CHICAGO (November 6, 2018) – Clayton Custer (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest/Iowa State), a redshirt senior on the Loyola University Chicago men's basketball team, was one of 50 players named to the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's Preseason Top 50 Watch List today. Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts, the list comprises the early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All-American Team and Most Outstanding Player.
 
The 6-foot-1 point guard, who yesterday was named to the Naismith Award Watch List, is coming off a breakthrough season in 2017-18. Last year, Custer put up 13.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.5 steals per contest, running one of the most efficient offenses in the nation. In addition to those numbers, the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America pick shot a sizzling 52.8 percent (160-for-303) from the field and 45.1 percent (60-for-133) from three-point territory for a Ramblers squad that won a school-record 32 games, earned its first NCAA tournament berth since 1985, and made its first appearance in the Final Four since winning the national championship in 1963.
 
Critically important to Loyola's success a season ago, Custer led the Ramblers to a 30-3 record when he was in the lineup and when he handed out four or more assists, LU was 19-1. 
 
Last month, Custer, was tabbed MVC Preseason Player of the Year and he is looking to become just the ninth player in Valley history to repeat as the league's top player. He gained national acclaim for his game-winning shot with 3.6 seconds left in regulation that lifted the Ramblers to a 63-62 victory over Tennessee and into the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
 
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball and is bestowed upon the nation's best basketball player at a NCAA Division I institution. Previous winners include Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Durant among others. 
 
The players on the Preseason Watch List are considered strong candidates for the 2019 John R. Wooden Award Men's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's. The winner of the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's will be presented during the ESPN College Basketball Awards show on Friday, April 12.
 
Loyola opens the 2018-19 season tonight when it hosts UMKC at 8 p.m.