Iowa women's basketball superstar Caitlin Clark named Big Ten player of the year
Dargan SouthardWhat was long assumed with Caitlin Clark is officially official. The Iowa women's basketball superstar has been named the Big Ten player of the year in a unanimous vote.
One year after being named the league's freshman of the year — but not player of the year — Clark left little doubt how this voting would go. The former five-star prospect leads the country in scoring (27.5 points per game) and assists (8.3 per game) while wowing basketball fans across the country with her amazing 3-pointers and deep logo shots.
Additionally, Clark was named a first-team all-Big Ten selection alongside Monika Czinano, who ranks third nationally with a 66.9 field-goal percentage. McKenna Warnock was a second-team all-Big Ten selection by the media.
The Hawkeyes' awards cleanup accentuates Iowa's status as one of the Big Ten giants. Iowa finished with a share of the regular-season title and is in position to host NCAA Tournament games later this month.
More:Leistikow: How lifelong Iowan Caitlin Clark grew into a must-watch basketball star
Clark has been the driving force behind Iowa's surge. She's been named Big Ten player of the week seven times and has 14 double-doubles this season, the most recent one coming in Sunday's massive win over No. 5 Michigan.
More hardware could certainly be in store for this transcendent talent. Clark will likely walk away with most, if not all, of the national player of the year awards that will be released in the coming weeks.
"Caitlin is in a situation where she has the ball in her hands all the time," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said after the Michigan win. "And when you have the ball in your hands all the time, you can make an impact on the game or you can mess it up. There's a lot of responsibility with that.
"She has a direct effect on the game when she's out there. I think she's made more impact on our team as an individual than other people we're talking about for the national player of the year."
More:Leistikow: An unforgettable scene at Carver-Hawkeye, this time with a Big Ten trophy
Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.