Clark named the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark was honored as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year on Monday night.

She received the Honda Cup in a ceremony at UCLA. It’s the second consecutive year that a women’s basketball player won the award as South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston was the recipient in 2022. Overall, 17 basketball players have won the Honda Cup — the most of any sport.

Clark, the AP women’s basketball Player of the Year, helped Iowa reach the national championship game for the first time in school history this past April before the team lost to LSU.

The junior became the first Division I women’s basketball player to have over 1,000 points and 300 assists in the same season.

Other finalists for the award were Texas senior volleyball player Logan Eggleston and Stanford sophomore golfer Rose Zhang.

“It’s so cool, different from other awards shows,” Clark said. “You meet people that play every other sport and see how amazing they are. It’s the best of the best in the 12 sports. That’s the coolest part for me. I get to see how they live their lives.”

Clark said she tries to goto other Iowa women’s sporting events to cheer on her fellow Hawkeyes.

“It makes me want to watch and support them even more,” Clark said. “If you’re not watching women’s sports you’re truly missing out. Now is the time to tune in as the sky’s the limit for women’s sports.”

Clark was chosen by a vote of administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools.

Clark, from West Des Moines, was named the 2023 Naismith, Wooden and Wade Trophy winner along with the Associated Press and USBWA Ann Drysdale Player of the Year honors.

Clark led her team to its first-ever NCAA Championship game and helped post the Hawkeyes’ most wins in a single season. During the NCAA Tournament, she posted the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA Tournament history (men’s or women’s) and broke the NCAA single-tournament records for most 3-point FG made (24) and most points scored (191).

Clark is also a two-time first team Academic All-American and was named the 2023 CSC Academic All-America of the Year.

The CWSA, entering its 47th 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.