CLEVELAND, Ohio – University of Iowa senior guard, Caitlin Clark, was named the winner of the 2024 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the USBWA National Player of the Year for the second straight season. The announcement came today at USBWA’s annual awards luncheon in Cleveland, site of the Women’s Final Four.
The national player of the year leads the nation in several NCAA categories including points per game (32.0), three pointers made and three pointers per game (508/5.22) and triple-doubles (6). She became the first player to finish No. 1 in both categories in back-to-back seasons. Clark owns a career 3,900+ points and she recently became the first Division-I player to record 1,000+ points in back-to-back seasons. She is also the only player in NCAA DI men’s or women’s basketball history to lead her conference in scoring and assists in four consecutive seasons.
This is the third USBWA national award for Clark. In addition to the two Ann Meyers Drysdale Awards, she was the USBWA’s Co-Freshman of the Year in the 2020-21 season sharing the honor with UConn’s Paige Bueckers. Clark earned a spot on the weekly Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week list eight times this season and has 15 career weekly award nods. Clark is the first Iowa player to earn four USBWA All-America honors as the Hawkeyes’ eighth all-time All-American. She is the USBWA’s fifth four-time All-American, joining Tennessee’s Chamique Holdsclaw (1996-99), Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris (2006-09), UConn’s Maya Moore (2008-11) and South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston (2020-23).
The Ann Meyers Drysdale Award is presented annually to the women’s national player of the year by the USBWA. Named for the legendary UCLA guard, the award was first presented in the 1987-88 season and formally named in Meyers Drysdale’s honor in the 2011-12 season. Ann Meyers Drysdale played at UCLA from 1974-78, which pre-dates the USBWA All-America selections. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.
The USBWA was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 800 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at malcolm@usbwa.com.
2023-24 AWARDS
– Ann Meyers Drysdale Award
– Honda Sport Award
– Wade Trophy
– Associated Press National Player of the Year
– Naismith National Player of the Year
– USA Today National Player of the Year
– ESPN.com National Player of the Year
– The Athletic National Player of the Year
– Sporting News National Player of the Year
– AP, USBWA, USA Today First Team All-America
– Big Ten Player of the Year
– First Team All-Big Ten
– Big Ten Player of the Week; Nov. 13, Nov. 27, Dec. 11, Dec. 18, Jan. 2, Jan. 8, Jan. 15, Feb. 5, Feb. 19, Feb. 26, March 4.
– WBCA National Player of the Week; Nov. 14, Nov. 28, Jan. 3, Jan. 9, Jan. 16, Jan. 31, Feb. 6, Feb. 20.
– AP National Player of the Week; Nov. 14, Jan. 9, Feb. 20.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes will face 3-Seed UConn on Friday, April 5, in Cleveland inside Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse at 8:30 pm (CT). Fans can watch on ESPN.