Colorado women's basketball head coach JR Payne was named Wednesday as one of 15 coaches who are candidates for the Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year.

Given what the Buffs have accomplished this season, it's not difficult to understand why Payne has received this kind of lofty consideration.

Heading into Friday's game at Arizona State, Colorado is 20-5 overall and 11-3 in the Pac-12, placing it third in the conference standings behind only No. 3 Stanford and No. 4 Utah. With those records, it is ranked 21st in both of the major national polls, the program's highest ranking in six years. If the Buffs win just three more games between the end of the regular season, the Pac-12 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, they'll finish with their most victories in a season in 10 years. Three of their wins this season have come against top-15 teams.

Heading into the season, Colorado was picked to finish eighth in the conference after losing leading scorer and rebounder Mya Hollingshed from a 2021-22 team that made the program's first NCAA Tournament since 2013.

Now in her seventh season at the school, Payne has amassed a record of 215-202. That mark, though, only tells so much of the story, as Payne inherited a program that finished just 7-23 the season before her arrival in Boulder. This season will be her fourth in a row with a winning record and over the past two seasons, the Buffs have gone 42-14.

The award recognition places Payne among some of the sport's most decorated and recognizable names. The group is headlined by Connecticut's Geno Auriemma, South Carolina's Dawn Staley, Stanford's Tara VanDerveer and LSU's Kim Mulkey, and also includes Notre Dame's Niele Ivey, Duke's Kara Lawson, Indiana's Teri Moren, Iowa's Lisa Bluder, Virginia Tech's Kenny Brooks, Villanova's Denise Dillon, Gonzaga's Lisa Fortier, Illinois' Shauna Green, Ohio State's Kevin McGuff and Utah's Lynne Roberts. Auriemma, Staley, VanDerveer and Bluder are all previous winners of the award.

That list will be pared down to 10 semifinalists on March 8. A fan vote will trim that list from 10 to four, which will be announced on March 20. The winner will be revealed at the Final Four in Dallas on March 29.