2022 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.

COLLEGE PARK, MD — Maryland men’s basketball guard Eric Ayala has been named one of 20 watch list members for the 2022 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.

A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates to recognize the top shooting guards in Division I men’s college basketball.

Ayala is the first Terrapin to be named to the West Award preseason watch list since Rasheed Suliamon in 2015-16. The award was introduced in the 2014-15 season.

An All-Big Ten recipient last season as a junior, Ayala led the Terrapins with 15.1 pts/g and ranked third in the Big Ten shooting .831 from the charity stripe. 

The Wilmington, Del., played his best basketball in the Terrapins’ four postseason games, averaging 19.0 points and 6.3 rebounds. 

College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2022 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just 5. In March the five finalists will be presented to Mr. West and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee where a winner will be selected. 

The winner of the 2022 Jerry West Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Jerry West Shooting Guard Award, the Julius Erving Small Forward Award, the Karl Malone Power Forward Award and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award, in addition to the Women’s Starting Five.

Previous winners of the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award include Chris Duarte, Oregon (2021), Myles Powell, Seton Hall (2020), RJ Barrett, Duke (2019), Carsen Edwards, Purdue (2018), Malik Monk, Kentucky (2017), Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (2016) and D’Angelo Russell, Ohio State (2015).

For more information on the 2022 Jerry West Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #WestAward on Twitter and Instagram. Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday, October 22.

2022 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Candidates* 
Jaden Shackelford – Alabama
Benedict Mathurin – Arizona
Adam Flagler – Baylor
Hunter Sallis – Gonzaga
Ochai Agbaji – Kansas
Kellan Grady – Kentucky
Taevion Kinsey – Marshall
Eric Ayala – Maryland
Landers Nolley – Memphis
Isaiah Wong – Miami
Eli Brooks – Michigan
De’Vion Harmon – Oregon
Jaden Ivey – Purdue
Matt Bradley – San Diego St.
Jared Rhoden – Seton Hall
Buddy Boeheim – Syracuse
Andrew Jones – Texas
Terrence Shannon Jr. – Texas Tech
Johnny Juzang – UCLA
Justin Moore – Villanova

*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2021-22 season*

About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was born, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting, preserving and celebrating the game of basketball at every level – men and women, amateur and professional players, coaches and contributors, both domestically and internationally. The Hall of Fame museum is home to more than 400 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Nearly 200,000 people visit the Hall of Fame museum each year to learn about the game, experience the interactive exhibits and test their skills on the Jerry Colangelo “Court of Dreams.” Best known for its annual marquee Enshrinement Ceremony honoring the game’s elite, the Hall of Fame also operates over 70 high school and collegiate competitions annually throughout the country and abroad. For more information on the Basketball Hall of Fame organization, its museum and events, visit www.hoophall.com, follow @hoophall and or call 1-877-4HOOPLA.