There was something almost cinematic in Paige Bueckers’ final college season—a nationally televised 40‑point explosion, a UConn national title, and shooting splits that broke the 50/40/90 club. She not only swept every major player‑of‑the‑year honor but also won the Honda Sport Award for basketball, making her look like a lock for the all‑sports Honda Cup, just as Caitlin Clark had been twice before. Yet, when the 2025 CWSA board announced its decision, the crown went elsewhere.

It all comes up with the announcement of the winner for the 2025 Collegiate Women’s Sports Honda Cup. For nearly half a century, the Honda Sport Award has been the gold standard for recognizing top-tier female athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. Each winner is crowned “the best of the best” and automatically advances as a finalist for the big one. And when it came to predicting this year’s winner, Paige Bueckers’ name was hardly a surprise. And why not? She didn’t just help steer UConn to its 12th national championship; she left her name all over the record books while doing it—with 2,439 career points, the highest scoring average in program history, and the most NCAA tournament points by any Husky.

Yet, while she was among the nominees, she wasn’t the winner of the award as Gretchen Walsh took the title. But of course, Walsh deserved it, too.

Just consider: she’s a 25-time NCAA champion over four seasons, with 9 individual and 16 relay titles. She’s even set NCAA, American, and U.S. Open records in the 50 free, 100 free, and 100 fly categories in swimming. And yes, there’s more. She broke 11 world records (9 individual, 2 relay) at the 2024 Short Course World Championships, also earned Best Female Swimmer honors, and set long-course world records in the 100 Butterfly (55.18) while contributing to 4×100 Medley Relay records at the 2024 U.S. Trials.

Well, with the award, Walsh joined basketball star Dawn Staley, who won the Honda Cup in 1991 as the second student athlete to attain the title from Virginia. So, you know the kind of phenom Walsh is and how she’s outshone Paige, at least in terms of awards.

Meanwhile, comparisons between Bueckers and Caitlin Clark continue to swirl. After all, Clark didn’t just win the Cup—she won it back-to-back. For three straight years, basketball had a grip on the trophy: first Aliyah Boston in 2022, then Clark in 2023 and 2024. So when Bueckers, also a No. 1 overall pick, entered the mix, many assumed she’d keep the streak alive. But that’s not how the script played out.

And while the media might lean hard into the rivalry angle, Bueckers won’t take the bait. In a prior interview, she made it clear she doesn’t see herself in competition with Clark: “Running my own race… I don’t think me and Caitlin play at all alike… Those comparisons are just media‑driven, narrative‑driven.”  Still, the Honda Cup snub hasn’t slowed her roll. In fact, Bueckers is already carving out new milestones—just not the ones people expected.

Award or not, Paige Bueckers is still outshining the competition

Sure, Paige Bueckers didn’t walk away with the 2025 Collegiate Women’s Sports Honda Cup – but that takes nothing away from her being named a 2025 WNBA All-Star starter. Because let’s be honest, she earned that spot, every bit of it. And in doing so, Bueckers made franchise history: she became the first rookie in Dallas Wings history to be named an All-Star starter. Not a bad way to kick off your pro career.

And it’s not just hype. Her numbers back it up. Paige currently ranks 11th in the league in scoring with 18.4 points per game and sixth in assists with 5.8 per game, leading all the rookies in both categories. Well, that’s not just impressive but elite. So makes sense that Bueckers earned her place with the sixth-most fan votes overall and the second among guards alongside fellow backcourt starter Caitlin Clark, who was named team captain after pulling in a record-breaking 1,293,526 fan votes.

And with that, she becomes just the sixth No. 1 overall pick to start in the All-Star Game as a rookie, joining an iconic list alongside CC (2024), AB (2023), Maya Moore (2011), Sue Bird (2002), and Chamique Holdsclaw (1999).  And while the discourse loves the rivalry, Bueckers isn’t chasing anyone. She’s setting her own pace—and clearly, it’s fast enough.