LOS ANGELES (June 26, 2023) – Caitlin Clark (West Des Moines, Iowa), a junior guard from the University of Iowa basketball team was named the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and presented with the prestigious Honda Cup during the 47th anniversary broadcast of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda on CBS Sports Network, in the Pauley Pavilion Club on the campus of UCLA. Honda has served as the program’s presenting sponsor for 37 years.
Clark is the first Honda Cup recipient from the University of Iowa. In addition to Clark, the Top Three finalists from the CWSA Class of 2023 included senior volleyball standout Logan Eggleston of the University of Texas and sophomore golf sensation Rose Zhang from Stanford University.
“Congratulations to the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and Honda Cup winner Caitlin Clark, as well as the entire CWSA Class of 2023,” said Yvette Hunsicker, vice president, Corporate Social Responsibility and Inclusion & Diversity, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Through our partnership with the CWSA, Honda is proud to support these outstanding young women who represent the best of the best in collegiate women’s athletics.”
The Top Three were selected by a voting of nearly 1,000 NCAA member schools, and the Honda Cup winner was chosen by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Board of Directors. Previous Honda Cup winners include Rachel Garcia (2019 & 2021, Softball), Simone Manuel (2018, Swimming & Diving), Katie Ledecky (2017, Swimming & Diving), Breanna Stewart (2016, Basketball), Missy Franklin (2015, Swimming & Diving), Maya Moore (2011, 2012, Basketball), Candace Parker (2008, Basketball), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1985, Track & Field), Mia Hamm (1994, Soccer) and Misty May (1999, Volleyball).
Clark is the 17th representative from the sport of basketball to win the Honda Cup which leads all sports sponsored through the program. Clark was named the 2023 Naismith and Wade Trophy winner along with the Associated Press and USBWA Ann Drysdale Player of the Year honors. She is also a two-time winner of the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award and is the first-ever three-time winner of the Dawn Staley Award.
Clark led her team to its first-ever NCAA Championship game and helped post the Hawkeyes’ most wins in a single season. During the 2023 NCAA Tournament, she posted the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA Men’s and Women’s Tournament history and broke the NCAA single-tournament record for most three-point FG made (24) and most points scored (191). This past winter, she was the only player in the nation with 1,000 points, 240 rebounds, 310 assists and 45 steals.
Overall, Clark became the first player in Division I women’s basketball history to record more than 1,000 points and 300 assists in the same season and was the fastest Division I player (men’s or women’s) to reach 1,500 career points over the last 20 seasons.
Off the court, she is a two-time First Team Academic All-American and was named the 2023 CSC Academic All-American of the Year.
“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.”
The CWSA Sports Awards Presented by Honda broadcast will be re-aired on CBS Sports on June 26 (12:00 am ET), June 27 (10:30 AM ET, 6:30 PM ET), June 28 (4:30 PM ET) and July 1 (8:00 AM ET).
Established in 1976, the CWSA honors the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for their superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its partnership with the CWSA in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.6 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs.
