Ohio’s 2024 Naismith National Player of the Year is Iowa’s exceptional guard Caitlin Clark, who took home this honor for the second consecutive year to cap off a great collegiate career.
Wednesday’s ceremony at Cleveland Browns Stadium’s KeyBank Club featured the announcement.
Her teammates honored Clark’s accomplishment, and Lisa Bluder, the head coach of the Hawkeyes, was among them.
JuJu Watkins of USC, Paige Bueckers of UConn, and Cameron Brink of Stanford were among the formidable competitors for the esteemed prize, which Clark narrowly defeated. The Defensive Player of the Year title went to Brink, who received special recognition.
Caitlin Clark Secures Back-to-Back Naismith Honors
Being the most prolific scorer in NCAA basketball history, Clark’s dominance on the court this season was unrivaled.
An average of 32 points, 9.0 assists, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game are among her outstanding career stats.
She stood out as an award contender the entire season because of her outstanding performance.
After Breanna Stewart of UConn earned the award from 2014 to 2016, Clark became one of the select few players to have won it in back-to-back seasons. Her many awards are only the tenth in the history of women’s basketball players.
With the future in mind, Clark wants to guide Iowa to consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament title game. Friday’s Final Four between the Hawkeyes and UConn is scheduled.
While everything is going on, coach Dawn Staley of South Carolina is making history by being the first person to win the Naismith National Coach of the Year award three times in a row.
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A Historic Three-Peat at Naismith Coach of the Year Awards
With four victories in the previous five seasons, this accomplishment rounds out her incredible coaching career.
Recipient of the award is Staley, who led the Gamecocks to their second straight Final Four berth and an outstanding 36-0 record.
Staley was able to sustain South Carolina’s dominance in the NCAA, despite the difficulty of rebuilding the club with a fresh starting lineup following the draft selection of every 2023 starter.
Additionally honored for her exceptional performance was senior center Kamilla Cardoso, one of South Carolina’s new starters this year.
After winning the SEC and WBCA DPOY titles, Cardoso was announced as a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year honor.
In an attempt to extend their winning streak and guarantee a position in the title game, South Carolina will be led by Staley and Cardoso against NC State in the Final Four on Friday at 7 pm. ET.
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