Caitlin Clark named Big Ten Player of the Year for second consecutive season

IOWA CITY — Iowa star guard Caitlin Clark has been named the Big Ten Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, the conference announced Tuesday.

“I think she’s the best player in America, so for me it was a no-brainer,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said Tuesday.

Clark has averaged 27.2 points and 8.2 assists per game, which both lead the Big Ten by a wide margin.

Clark leads the nation in assists per game. The only player to average more scoring is Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist, who averages 29 points per game.

“It’s kind of anticlimactic to me that she gets this honor,” Bluder said. “But at the same time, I respect the honor, and I know how hard it is to get it.”

An Iowa player now has won Big Ten Player of the Year in five of the last six seasons. Megan Gustafson won the honor in 2018 and 2019, and Kathleen Doyle won the award in 2020.

“We can show recruits that you come to Iowa and you can be developed into one of the very best players in the country,” Bluder said.

Freshman forward Hannah Stuelke, a Cedar Rapids native, was named the Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year.

Stuelke has averaged 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game off the bench while shooting 62 percent from the field.

“To get this honor as a freshman, I think, is pretty special,” Bluder said.

Bluder believes the “only reason” Stuelke was not on the all-Big Ten freshman team was because she was not a starter.

“All the other five were starters on their teams,” Bluder said. “She could start for a lot of teams in the Big Ten.”

Center Monika Czinano received all-Big Ten first-team honors from coaches and media. Czinano was a unanimous selection by coaches.

She has been a first-team all-Big Ten honoree for four consecutive seasons.

“That’s an amazing accomplishment,” Bluder said. “Obviously she’s very deserving — being one of the top field-goal percentage shooters in the country — but really happy for Monika.”

Czinano has averaged 17.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game and has shot 67 percent.

McKenna Warnock was an all-Big Ten honorable mention.

“I think she was a little bit better than that,” Bluder said, “but I know there’s a lot of great players in this league.”

Kate Martin won Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

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