Iowa Hawkeyes news: The Naismith Awards have officially released their four-woman shortlist for this year’s Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year award. As expected, Iowa star Caitlin Clark headlines the field amid the 22-year-old’s historic season with the Hawkeyes.
Joining Clark on the list of finalists are JuJu Watkins of USC, Cameron Brink of Stanford, and Paige Bueckers of UConn.
Iowa Hawkeyes’ Caitlin Clark Headlines Naismith Player of the Year Finalists
The award-giving body made the official announcement on Tuesday:
🚨 ATTENTION🚨: Introducing the 2024 @jerseymikes Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year Finalists🔥#JerseyMikesNaismith pic.twitter.com/nc7RPBDobO
— Naismith Awards (@NaismithTrophy) March 26, 2024
At this point, there’s no denying that Clark is the heavy favorite to bag this award. Her biggest achievement this season is becoming the all-time leading scorer in Division I women’s basketball after Clark surpassed Washington icon and Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum. Clark then went on to claim the same record for the men’s division after she overtook former LSU star Pete Maravich for the scoring record.
Clark’s biggest challenger to the throne has to be USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins, who has been making quite a name for herself in her freshman year. This is Clark’s final season in the NCAA, so Watkins should be a strong contender for next year’s title once the former takes her talents to the WNBA.
Clark, though, has some bigger fish to fry as she hopes to lead Iowa to a historic Division I title this season. They are still vying for the championship after taking down West Virginia on Monday, 64-54. The Hawkeyes are set to battle No. 5 seed Colorado in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.
For More NBA Content:
Follow me on Twitter at @PaoloSongcoNBA, and follow us @HardwoodHeroics. You can also reach out to Paolo Songco via email at [email protected]. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest NBA news, click here!