She received 34 votes from the 35-member national media panel that votes on the AP Top 25 each week. Voting was done before the NCAA Tournament began.
Clark is the second Hawkeye, and Big Ten student-athlete, to earn the distinction since the award was established in 1995. Iowa’s Megan Gustafson was the recipient of the national award after her historic season in 2019. She is the only player in the conference to receive the award in back-to-back seasons.
The national player of the year recently led the Hawkeyes to their second straight Final Four leading the nation in assists (9.0 assists per game) and in scoring (32.0 points per game). She became the first player to finish No. 1 in both categories in back-to-back seasons. Clark owns a career 3,800+ points and she recently became the first Division-I player to record 1,000+ points in back-to-back seasons. A native of West Des Moines, Iowa, Clark is once again a finalist for every major national player of the year award. She is also the only player in NCAA DI men’s or women’s basketball history to lead her conference in scoring and assists in four consecutive seasons.
Clark was tabbed as the Big Ten Player of the Year and is the first player in program history to be named First Team All-Big Ten four times in four years of competition. She has also led the Hawkeyes to three straight Big Ten Championships for the first time in program history.