Iowa’s Caitlin Clark won the 93rd AAU James E. Sullivan Award on Tuesday, given annually to the most outstanding athlete at the collegiate or Olympic level in the United States. Here’s what you need to know:
- Clark beat out five other finalists including former LSU outfielder Dylan Crews, Purdue center Zach Edey, Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles and swimmers Jordan Crooks and Kate Douglass.
- The star guard was the consensus national player of the year after leading the Hawkeyes to their first NCAA title game in April.
- The 21-year-old averaged 27.8 points, 8.6 assists and 7.1 rebounds per game in 2022-23 and will return for her senior season at Iowa this fall.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Why Clark deserved to win
Clark is a transcendent athlete whose popularity is unprecedented. Her on-court prowess is well-known: She led the nation with 1,055 points to break the Big Ten single-season record. She became the first player in women’s basketball history with more than 1,000 points and 300 assists in the same season. In the NCAA tournament alone, Clark had 191 points and 60 assists, including a 40-point triple-double in a regional final. Since 2000, there have been six instances of a player having 150 points and 50 assists in any five-game span, and Clark has all six.
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The 2023 NCAA championship featuring Iowa and LSU hit 9.9 million viewers, which was up 103 percent from 2022 and was the most-viewed Division I women’s game in history. Five of Big Ten Network’s six most-viewed women’s basketball games ever featured Iowa and four took place last season.
But her impact on the sport is even more profound. Every Iowa women’s basketball game is sold out for the upcoming season. An exhibition at Kinnick Stadium is on track for a sellout. Last season, Iowa set the Big Ten record in average attendance at 11,142 and Iowa led the nation with eight games above 13,000 fans. At Big Ten road venues, Iowa’s nine opponents averaged 3,482 more fans than their season average.
At Iowa’s most recent home football game, the Hawkeye Marching Band had a tribute to Clark as part of its halftime performance. Clark’s gallery at the John Deere Classic Pro-Am dwarfed those of professional golfers in the area. She threw out the first pitch for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs and people stood in line for 12 hours for her autograph. On the road, she often stays an hour past a game’s conclusion to take pictures and meet opposing fans. — Dochterman
What’s next?
Expectations will be off the charts for Clark and for Iowa this year. Through three seasons and 100 games, Clark has 2,717 points. She averaged 27.8 points and 8.6 assists per game last year, and the Hawkeyes bring back two other starters and one of the nation’s top bench performers from a national runner-up.
Before last season, Iowa qualified only one other time for the Final Four. With Clark and the other pieces returning, a second straight Final Four is a strong possibility. That could build stress for some players, but Clark thrives in pressure situations.
Individually, Clark should end up as the leading scorer in women’s basketball history, surpassing Washington’s Kelsey Plum, who scored 3,527 points from 2014-17. If that happens, Clark could have a case as the greatest women’s college basketball player in history. — Dochterman
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What they’re saying
“I am incredibly humbled,” Clark said in a release Tuesday. “It is an honor to be selected for this prestigious award that elects a student-athlete that excels on the court and in the classroom. All the finalists are equally as deserving. It is special to represent the University of Iowa on this stage.”
“Caitlin Clark is the epitome of what this award represents,” AAU president Jo Mirza said. “We’re honored to have her name forever entwined with the AAU Sullivan Award and we can’t wait to see what she accomplishes next.”
Backstory
In addition to athletic excellence, the AAU Sullivan Award, presented annually since 1930, “aims to recognize the qualities of leadership, citizenship, character, and sportsmanship on and off the playing surface.”
Clark joins former Iowa wrestler Spencer Lee (2019) as the only other Hawkeye to win the honor.
Required reading
(Photo: Kevin Jairaj / USA Today)
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