Bethany’s Vann, West’s Smith named All-American nominees

January 10, 2024

1–2 minutes

Bethany senior forward Zya Vann and Putnam City West senior forward Caya Smith were both named McDonald’s All-American nominees Wednesday (Jan. 10).

Putnam City West senior Caya Smith. (PHOTO: Joel Reagan)

Bethany's Zya Vann heads to the free throw line during the Lady Bronchos' 60-55 loss to Edmond North Friday (Dec. 29). — Bethany’s Zya Vann heads to the free throw line during the Lady Bronchos’ 60-55 loss to Edmond North Friday (Dec. 29). (PHOTO: Joel Reagan)

Both Vann and Smith are Oklahoma commits.

“She brings a toughness to the game of basketball for our program,” Bethany coach Eric Sailer said of Vann in December. “All the way up from elementary to the high school. The girls see that. They see how much she works and her time, what you see out on the floor is just a little bit of time that she spends in the gym.

“She’s always working on her game, working on her shots, while everybody else is out watching movies or shopping – she’s in a gym.”

“In my opinion what makes Caya special is her ability to guard 1-5 on the high school level. She has God given ability and instincts that you can’t teach,” Putnam City West coach said of Smith via text. “Caya’s development, growth, and basketball IQ translates to the next level (college) that’s why she was so heavily recruited!”

The only other Oklahoma girls basketball player on the list was Jenks’ Jill Twiehaus.

The final list of All-Americans will be announced Jan. 24 on NBA Today between 2-3 p.m. central time on ESPN.