UI Athleitcs news release
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s basketball team was selected No. 1 in the Preseason Big Ten Coaches and Media polls. Junior guard Caitlin Clark was voted Preseason Player of the Year in both polls. Clark was unanimously selected by the coaches and media on the All-Big Ten Team, the conference office announced on Wednesday.
The Hawkeyes return a plethora of talent from a year ago including all three starters and the B1G Sixth Player of the Year that led the team to the Big Ten Tournament title and a National Championship appearance. Iowa earned the No. 2 seed the NCAA Tournament in 2023, after another successful campaign under head coach Lisa Bluder.
Clark nabbed both Preseason Player of the Year recognition for the second time in her career. During her junior campaign, Clark led her team to its first-ever NCAA Championship game and helped post the Hawkeye’s 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 season, she is the only player in the nation with 1,000 points, 240 rebounds, 310 assists and 45 steals.
Clark also won the 2023 Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year Award, Honda Cup and was named Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year as by THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA). She also won the 2023 Naismith, Wooden and Wade Trophies along with the Associated Press, USBWA Ann Drysdale Player of the Year and the 93rd AAU James E. Sullivan Award.
2023-24 Preseason All-Big Ten Women’s Basketball Teams and Polls
Coaches Big Ten Preseason Rankings
1. Iowa
2. Ohio State
3. Indiana
4. Maryland
5. Illinois
Coaches Preseason All-Big Ten Team*
Makira Cook, ILL
Mackenzie Holmes, IND (Unanimous)
Caitlin Clark, IOWA (Unanimous)
Shyanne Sellers, MD (Unanimous)
Laila Phelia, MICH (Unanimous)
Mara Braun, MINN
Alexis Markowski, NEB
Jaz Shelley, NEB
Cotie McMahon, OSU (Unanimous)
Jacy Sheldon, OSU
Makenna Marisa, PSU
*Additional player due to tie in voting
Coaches Preseason Player of the Year
Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Media Big Ten Preseason Rankings
1. Iowa
2. Indiana
3. Ohio State
4. Maryland
5. Michigan
Media Big Ten Preseason All-Big Ten Team
Makira Cook, ILL
Mackenzie Holmes, IND
Caitlin Clark, IOWA (Unanimous)
Shyanne Sellers, MD
Laila Phelia, MICH
Alexis Markowski, NEB
Jaz Shelley, NEB
Cotie McMahon, OSU
Jacy Sheldon, OSU
Makenna Marisa, PSU
Media Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year
Caitlin Clark, Iowa