Men's Hoops: Ledee named to two late season award lists

San Diego State basketball's senior forward Jaedon LeDee has earned inclusion on Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame's 2024 Karl Malone Award Top-10 and the John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 it was announced this week.

The Houston native is the leading scorer in the Mountain West (20.5 point per game) and its No. 2 rebounder (8.5 rebounds per game). In addition, he ranks No. 1 in offensive rebounds (3.35 per game), No 4 in defensive rebounds (5.25 per game), and No. 5 in field goal percentage (.559). On a national level, he is in the top 20 in free throw attempts (158), No. 16 in free throws (115), No. 20 in double doubles (9), No. 21 in points per game and no. 25 in offensive rebounds per game.

LeDee is one of the top 10 candidates for the Karl Malone Award, an annual honor, in its 10th year, which recognizes the top power forward in Division I men's college basketball. Named after the Class of 2010 Hall of Famer and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Karl Malone, fans can support their favorite players in the remaining rounds by participating in Fan Voting, starting Friday, February 2, on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.

In March, five finalists will be presented to Malone and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The Selection Committee for the Karl Malone Award is composed of top men's college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers. The winner will be included with four other members of the Men's Starting Five which include the Bob Cousy Award (point guard), Jerry West Award (shooting guard), Julius Erving Award (small forward), and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (center).

The John R. Wooden Award, presented by Principal and announced by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, is chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the 2023-24 season thus far, the list comprises of 20 student-athletes who are front-runners for the sport's most prestigious honor.

The National Ballot, which is the next step, consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award. Nearly 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2024 John R. Wooden Award will be presented following the NCAA Tournament in April.

Since its inception in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend.