Exploring possible reasons for Angel Reese's absence from Wooden Award's top 15

Angel Reese captivated the nation with her strong play and impressive swagger throughout the NCAA Tournament. The LSU star dominated throughout the season, averaging 23.0 points, 15.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.

The junior forward is one of the best players in college basketball and was vital to LSU's 34-2 record and NCAA title run, named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Some were surprised not to see Reese's name appear on the list of 15 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award this season, which is given to the national player of the year. Instead, Iowa star Caitlin Clark took home the award. Clark was also the one involved in the trash-talking with Reese that shook waves over social media, with people having strong opinions.

Clark also won the Associated Press Player of the Year, Naismith College Player of the Year, U.S. Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year and the Wade Trophy (best upperclassmen).

Amid confusion as to why Angel Reese, a first-team All-American, did not make the short list of the country's best 15 players, it was confirmed by LSU, per ESPN, that she was ineligible for the award, which raised further questions.

Did Angel Reese's grades hold her back?

According to the Wooden Award criteria:

"Candidates must be full-time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be a full-time student making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative 2.00 grade point average since enrolling in their school; candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates should contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season."

LSU did not disclose the reason behind Reese not being able to qualify for the award.

Many have theorized it could be an issue with her grades as LSU requires student-athletes to maintain a 1.8 GPA to remain eligible. If she were to fall in the 1.8 or 1.9 GPA range, she would still be eligible to play and not qualify for the Wooden Award. Angel Reese is listed as an academic sophomore despite playing two seasons at Maryland before coming to LSU.

However, LSU coach Kim Mulkey said:

“Oh, absolutely, she is in good academic standing period,” Mulkey said per JustWomenSports. “It’s just there’s a criteria on some of these awards like, a lot of them will have community service stuff. Some of them will have GPA’s, yeah. She’s academically fine.”

Whatever the case, Angel Reese deserves much credit for her impressive on-court play this season. The future WNBA pick will be returning to LSU next season and has already blossomed into one of the biggest stars in college basketball. A third-team All-American at Maryland, she has shown growth in her play each season, and it will be exciting to see how she performs next year.