Caitlin Clark Wins 2024 Naismith National Player of the Year Award
A year ago Iowa guard Caitlin Clark produced a season full of incredible stats, stunning highlights, and remarkable team success, which resulted in a clean sweep of the National Player of the Year awards. This season Clark has -- improbably -- been even better on the court and created even more incredible highlights. So it comes as no surprise that Clark is once again the Naismith National Player of the Year.
Clark won the Naismith Player of the Year Award last year as well and becomes the first player to win back-to-back Naismith Awards since UConn star Breanna Stewart won three consecutive Naismith Awards between 2014 and 2016. Clark is the ninth player in women's basketball history to win two or more Naismith Awards.
Clark, a senior from West Des Moines, Iowa, led the nation in scoring per game (32.0), assists per game (9.0), field goals made (386), three-pointers made per game (5.2), total three-pointers made (193), and triple doubles (6). She also became the first Division I player to score 1,000 points in consecutive seasons and set the NCAA single-season scoring record, with 1,183 points (and counting).
This season Clark broke career scoring records for Iowa, the Big Ten, NCAA women's basketball, pre-NCAA women's basketball, and NCAA Division I basketball as a whole (men's and women's). She also led Iowa back to the Final Four for the second straight season and just the third time in program history.
This win gives Iowa four total Naismith Award wins, all in the past six seasons. In addition to Clark's wins in 2023 and 2024, Iowa center Megan Gustafson took home the trophy in 2019. Center Luka Garza is the only winner of the award for the Hawkeye men, winning in 2021.
“To be a two-time recipient of the Naismith Trophy is truly humbling,” said Clark in response to repeating as the Naismith Award winner. “Being selected as this season’s honoree is truly special with the number of talented and skilled players across the country. I want thank my family, coaches, and teammates who helped me get to this point.”
Clark narrowly missed out on the award in 2022, losing to Aliyah Boston of South Carolina in a tightly-contested battle. The other finalists for the Naismith Award this season were Stanford star Cameron Brink, USC freshman phenom JuJu Watkins, and UConn star Paige Bueckers, herself a former winner of the Naismith Award (in 2021).
This season, Clark became an even bigger star, both within the sport of basketball and outside the sport as well. Clark signed multiple high-profile endorsement deals with national brands and appeared in several commercials for State Farm Insurance, Gatorade, Nike and more.
On the court, Iowa basketball became the biggest draw that women's basketball has ever seen, selling out the full slate of home games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena within minutes last summer and posting sellouts or record attendance numbers at virtually every road game over the course of the season as well. Iowa also set a women's basketball attendance record with the Crossover at Kinnick event, which drew a record-shattering crowd of 55,646 to watch Clark and Iowa play DePaul at Kinnick Stadium last fall.
Clark and Iowa basketball have also become must-see television, featuring in the best-ever ratings for a women's basketball game for seven different networks this season. Most recently, Clark and Iowa set a record by drawing 12.3 million viewers to their win over LSU in the Elite Eight in a hugely anticipated rematch of last year's national championship game.
Last season Clark squared off with a former Naismith Award winner in the Final Four, with Iowa facing Aaliyah Boston and South Carolina. This year's Final Four matchup between Iowa and UConn will also feature two former Naismith Award winners, with Clark and Bueckers combining to win three of the past four Naismith Awards. The Iowa-UConn game is set to tip off at approximately 8:30 PM CT on Friday, April 5 and will be televised on ESPN.