NCAAW Wooden Award Winner Predictions, Betting Odds & Favorites to Win

• The last time the winner came from the national championship team was 2022 (Aliyah Boston, South Carolina).

• Eight of the 21 winners were from the eventual national championship winner.

• Seven players have won it twice, all in back-to-back seasons, but one, Maya Moore, won in 2009 and ’11.

 Paige Beckers opened as the betting favorite to win the NCAAB Women’s Wooden Award this season. It came as no surprise that she did. While several players are having excellent seasons, no one has supplanted her as the favorite to win the award.

However, should some of these players continue to play at a high level and Bueckers does not, that could change. While she is playing well, Bueckers is not producing in several statistical categories at the same level as some of the other top contenders.

But It takes more than solid stats to be named the best women’s college basketball player in the country. With the season barely a third of the way through, so much can happen over the remaining games to help a contender sink or swim.

Let’s take a look at the women’s Wooden Award odds and a closer look at a few of the top candidates.

Women’s Wooden Awards Odds

Here are the odds for the top ten players listed at FanDuel Sportsbook. To place a bet, click on the words ‘Bet Here’ located below the player’s odds. New bettors new to FanDuel can claim the following bonus: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets if Your Bet Wins.

NCAAW Wooden Award Trends

• In its 21-year history, the award has gone to 12 seniors, 7 juniors, 1 sophomore, and 1 freshman.

• The position breakdown is as follows: 9 guards, 5 centers, and 7 forwards.

• Five of the last six winners were guards.

• Eight winners were from the national championship winner; four of those winners were from UConn.

• Six winners have come from UConn; two from LSU, Tennessee, Baylor, Oregon, South Carolina, and Iowa; Stanford, Washington, and Duke have each had one.

• There have been seven 2X-winners; six were back-to-back winners.

One winner’s team lost in the national title game, eight lost in the Final Four, one lost in the Elite Eight, and two lost in the Sweet 16

2025 NCAAW National Championship Odds: Previews and Picks

If the odds are to be believed, the race for the Women’s Wooden Award is already down to Paige Bueckers (+140), JuJu Watkins (+195), and Hannah Hidalgo (+400). After Hidalgo, the player with the next best odds is  LSU’s Aneesah Morrow (+1400), who has a 6.67% chance of winning.

But the season is far from over. With teams having about 20 games left, there is plenty of time for Bueckers to live up to her hype, for Watkins to take over, or for someone else to emerge as a contender.

On that note,  let’s take a closer look at the top three players on betting boards.

Paige Bueckers, Guard, UConn +140 (at FanDuel)

As a former winner whose career had stalled because of injuries, it made sense for a healthy Bueckers to be named the frontrunner for the award to start the season. But she still has to earn it, of course, and with how she has played it is not easy to make a case for her to win.

An 18.9 ppg average is good, but award-worthy? Not really. Her scoring average just barely ranks inside the top 40 in the country (No. 39). But her rebounding, assists, steals, and blocks averages are all outside the top 50.

It takes more than stats to win an award, of course. But you’d think a Wooden Award contender would at least rank amongst the better players in the league.

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JuJu Watkins, Guard, USC +195 (at FanDuel)

Watkins was one of five finalists for the award last season and may have become the second freshman to win (Paige Bueckers was the first) had she not been up against Caitlin Clark. She’s off to a solid start this season, averaging 25 points (second most in the country), 3.4 assists, and 5.3 rebounds.

Watkins is a big part of the reason the Trojans are off to an 8-1 start. Depending on how she plays on Thursday, Dec. 21, when USC faces Paige Bueckers and UConn, she could become the new favorite. That game is followed by matchups against ranked opponents in three of their next four.

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Hannah Hidalgo, Guard, Notre Dame +550 (at FanDuel)

Hannah Hidalgo is an integral part of one of the best offenses (No. 13, 85.8 ppg) in the country in Notre Dame. Her 30-point night against No. 4 Texas helped the Fighting Irish record a major upset win. She has scored less than 20 points in just two games this year and is averaging 24.6 ppg (No. 3), 6.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists.

However, while her game was crucial in wins over then-No. 3 USC and No. 4 Texas, it was also a factor in the 78-67 loss to Utah on Nov. 30 (she had her worst shooting night of the season). A big game against Bueckers’ Huskies on Dec. 12 could give some serious street cred with voters.

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2025 NCAAW Wooden Awards Picks

Favorite:  JuJu Watkins (+195) at FanDuel

Bueckers has been good but unimpressive, while Watkins has been one of the best players in the country on a top-ten team. Key to her chances of winning will be to continue posting solid stat lines for the Trojans as conference play gets underway.

Dark Horse: Hannah Hidalgo (+400) at FanDuel

Her numbers are better than Bueckers so far this season and comparable to those of Watkins. But she will need to continue to produce at a high level once the Fighting Irish start playing in more competitive games.

Long Shot: Aneesah Morrow (+1400) at FanDuel

Morrow is a key piece of an 11-0 LSU team that is currently ranked No. 4 in the AP. She leads the nation in rebounding with 13.5 per game and is averaging a double-double with 18 ppg. If the voters value scoring above all else, then she doesn’t stand a chance.

But since she is averaging a double-double, a solid argument could be made that her game has more value 

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Women’s Wooden Award History 

The NCAA has been naming a Women’s Wooden Award winner since the 2004 season, while the men’s version of the award originated in 1977. A 12-member National Advisory Board chooses a field of 15 players for the ballot, which is handed out to 250 sportswriters and sportscasters.

Below is a list of Women’s Wooden Award winners.

How to Read Women’s Wooden Award Odds 

Futures odds, like for the Women’s Wooden Award, consist of at least three numbers preceded by a plus (+) or minus (-). 

The odds for most players (if not all) will be listed with a plus sign. No player listed with a plus sign has a better than 50% chance of winning. But at any given point during the season, there could be a player who has outperformed the rest of the field so much that she has a better than 50% chance and a minus (-) sign in front of her odds. 

Such players are considered the “odds on favorite) and will have at least a 50% chance of winning. This typically does not occur until late in the season, when one player has dominated the competition for most of the season.

Oftentimes, every market will have plus money odds; the market with the shortest odds is considered the betting favorite. However, at most, they have a 50% chance of winning (+100). 

In a market with plus-money odds, the odds are how much bettors can win if they bet $100. For example, bet on Paige Bueckers to win the Women’s Wooden Award at +160, and a $100 wager will result in a $260 payout (your stake plus $160 in winnings).

With minus odds, the odds are what bettors will have to wager to win $100. For example, bet on Paige Bueckers to win the Women’s Wooden Award late in the year when she’s a heavy favorite at -700, and you'll need to risk $700 to win $100.

You do not have to bet $100 if you do not want to. If you want to see what you can win with the stake you are willing to bet, check out our odds calculator.

How to Choose the Best Sportsbook for Betting on the Women’s Wooden Award Odds

Now that you have some insights into the Women’s Wooden Award let’s examine a few of the sportsbooks where you can place a bet. You can check out our full sportsbook reviews on our sportsbooks page, but here is a quick look at three of the leading online sportsbooks to help you decide.

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