Tennessee women’s basketball senior Ruby Whitehorn has been named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Preseason Top 20 Watch List, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Tuesday afternoon.
The Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, in its ninth year, honors the top shooting guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. It is named after the Class of 1993 Hall of Famer, the first player, regardless of gender, to be chosen for an All-America Team in four consecutive college seasons.
Whitehorn, a 6-foot guard from Detroit, Mich., started 28 of 34 games and averaged 11.6 ppg., 4.0 rpg. and 1.7 apg. in her first season in Knoxville in 2024-25. She shot percentages of 46.3 from the field, 29.8 from the arc and 73.5 from the free-throw line, including hitting 11 of 12 free throws inside the final four minutes of games.
Whitehorn led UT in scoring and blocked shots seven times, in steals and assists four times and in rebounds three times. She tied for second with 23 games scoring in double figures, including 12 with 15 points or more and three with 20+. Among her top games, she tallied 21 points at No. 6/4 LSU to move past the 1,000-point mark for her career and hit eight of 12 shots from the field to finish with 21 points at No. 5 Texas.
Prior to joining the Lady Vols, Whitehorn spent two seasons at Clemson. She earned ACC All-Freshman and was named to the Paradise Jam All-Tournament Team during the 2022-23 campaign.
Fans are encouraged to participate in fan voting in each of the three rounds starting on Oct. 31. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2026 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award will be narrowed to 10, and then in late February to just five. In March, the five finalists will be presented to Meyers Drysdale and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee, where winners will be selected. The selection committee for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award is composed of top women’s college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2026 Meyers Drysdale Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Award (Point Guard), Cheryl Miller Award (Small Forward), Katrina McClain Award (Power Forward) and the Lisa Leslie Award (Center).
For more information on the 2026 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophallu and #MeyersDrysdaleAward on X and Instagram.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee women’s basketball team on social media, follow @LadyVol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /BallWithTheLadyVols on Facebook.
