Arella Guirantes Named to Naismith Trophy Midseason Team 

Arella Guirantes Named to Naismith Trophy Midseason Team 

Credit Source: Rutgers University Athletics

The Rutgers star is one of 30 on the national list 

ATLANTA – Redshirt senior guard Arella Guirantes has been named to the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s Midseason Team, it was announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Tuesday.

Guirantes is one of 30 players nationally on the list and one of six from the Big Ten.

Alongside this national honor, Guirantes is also a top candidate for the Wooden Award’s Most Outstanding Player, the Wade Trophy for National Player of the Year, the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award and a Top 10 nominee for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard Award.

Nine games into the 2020-21 campaign, the Bellport, N.Y. has already claimed an ESPN National Player of the Week honor and two Big Ten Player of the Week accolades, while becoming just the third player in Rutgers history and one of just 11 players across the nation this year to record a triple-double. She ranks in the nation’s Top 30 in points, assists, steals and blocks per game, and is one of just two players in the country to rank in the Top 30 in each of those categories.

She is averaging 21.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 5.4 apg, 3.0 spg and 2.2 bpg in 2020-21 with a pair of 30-plus-point performances against then-No. 14 Maryland and Iowa, who was receiving votes in the national polls.

Guirantes was named a Big Ten Coaches Preseason Co-Player of the Year. These honors follow the 2019-20 season in which she was the Big Ten scoring champion and the No. 9 ranked scorer in the nation with 20.6 points per game, an All-America Honorable Mention by the AP, WBCA and USBWA, and unanimously First Team All-Big Ten.

2020-21 Naismith Trophy Midseason Team

FULL NAME	CLASS	POSITION	SCHOOL	CONFERENCE
Aliyah Boston	So.	F	South Carolina	SEC
Paige Bueckers	Fr.	G	UConn	BIG EAST
Caitlin Clark	Fr.	G	Iowa	Big Ten
Charli Collier	Jr.	F/C	Texas	Big 12
Zia Cooke	So.	G	South Carolina	SEC
Elissa Cunane	Jr.	C	NC State	ACC
Rennia Davis	Sr.	G/F	Tennessee	SEC
Chelsea Dungee	Sr.	G	Arkansas	SEC
Dana Evans	Sr.	G	Louisville	ACC
Kysre Gondrezick	Sr.	G	West Virginia	Big 12
Arella Guirantes	Sr.	G	Rutgers	Big Ten
Anastasia Hayes	Jr.	G	Middle Tennessee	C-USA
Naz Hillmon	Jr.	F	Michigan	Big Ten
Rhyne Howard	Jr.	G	Kentucky	SEC
Rickea Jackson	So.	F	Mississippi St.	SEC
Ashley Joens	Jr.	G/F	Iowa State	Big 12
Haley Jones	So.	G	Stanford	Pac-12
N’dea Jones	Sr.	F	Texas A&M	SEC
Dorka Juhász	Jr.	F	Ohio State	Big Ten
Natasha Mack	Sr.	F	Oklahoma State	Big 12
Aari McDonald	Sr.	G	Arizona	Pac-12
Olivia Nelson-Ododa	Jr.	F	UConn	BIG EAST
Michaela Onyenwere	Sr.	F	UCLA	Pac-12
Charisma Osborne	So.	G	UCLA	Pac-12
Ashley Owusu	So.	G	Maryland	Big Ten
Lindsey Pulliam	Sr.	G	Northwestern	Big Ten
NaLyssa Smith	Jr.	F	Baylor	Big 12
Jasmine Walker	Sr.	F	Alabama	SEC
Kiana Williams	Sr.	G	Stanford	Pac-12
Christyn Williams	Jr.	G	UConn	BIG EAST