This year’s National Player of the Year race is a thrilling one. Even though NCAA’s scoring queen Caitlin Clark is leading on the track, other formidable players are also not far behind. In fact, the official X page of the Naismith Awards announced nine other athletes who are in the semifinals for the National honor on Thursday. It mentioned the three other conference POYs along with six more potential prospects.

According to Bleacher Report’s Mike Chiari, Caitlin Clark is the favorite choice for the NPOY. However, other impactful players who have settled scores for their teams and broken records are also in the same competition. Moreover, they too have a probable chance of grabbing the trophy.

These semifinalists of the most prestigious individual women’s college basketball award have performed incredibly the entire regular season. Whether their team won the conference awards or not, is not the question. Here are the stats supporting their candidacy.

• Kamilla Cardoso- The best player from arguably the best team, Kamilla Cardoso, also gets her mention amongst the elites. The South Carolina Gamecocks center averages a decent 14 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.6 blocks.
• Madison Booker-The freshman forward of the Texas Longhorns averages 16.9 ppg with a 46.1 field goal percentage. She also grabs 4.8 rebounds, and dishes out 4.9 assists, along with 1.5 steals.
• Cameron Brink- The Pac-12 POY of the Stanford Cardinals also made her way into the NPOY semifinals with an average of 17.8 points, 12 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, and 2.9 assists.
• Jacy Sheldon- Senior guard of the 7th seed Ohio State Buckeyes brings a decent 50.9 FG% with 18 ppg. She also grabs 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals while delivering 3.7 assists.
• Angel Reese- One of the more popular names in women’s basketball and the reigning champion was also mentioned for the Naismith honor. She averages 19 points with 49.1% field goal accuracy. She also brings her much-improved defensive stats of 1.8 steals along with 13.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

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With these being possibly the lower end of the list, the upper end offers some out-of-the-world balling stats to the sporting world. Their competitions are intense and so are these players.

• Paige Bueckers- Continuing the list is UConn Huskies junior guard Bueckers. The 2x Big East POY averages 21.3 ppg, which ranks her 12th overall, with 53.8 FG%. Apart from these, she also grabs 4.8 rebounds with 2.1 steals and 1.4 blocks. She also delivers 3.7 assists per game.
• Elizabeth Kitley- The senior center of the Virginia Tech Hokies averages 22.8 points, 1.8 assists, and 2.1 blocks while shooting 55.6% from the field. Her 11.4 rebounds per game bring her the 6th rank overall. She is 3x ACC player of the year and ranks fifth in the overall scoring list.
• Hannah Hidalgo– The freshman guard of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish has performed incredibly well. She averages 23.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 4.6 steals a game.
• Judea “JuJu” Watkins- The standout performer of the USC Trojans has made every head turn. With being already expected as the successor of Caitlin Clark in the near future, JuJu averages 27 points per game along with 40.5% field goal accuracy. She also adds 7.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.5 blocks. The incredible freshman guard also brought the conference trophy to the Trojans this year, defeating the top seed, Cardinals. However, her ankle sprain from the game against UCLA may pose some threat.

Nevertheless, the ultimate topper of almost every table in women’s college basketball for the year — Caitlin Clark — remains the favored choice for all. The primary factor that brings her all the votes is her most resounding NCAA’s all-time scoring record, leaving LSU legend Pete Maravich behind.

She also broke the college record of threes made in a season, a record that was previously held by the Golden Boy of the the Davidson Wildcats–Stephen Curry– this season. Here are the numbers that only add more feathers to this exceptional baller’s hat.

What makes Caitlin Clark the most probable choice for NPOY?

Clark has etched her name in not just women’s league but also men’s college basketball records. From her impact on the court to her influence throughout the globe, this immaculate phenomenon of the Iowa Hawkeyes has given all the reasons to make her the Naismith Player of the Year. However, let us look at the shining stats that make her a standout player.

She is currently leading Division I with an average of 31.9 points, 8.9 assists, and a minimum of 5.2 3-pointers per game. Additionally, she also grabs 7.3 rebounds along with 1.8 steals per game. Clark also has a whopping accuracy of 85.8% from the free-throw line, 46.0% from the field, and 38.1% from beyond the arc.

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Nevertheless, the competition is quite tough and even though she is currently in pole position, Clark will need to continue this performance. But, at the end of the day, basketball followers are in for an epic March Madness competition.

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