Clark Earns Honda Award Honors
CLEVELAND, Ohio – All-American Caitlin Clark was named the Basketball Honda Sport Award winner for the second straight season. It was announced Thursday by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA).
Clark was chosen by a vote of administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Finalists included Paige Bueckers (UConn), Elizabeth Kitley (Virginia Tech) and JuJu Watkins (USC). The West Des Moines, Iowa, native is the reigning Honda Cup winner after capturing the honor for the Class of 2023. The guard swept the 2023 National Player of the Year honors and is once again a finalist for the 2024 National Player of the Year for all the major outlets.
Entering the Hawkeyes’ second straight Final Four, she leads the nation in several NCAA categories including points per game (32.0), three pointers made and three pointers per game (508/5.22) and triple-doubles (6). She became the first player to finish No. 1 in both categories in back-to-back seasons. Clark owns a career 3,800+ points and she recently became the first Division-I player to record 1,000+ points in back-to-back seasons. She is also the only player in NCAA DI men’s or women’s basketball history to lead her conference in scoring and assists in four consecutive seasons.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 48 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”. The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2024 Honda Cup, which will be presented on a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on Monday, June 24, 2024, at 7 PM ET, from its new home in New York City.
The CWSA, entering its 48th year, has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for their superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its partnership in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.4 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs.
About Honda Corporate Social Responsibility
For more than 60 years in the U.S., Honda has been committed to making positive contributions to the communities where its associates live and work. Honda’s mission is to create products and services that improve the lives of people while conducting its business in a sustainable manner and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. Accordingly, Honda believes in helping people reach their life’s potential through its focus on the areas of education, the environment, mobility, traffic safety and community. Learn more at http://csr.honda.com/.
Clark Named Wade Trophy Recipient
CLEVELAND, Ohio — University of Iowa senior Caitlin Clark is the recipient of the 2024 Wade Trophy for the second year in a row. The announcement was made on Thursday by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
Clark is the first Hawkeye to earn the distinction, which is the oldest and most prestigious national player of the year honor in women’s basketball. She is the first Big Ten player to win the award since Purdue’s Stephanie White in 1999.
The most dominant player in women’s college basketball recently led the Hawkeyes to their second straight Final Four leading the nation in assists (9.0 assists per game) and in scoring (32.0 points per game). She became the first player to finish No. 1 in both categories in back-to-back seasons. Clark owns a career 3,800+ points and she recently became the first Division-I player to record 1,000+ points in back-to-back seasons. A native of West Des Moines, Iowa, Clark is once again a finalist for every major national player of the year award. She is also the only player in NCAA DI men’s or women’s basketball history to lead her conference in scoring and assists in four consecutive seasons.
The Wade Trophy — now in its 47th year — is the oldest and most prestigious national player of the year award in college women’s basketball. It is named in honor of the late, legendary Delta State University head coach Lily Margaret Wade, who won three consecutive national championships with the Lady Statesmen. First awarded in 1978 by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), now known as SHAPE America, the Wade Trophy has been presented to the WBCA NCAA Division I National Player of the Year since 2001.
Clark, who also won the 2023 Wade Trophy, joins Nancy Lieberman, Old Dominion (1979, 1980); Seimone Augustus (2005, 2006), LSU; Brittney Griner (2012, 2013), Baylor; Breanna Stewart (2015, 2016), Connecticut; and Sabrina Ionescu (2019, 2020), Oregon, as two-time winners of the award. Maya Moore (2009, 2010, 2011), Connecticut, is the only player to win the Wade Trophy three times.
“On behalf of the WBCA, and for the second straight year, I am pleased to present women’s basketball’s highest player honor, the Wade Trophy, to Caitlin Clark,” said Donehew. “Caitlin, a four-time WBCA Coaches’ All-American who also was the 2021 WBCA NCAA Division I Co-Freshman of the Year, is a generational talent. The ‘Caitlin Clark effect’ has helped fill arenas across the country, boosted television ratings to record highs, and inspired a whole new generation of young girls to pick up a basketball and play the game. The many records she set in her collegiate career may one day be broken, but the extraordinary impact she has had on our sport will be everlasting.”
Clark Receives Associated Press Player of the Year Honors
CLEVELAND, Ohio — University of Iowa senior guard Caitlin Clark has been named the 2024 Associated Press Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year for the second straight season. The announcement was made on Thursday by the AP.
She received 34 votes from the 35-member national media panel that votes on the AP Top 25 each week. Voting was done before the NCAA Tournament began.
Clark is the second Hawkeye, and Big Ten student-athlete, to earn the distinction since the award was established in 1995. Iowa’s Megan Gustafson was the recipient of the national award after her historic season in 2019. She is the only player in the conference to receive the award in back-to-back seasons.
The national player of the year recently led the Hawkeyes to their second straight Final Four leading the nation in assists (9.0 assists per game) and in scoring (32.0 points per game). She became the first player to finish No. 1 in both categories in back-to-back seasons. Clark owns a career 3,800+ points and she recently became the first Division-I player to record 1,000+ points in back-to-back seasons. A native of West Des Moines, Iowa, Clark is once again a finalist for every major national player of the year award. She is also the only player in NCAA DI men’s or women’s basketball history to lead her conference in scoring and assists in four consecutive seasons.
Clark was tabbed as the Big Ten Player of the Year and is the first player in program history to be named First Team All-Big Ten four times in four years of competition. She has also led the Hawkeyes to three straight Big Ten Championships for the first time in program history.
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