Iowa's Caitlin Clark Wins 2024 Naismith Women's College Player of the Year Award

There was no doubt who would take home the Naismith Women's College Player of the Year award this season, and it was made official Wednesday.

Iowa's Caitlin Clark, who has captured the attention of the nation with her record-breaking performances and long-range shots throughout the season, won the award for the second straight year and defeated fellow finalists Cameron Brink of Stanford, Paige Bueckers of UConn and JuJu Watkins of USC.

Clark was the Naismith Award winner, Wooden Award winner, Associated Press Player of the Year, Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Tournament MVP all while leading the Hawkeyes to the national championship game last season but has somehow been even better in 2023-24.

All she's done is lead the nation in points (32.0) and assists (9.0) per game this season while guiding Iowa to a Big Ten tournament title and Final Four. She is also two victories away from adding a national title to her legendary resume.

The likely No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 WNBA draft also cemented her place in the history books by first passing Kelsey Plum in February to become the all-time leading scorer in Division I women's basketball and then surpassing Pete Maravich to claim the record across the men's and women's games.

And she did it all while launching shots from well beyond the arc and drawing massive crowds for both home and away games as appointment viewing.

In addition to the nation-best scoring and assist totals, Clark has averaged 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game while connecting on 46 percent of her field-goal attempts and 38 percent of her triples this season. She impacts the game in a variety of ways and is a threat to post a triple-double every time she steps on the court.

All that is missing is a national championship, and she might win that too.

Clark got revenge in the Elite Eight by defeating the same LSU program that beat her Hawkeyes in last year's national title game. She poured in 41 points behind nine made three-pointers to go with 12 assists, seven rebounds and two steals in an all-around dominant performance.

It was her effort in the third quarter that created separation for Iowa and propelled it into the Final Four for the second consecutive year.

She will meet fellow finalist and 2020-21 Naismith Award winner Bueckers in the Final Four on Friday. Whichever star leads their team to victory in that one could face undefeated South Carolina in the national championship game.

What an ending that would be for Clark after she turned in one of the most memorable seasons in college basketball history.