3/29/2023 basketball Edit

Caitlin Clark Named 2023 Naismith Award National Player of the Year

Caitlin Clark smiles during Iowa's win over Louisville in the Elite 8. (© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Adam Jacobi • Go Iowa Awesome

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Publisher, editor and beat writer, Go Iowa Awesome.

Iowa guard Caitlin Clark has earned innumerable accolades this season and through her college career. It's time to add the biggest yet, as Clark has been named the 2023 Naismith Award National Player of the Year.

Clark, a junior from West Des Moines, Iowa, averaged 27.3 points per game, third-best in D-I, and she led the nation in assists per game (8.6), three-pointers made per game (3.5), total three-pointers made (127), and triple doubles (5). Clark's heroic efforts paced Iowa to a second Final Four in program history, the first in 30 years.

Clark is the second Iowa women's player to win the award after center Megan Gustafson took home the trophy in 2019. Center Luka Garza is the Hawkeye men's only winner of the award, winning in 2021.

“Winning this award is a huge accomplishment,” Clark said. “This is such a huge honor for our family and program. None of this would be possible without my tremendous support system. I was to thank Lisa Bluder and her staff for giving me the opportunity to play basketball at the University of Iowa. It is place I have thrived in since I stepped on campus.”

Clark came up just shy in 2022, losing to fellow repeat finalist Aliyah Boston of South Carolina in a hotly contested battle. Boston repeated as a first-team All-American this season, but her averages of 13.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game on the #1, undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks didn't match last season's productivity (16.8 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 2.4 bpg). Virginia Tech's Elizabeth Kitley and Villanova's Maddy Siegrist were the other two finalists for the award.

Moreover, Clark took another step forward as a cultural touchstone for not only Iowa women's basketball but the sport in general.

This season, Iowa staked its claim as the nation's biggest draw for home attendance, road attendance and TV ratings. The Hawkeyes averaged a Big Ten record 10,705 fans per game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, routinely drew their road opponents' biggest crowds of the year and helped set an Elite Eight record by drawing 2.5 million viewers to their victory over Louisville.

Boston and Clark will face off on Friday for Iowa and South Carolina's Final Four matchup in Dallas, Texas. The game is set to tip off at approximately 8:30 PM CT and will be televised on ESPN.