for @howard_rhyne 😺

📃https://t.co/LELbIhUkTF#CrownHer 👑 pic.twitter.com/NIb18Pkfrv

— Kentucky WBB (@KentuckyWBB) November 9, 2021

The list of preseason recognitions for Howard continues to grow. Here’s what she’s done so far ahead of the 2021-22 season.

• Wooden Award Preseason Watch List (nation’s best player)
• Wade Trophy Preseason Watch List (nation’s best player)
• Preseason SEC Player of the Year by coaches and media (has won SEC POY award last two seasons)
• Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watch List (nation’s top small forward)
• Preseason First-Team All-American (AP)
• Preseason All-American (Lindy’s Sports, The Athletic)

But not only that, ESPN made sure to show Howard some love, as well. The worldwide leader ranked the top 25 players in women’s college basketball heading into the 2021-22 season. Howard came in at No. 4 overall.

Howard will lead her Wildcats into battle later tonight at 7 p.m. EST inside of Memorial Coliseum. The game will stream live on the SEC Network+.