NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A week after being named to the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Newcomer to Watch List, Notre Dame women’s basketball freshman Sam Brunelle was tabbed with another watch list honor. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced its watch list for the 2020 Cheryl Miller Award on Wednesday, recognizing the top small forwards in the country. Brunelle was 1-of-20 players recognized.
This marks the second consecutive year the Irish have had a representative on the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List. Last season, Jackie Young was a top-five finalist for the award.
Brunelle averaged an impressive 30.0 points and 15.6 rebounds her junior year at William Monroe in Virginia. All-in-all, Brunelle finished her prep career with 2,229 points and 1,272 rebounds.
In 2018, Brunelle won the 3v3 title at the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina and the 5v5 title at the FIBA U17 World Cup in Belarus.
The winner of the 2020 Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 10, 2020, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard Award, the Katrina McClain Power Forward Award, and the Lisa Leslie Center Award, in addition to the Men’s Starting Five.
Previous winners of the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award include Bridget Carleton, Iowa State (2019) and Gabby Williams, Connecticut (2018).
For more information on the 2020 Cheryl Miller Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #MillerAward on Twitter and Instagram. Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday, October 25.
2020 Cheryl Miller Award Candidates*
| Didi Richards | Baylor |
| Megan Walker | Connecticut |
| Chante Stonewall | DePaul |
| Francesca Pan | Georgia Tech |
| Ashley Joens | Iowa State |
| Rhyne Howard | Kentucky |
| Kaila Charles | Maryland |
| Courtney Woods | Northern Illinois |
| Sam Brunelle | Notre Dame |
| Ana Llanusa | Oklahoma |
| Vivian Gray | Oklahoma State |
| Satou Sabally | Oregon |
| Mikayla Pivec | Oregon State |
| Shadeen Samuels | Seton Hall |
| DiJonai Carrington | Stanford |
| Mia Davis | Temple |
| Rennia Davis | Tennessee |
| Kayla Wells | Texas A&M |
| Michaela Onyenwere | UCLA |
| Borislava Hristova | Washington State |
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2019-20 season
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