Marquee matchups and compelling team performances have defined the 2023-24 women's college basketball season. Now it's time to highlight some standout individual play.
With Selection Sunday quickly approaching and all attention about to turn toward women's March Madness, ESPN's Charlie Creme, Alexa Philippou and Michael Voepel hand out the major individual awards and name their All-America first team.
The winners were an easy and unanimous vote. In fact, the player, freshman and coach of the year were runaway winners. And there was no debate for the runners-up for the top player and freshman.
Determining a five-person All-America team was more challenging -- and notable for a certain center's absence. But two freshmen proved themselves too sensational to exclude.
Player of the Year: Caitlin Clark, Iowa Hawkeyes
Last season felt like a breakthrough for Clark, who was the Wooden Award recipient -- the national player of the year -- with South Carolina's Aliyah Boston still in the mix. This season has been more of a coronation for Clark, who has broken records left and right while leading Iowa to the Big Ten tournament title and a likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Clark passed Kelsey Plum for the NCAA women's scoring record, Lynette Woodard (who played in the AIAW era) for the major-college women's record, and Pete Maravich for the NCAA Division I overall record. Clark is also the first D-I player to have back-to-back 1,000-point seasons and to top 3,000 points and 1,000 assists for her career.
"That is mind-boggling when you think about it," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. "I mean, everybody's defensive plan is to stop her, and nobody's been able to figure out really how to do it. She's faced every kind of defense. She really knows how to pick them apart." -- Voepel
Runner-up: JuJu Watkins, USC Trojans
The hype surrounding Watkins coming out of high school was as big as the sport has ever seen. Now 31 games and a Pac-12 tournament title later, Watkins somehow exceeded all those expectations. She put a good Trojans team on her back game after game and made it great. If not for Clark's brilliance, could this have been the first of four player of the year trophies for Watkins? -- Creme
Dawn Staley credits her South Carolina players for defeating LSU, 79-70, for the SEC Women's Tournament crown, the eighth in the last 10 years for the coach and her program.
Freshman of the Year: JuJu Watkins, USC Trojans
No player has single-handedly impacted the trajectory of her program this year as much as Watkins, catapulting the Trojans from a first-round NCAA tournament team in 2023 to a potential Final Four contender in 2024. Her 810 points are the fourth most in a single freshman season all time, but it's her three-level scoring ability, plus her all-around game, that set her apart even more. In addition to 27 PPG, which ranks second in the nation behind Clark, she's averaging 7.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.5 blocks.
For Watkins to be doing this as a freshman, against the best conference (and some of the best defenses) in the country, is remarkable. -- Philippou
Runner-up: Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Three of the MVPs in the Power 5 conference tournaments were freshmen (and Watkins wasn't one of them). Hidalgo won the honor in the ACC. (The Texas Longhorns' Madison Booker in the Big 12 and the South Carolina Gamecocks' MiLaysia Fulwiley in the SEC were the others.) With fellow guard Olivia Miles out all season for the Irish, Hidalgo is averaging 23.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.6 steals. Almost any other season, she's the country's top freshman. -- Voepel
Notre Dame's Sonia Citron comes down with a clutch rebound late in the fourth quarter to ice the game against NC State.
Coach of the Year: Dawn Staley, South Carolina Gamecocks
There's rebuilding. There's reloading. And there's what Staley did at South Carolina this year. After a 36-1 season a year ago, Staley had to replace all five of her starters.
Without missing a beat, she turned a collection of reserves from last season, a high-profile transfer in Te-Hina Paopao, and another solid freshman class into the most dominant force in college basketball once again. And this wasn't a mix of talent that took all season to develop. Staley got that work done in October. From the moment South Carolina took the court for the season opener in Paris against Notre Dame (a 100-71 win) it was evident Staley had put together an instant juggernaut.
The Gamecocks enter the NCAA tournament unbeaten once again (32-0) and the favorite to win a third national title under Staley. She has already been the consensus national coach of the year three times. This should be her easiest win yet. -- Creme
Runner-up: Scott Rueck, Oregon State Beavers
Runner-up for Coach of the Year was the one award we were split over, but Rueck earned two of the three votes while Notre Dame's Niele Ivey garnered the other. After two straight years without an NCAA tournament appearance, things have turned around significantly for the Beavers. Last year they won just four Pac-12 games and suffered some devastating close losses. This year they clinched a top-four finish, advanced to the semifinals in the conference tournament and are projected to host early-round NCAA tournament games in Corvallis. Rueck's squad is heavy on freshmen and sophomores and without any seniors, making the Beavers' success all the more impressive. -- Philippou
All-America team
Each voter heavily considered Virginia Tech Hokies senior Elizabeth Kitley, but ultimately left her off a guard-heavy first team.
Bueckers has dazzled in her first season back from ACL injury and has had more responsibility than ever as a senior leader on a team depleted by injuries and leaning heavily on freshmen. Nonetheless, the guard has posted her most efficient shooting season yet (61.1% effective field goal percentage) while doing a little bit of everything for the Huskies. Her defensive impact is particularly notable, as she's averaging 2.1 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. -- Philippou
Cameron Brink, Stanford Cardinal
Brink's steady improvement from her freshman year has culminated in a first-team All-American campaign as a senior, as she has spearheaded the Cardinal's climb to a likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. She's the best, most versatile two-way post in the country and a likely top-three pick in the upcoming WNBA draft. One only needs to see how Stanford fared without her against Gonzaga and Arizona to understand her value to a team that won the Pac-12 regular-season title. -- Philippou
Caitlin Clark, Iowa Hawkeyes
No one came into this season with higher expectations placed on her than Clark, and she has delivered. She leads Division I in scoring (31.9 PPG) and assists (8.9 APG) and has had six triple-doubles as a senior. Her exceptional play has elevated not just the Hawkeyes, who hope for a return trip to the Final Four, but the sport. Her impact on attendance, television ratings and merchandise sales has been unprecedented. -- Voepel
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Ivey said she crafted Notre Dame's entire defense around Hidalgo's ability to pressure the ball, get steals, cover so much of the court and stay out of foul trouble. Her defense alone was headline-making. Add in her ability to score and direct the Irish offense, and Hidalgo had one of the best freshman seasons in Notre Dame history. She's also adding to the school's reputation as "Guard U," with so many greats in the WNBA. -- Voepel
JuJu Watkins, USC Trojans
Watkins and Hidalgo headline a freshman class that's shaping up to be a game-changer for the sport -- so much so that two of them made our All-America team. Only three players were named Associated Press All Americans as freshmen: Oklahoma's Courtney Paris, UConn's Maya Moore and Bueckers. -- Philippou