AP again names USC’s A’ja Wilson a first-team All-American

South Carolina junior forward A’ja Wilson was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press on Monday. It is the second season that she has been recognized on the AP First Team, while senior center Alaina Coates picked up honorable mention status for the second time.

“South Carolina has known how special A’ja Wilson is as a player and a person for a long time, and the rest of the country has spent the last three years catching up,” USC coach Dawn Staley said. “Watching her grow into the force she is today, on and off the court, has been one of the great joys of my basketball career. A’ja deserves every accolade she gets because as talented as she is, she never stops working to be better.”

Wilson also earned a spot among the five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award Presented by Wendy’s, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Monday. One of the nation’s most consistent and dynamic forwards, Wilson is now a finalist for all three primary national player of the year awards this season.

The two-time reigning SEC Player of the Year, Wilson averaged 17.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game.

Injury shortened Coates’ career by several games, but her résumé still stands among the best to wear a Gamecock uniform, highlighted by being the first to earn All-SEC honors all four years of her career. This season’s production included averaging a double-double overall (12.9 ppg/10.7 rpg), in SEC action (12.7 ppg/11.1 rpg) and against ranked opponents (11.8 ppg/11.4 rpg).

This story was originally published March 28, 2017 at 12:10 AM with the headline "AP again names USC’s A’ja Wilson a first-team All-American."