Maryland senior guard Eric Ayala was named to the Preseason Top 50 Watch List for the John R. Wooden Award, it was announced Tuesday.

A Wilmington, Del. native, Ayala was also one of 20 players recently named to the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year watch list and was also named a preseason All-Big Ten selection.

Ayala led the Terps in scoring last season (15.1 ppg) and ranked third in the Big Ten in free throw shooting percentage (.831), en route to honorable mention All-Big Ten honors.

The Big Ten leads all conferences with 10 selections, as Ayala is joined on the list by Illinois' Kofi Cockburn and Andre Curbelo, Michigan's Hunter Dickinson and Caleb Houston, Rutgers' Ron Harper Jr., Purdue's Jaden Ivey and Trevion Williams, Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis and Ohio State's EJ Liddell.

The John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year Presented by Wendy's is presented annually to the nation's top player and is considered one of the most prestigious awards in the sport of college basketball.

Ayala and the Terps open the 2021-2022 season Tuesday night when they host Quinnipiac. The game is set to tip at 7:00 p.m. ET and is being broadcast on BTN+.