Iowa women’s basketball topped the preseason rankings for 2022-23, with star junior guard Caitlin Clark selected as preseason player of the year, the Big Ten announced Wednesday.
The polls of both Big Ten coaches and media ranked Iowa first. The coaches ranked Ohio State second and Indiana third, with Maryland fourth and Michigan fifth. The media ranked Indiana second and Ohio State third, with Maryland fourth and Nebraska fifth.
Last year, Iowa and Ohio State were co-Big Ten Regular Season Champions, with Iowa winning the Big Ten Tournament final over Indiana. Michigan and Maryland tied for third in the standings, Indiana placed fifth and Nebraska sixth.
In 2021-22, Clark averaged 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists per game. Clark was named MVP of the tournament and Big Ten Player of the Year. She also received two awards for the nation’s top point guard, the Dawn Staley Award and the Nancy Lieberman Award.
The coaches selected Clark, Indiana’s Grace Berger, Iowa’s Monika Czinano, and Ohio State’s Taylor Mikesell and Jacy Sheldon unanimously for the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes, Maryland’s Diamond Miller, Michigan’s Leigha Brown, Nebraska’s Alexis Markowski and Penn State’s MacKenna Marisa make up the rest of the selections.
The media selected only Clark and Sheldon unanimously. Their Preseason All-Big Ten Team also included Berger, Czinano, Mikesell, Holmes, Miller, Brown, Markowski and Marisa.
Iowa, Indiana and Ohio State, with two Preseason All-Big Ten selections apiece, lead the conference. Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State each had one player selected.
All 10 Preseason All-Big Ten selections earned all-conference honors last season, with Clark, Berger, Czinano, Sheldon and Marisa earning first-team honors. Markowski, Brown, Miller and Holmes each earned second-team honors. Alexis Markowski was last year’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Clark was a unanimous first-team All-American last season. Sheldon, Czinano and Berger were AP All-America honorable mentions.
