NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame senior All-America guard Skylar Diggins is among a group of 25 players who have been named to the 2012-13 preseason Wade Watch list for the State Farm Wade Trophy, it was announced Tuesday by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

Diggins (South Bend, Ind./Washington) is one of four players on this year’s Wade Watch list (along with Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne, Baylor’s Brittney Griner and Georgetown’s Sugar Rodgers) to appear on that rundown for the third consecutive season, with the Fighting Irish now having had 10 players named to the Wade Watch list in the past 10 seasons, including seven in the past six years. Diggins also is part of a sizeable BIG EAST Conference contingent on this year’s Wade Trophy candidate list, as the conference once again led the way with seven preseason selections, outpacing the Big Ten and Big 12 (five each), as well as the ACC (three) and SEC (two).

Diggins’ Wade Watch (given annually to the NCAA Division I Player of the Year) selection comes one month after she earned her fifth USA Basketball gold medal (and fourth in international competition) as a member of the victorious American side at the inaugural FIBA 3×3 World Championship in Athens, Greece. Previously, she had returned home with gold medals while representing the United States at the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship and the 2011 World University Games, as well as domestically at the 2007 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival.

The renowned Wade Watch list for the State Farm Wade Trophy is comprised of student-athletes who are members of an NCAA Division I institution and are selected based on the following criteria: game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team and overall playing ability. The Wade Watch list will be narrowed down to approximately 12 finalists in mid-March, with the 2013 State Farm Wade Trophy recipient officially being announced at the annual WBCA National Convention, held in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Final Four, in New Orleans.