Iowa’s Caitlin Clark claims the Honda Cup

Caitlin Clark’s awards season has become a year-round affair.

The University of Iowa women’s basketball whirlwind was selected as the 2023 recipient of the Honda Cup as the collegiate woman athlete of the year, it was announced by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards on Monday.

Clark is the first Big Ten women’s basketball player and Iowa student-athlete to receive the Honda Cup in the award’s 47-year history. She is also just the fourth student-athlete from a current Big Ten school to earn the honor and the first since Penn State volleyball standout Megan Hodge was a co-recipient in 2010.

Clark was selected as one of three finalists for the award, along with Stanford golfer Rose Zhang and Texas volleyball player Logan Eggleston. The trio emerged from voting conducted through the nearly 1,000 NCAA member institutions, with the Honda Cup recipient then chosen by the CWSA Board of Directors.

Clark was the unanimous national player of the year after leading Iowa to its first NCAA national championship game appearance.

The Hawkeyes finished 31-7.

“Emerging from one of the greatest classes in our rich history is Caitlin Clark,” said Chris Voelz, executive director of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards.

“Her statistics and records set; her jaw-dropping execution; her impact on the game and her engagement with the public and the media has all been exemplary. We welcome Caitlin into this elite sisterhood in this, our 47th year of honoring the top female collegiate athlete in the nation.”

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com