Caitlin Clark named finalist for AAU Sullivan Award

UI Athletics news release

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa women’s basketball junior Caitlin Clark has been named a finalist on Wednesday for the 93rd AAU James E. Sullivan Award.

Clark was the recipient of the 2023 Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year Award, Honda Cup and was named Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year by The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA). She also won the 2023 Naismith, Wooden and Wade trophies along with the Associated Press and USBWA Ann Drysdale Player of the Year honors.

She is a two-time winner of the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award and is the first-ever three-time winner of the Dawn Staley Award. She also won the Honda Sport Award for Basketball in April.

Clark led her team to its first-ever NCAA Championship game and helped post the Hawkeyes’ most wins in a single season. During the NCAA Tournament, she posted the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA Tournament history (men’s or women’s) and broke the NCAA single-tournament records for most 3-point FG made (24) and most points scored (191). This past season, she was the only player in the country 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 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-America of the Year.

In addition to athletic excellence, the AAU Sullivan Award aims to recognize the qualities of leadership, citizenship, character and sportsmanship on and off the field.

The one-week voting period to determine the six finalists opens to the public today at bit.ly/93rdSullivanFinalists. The public can vote once a day for their choice, up until the voting closes.

“We’re excited to have such a diverse group of athletes and sports represented this year,” said Jo Mirza, AAU President. “Each of our semi-finalists deserves to move on to the next round and we’re proud to include them in the AAU Sullivan Award’s storied history.”

This year’s winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at the historic New York Athletic Club (NYAC) – the birthplace of the AAU.

The winner of the 93rd AAU Sullivan Award will join a renowned list of recipients. Other prior winners include former UI wrestler Spencer Lee in 2019, Michael Phelps (swimming), Michelle Kwan (figure skating), Carl Lewis (track & field), Shawn Johnson (gymnastics), Peyton Manning (football) and Breanna Stewart (basketball).