Caitlin Clark Named Sullivan Award Semifinalist

Fan Voting Opens Today for Prestigious Award

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (22) dribbles around Iowa State's Ashley Joens (24) on Dec. 7, 2022 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Iowa guard Caitlin Clark was named a Semifinalist for the 93rd AAU James E. Sullivan Award.The Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA), Clark also won the 2023 Naismith, Wooden and Wade Trophies along with the Associated Press and USBWA Ann Drysdale Player of the Year honors.

Clark is also 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 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.

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 https://bit.ly/93rdSullivanSemiFinalists.

“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, September 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. Last year, Olympian Carissa Moore won, becoming the first surfer to take home the honor. Other prior winners include Michael Phelps (swimming), Michelle Kwan (figure skating), Carl Lewis (track & field), Shawn Johnson (gymnastics), Peyton Manning (football), and Breanna Stewart (basketball).

Voting opens to the public today, Wednesday, July 12, and closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, July 19. The public can vote once a day for their choice, up until the voting closes.

ABOUT THE AAU:

The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is one of the largest, non-profit, volunteer sports organizations in the country. As a multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports programs. Founded in 1888 to establish standards and uniformity in sports, the AAU philosophy of “Sports For All, Forever” is now shared by more than 720,000 members and 150,000 volunteers across 45 sports programs and 55 U.S. districts. For more information, visit www.aausports.org.