Rhyne Howard's list of honors with the University of Kentucky women's basketball program keeps getting longer and more prestigious.
Howard, a 6-foot-2 junior from Cleveland, Tennessee, who was a high school star at Bradley Central, has been selected as an All-American by The Associated Press for the second straight season. The other four first-team selections on the team announced Wednesday were South Carolina sophomore Aaliyah Boston, Connecticut freshman Paige Bueckers, Louisville senior Dana Evans and Baylor junior NaLyssa Smith.
Last season's selection made Howard the Wildcats' first AP All-America first-team honoree and just the fifth to receive All-America first-team recognition from a major organization, according to a Kentucky release. She was also an AP preseason All-America pick this season and recently was chosen the Southeastern Conference player of the year for the second straight season.
Although listed as a guard on Kentucky's roster, Wildcats coach Kyra Elzy noted Howard can play any position capably - and do so on either end of the court.
"She can score at all three levels and defend at all three levels," Elzy said in the team release. "There are not many players in the nation that can say that. She also makes the people around her better, upping her averages this year in rebounding, assists and steals. That is what puts her game on a different level. I am so proud of how hard she has worked this year. She has matured into a vocal leader for this team, and because of that her teammates want to do well for her as well."
Howard has averaged 22.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists this season for the Wildcats (17-8), who are a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament and take on Idaho State (22-3) in the first round Sunday.
Bueckers, only the third freshman AP All-American, received 28 first-place votes from the national panel of 30 media members that vote each week in the AP Top 25 poll. Those 28 votes and her 146 total points in the voting led this year's selections, followed by Evans (25 first-place votes, 140 points), Boston (21, 127), Howard (16, 117) and Smith (16, 114).
The second-team selections were Caitlin Clark of Iowa, Charli Collier of Texas, Elissa Cunane of North Carolina State and Aari McDonald of Arizona. The third-team selections were Chelsea Dungee of Arkansas, Natasha Mack of Oklahoma State, Michaela Onyenwere of UCLA, Ashley Owusu of Maryland and Kiana Williams of Stanford.
Tennessee's Rennia Davis received honorable mention.