IOWA CITY, Iowa — Junior guard from the University of Iowa, Caitlin Clark, was named 2022-23 Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year, announced today by the Big Ten Conference Office.

Clark, from West Des Moines, Iowa, is the third Hawkeye student-athlete to win the award, joining Kristy Gleason (field hockey, 1994) and Megan Gustafson (women’s basketball, 2019). She is also ninth women’s basketball student-athlete to win the award, joining Gustafson, Purdue’s Joy Holmes (1991), MaChelle Joseph (1992), Stephanie White (1999) and Katie Douglas (2001), Penn State’s Kelly Mazzante (2004), Ohio State’s Jessica Davenport (2007), and Minnesota’s Rachel Banham (2016).

It is the eighth time a Hawkeye (men’s or women’s student-athlete) has earned the Big Ten Athlete of the Year award, and the third time in the past five seasons. Iowa’s past winners include wrestlers Ed Banach (1983), Barry Davis (1985) and Brent Metcalf (2008), football player Chuck Long (1986), men’s basketball player Luka Garza (2021), Gleason, and Gustafson.

Clark won the 2023 Honda Cup on Monday, and was named Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year as by THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA). She also won the 2023 Naismith, Wooden and Wade Trophies along with the Associated Press and USBWA Ann Drysdale Player of the Year honors.

She is also a two-time winner of the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award and is the first-ever three-time winner of the Dawn Staley Award. She also won the Honda Sport Award for Basketball in April.

Clark led her team to its first-ever NCAA Championship game and helped post the Hawkeye’s most wins in a single season. During the NCAA Tournament, she posted the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA Tournament history (men’s or women’s) and broke the NCAA single-tournament records for most 3-point FG made (24) and most points scored (191). This season, she is the only player in the nation with 1,000 points, 240 rebounds, 310 assists and 45 steals.

Overall, Clark became the first player in Division I women’s basketball history to record more than 1,000 points and 300 assists in the same season and was fastest Division I player (men’s or women’s) to reach 1,500 career points over the last 20 seasons.

Off the court, she is a two-time First Team Academic All-American and was named the 2023 CSC Academic All-America of the Year.

The Big Ten Athletes of the Year are selected by a panel of conference media members from nominations submitted by each institution.

Waterloo’s indoor football team that begins play in 2024 will be known as the Woo. The four-team league will also have teams in Duluth, Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri. Waterloo native Bailey McRae was also named the Woo’s General Manager.

McRae says the next step is to hire staff and a coach.

The Woo will play home games at the Hippodrome on the grounds of the National Cattle Congress.

(Atlantic) — The Trojans stayed disciplined and battled well to run rule Treynor 15-5 tonight in Atlantic.

The Cardinals came eager to play scoring 2 runs in the 1st thanks to a single from Maili Mckern (1-3). The Trojans responded in the bottom of the 2nd with a RBI Double from Riley Wood (3-4, 2 RBI’s).

The 4th inning is when things changed for the Trojans. They were walked twice, had 7 hits, and scored 9 runs. The Trojans scored 3 more runs in the 5th and got a stolen base in the bottom of the 6th to walk off against Treynor.

Coach Hinzmann noted the changes that were made in the run filled 4th.

The win was sweet for Atlantic, but the post season is still looming nearby. It’s something Coach Hinzmann is fully aware of.

With the loss Treynor is now at (15-9). Their next game is at home on July 5th against Underwood. Atlantic improves to (17-15) and play again at home, facing Red Oak on Thursday June 29th.

Baseball substate brackets for the 2023 postseason are now available for all classes.

The first round of postseason games in 2A and 1A are scheduled for Saturday, July 1, then second round district games on Wednesday, July 5. Winners will advance to the Saturday, July 8 district final, followed by substate final games set for Tuesday, July 11. In 2A and 1A, district finalists will meet in the substate final, matching District 1 with District 2, District 3 with District 4, etc.

Class 4A and Class 3A begin the postseason with the substate first round on July 7, followed by second round games on July 10 and substate finals on July 12. Brackets in 3A are eight teams each. In 4A, the six-team brackets see all teams play in the first round, then the highest-seeded winner receives a bye to the substate final as the two other winners face off in the second round.

Eight teams from each classification will advance to the 2023 IHSAA State Baseball Tournament, currently scheduled for July 17-21 in Carroll (2A, 1A) and Iowa City (4A, 3A).

Click here for link to 3A Bracket.

Click here for link to 4A Bracket.

AMES, Iowa – Jaron Maestas, who has spent the past two seasons as the Associate Head Women’s Tennis Coach at the University of Kansas, has been named the 11^th head coach of the Iowa State Women’s Tennis program, Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard announced today.

“We are excited to welcome Jaron and his family to Iowa State,” Pollard said. “We believe that his knowledge of the Big 12 Conference, coupled with his success as a head coach, have prepared him well to lead the Cyclones and build upon the strong foundation that our program has established over the last five years. He has a clear vision for the future of Cyclone Tennis, and we look forward to helping him execute that in the coming years.”

Maestas spent the last two seasons as the Associate Head Coach at Big 12 rival Kansas, where he helped the Jayhawks to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. KU went 15-11 in 2022, played in the NCAA Tournament and finished with a season-ending Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) ranking of No. 29; while the 2023 Jayhawks were 15-8, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019, and placed 23^rd in the final ITA poll.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank Jamie Pollard and his incredible staff at Iowa State for a chance to be a part of this amazing University and program,” Maestas said. “My family and I look forward to calling Ames our new home. This athletic department has shown that with commitment and dedication, Iowa State can shine on the national stage.

“The approach and expectations won’t change,” he added. “We look forward to leading with passion, integrity and a commitment to excellence. Go State, A Storm is Coming!”

Before joining the KU staff, he spent five seasons as the head coach at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO), where he led the unheralded Bronchos’ program to a 78-22 (.780) record, a pair of Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) titles and four NCAA Division II Tournament appearances while earning two ITA Wilson Central Region Coach of the Year (2019, 2021) citations. Maestas’ 2021 UCO team finished 21-2 overall, won a program-record 19-straight matches at one point, swept the MIAA regular-season and tournament titles, advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Tournament and produced four All-Americans. The Bronchos were ranked No. 3 in the season-ending ITA poll, featured student-athletes ranked No. 3 and No. 5 nationally in singles as well as No. 2 and No. 10 in doubles, and Maestas earned ITA Wilson Central Region Coach of the Year honors.

Maestas’ 2019 Bronchos posted a 19-5 record, won the MIAA Tournament title and reached the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 16, while his 2018 squad tied the school’s then-single-season record for victories in a 20-4 campaign and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. His first UCO team was 14-9 and lost in the championship match of the NCAA Central Regional Tournament.

“Jaron’s enthusiasm for Iowa State and his passion for the sport of tennis came through loud and clear in our conversations, and we believe that based upon his understanding of our program, Iowa State and the Big 12 Conference, he will be able to hit the ground running when he arrives in Ames,” said ISU Senior Associate Athletics Director/Sport Administration Dr. Calli Sanders. “His commitment to academic and athletic excellence was also evident during our discussions, and we believe that our student-athletes will continue to perform well in the classroom and on the court under his leadership. We are eager to have Jaron, Layne and their boys join our Cyclone family.”

Before taking the reins at Central Oklahoma, Maestas spent 11 years as the head professional at Tulsa’s Philcrest Hills Tennis Club. He coached 10 players at Philcrest Hills who went on to win Oklahoma state high school championships and 12 players from his program went on to play at the collegiate level.

The Las Vegas, N.M., native played collegiately at both Western New Mexico and New Mexico State before graduating from NMSU in 2005. He and his wife, Layne, have two children, Jaxton and Landon.

Maestas’ hire is contingent upon completion of the University background check process, and he will be awarded a five-year contract. He replaces Boomer Saia, who was named Clemson’s Head Women’s Coach on June 1 after leading the 2022-23 Cyclones to a 21-6 record and the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

What Others Say About Jaron Maestas:

Todd Chapman, Head Women’s Tennis Coach, University of Kansas:

“Iowa State hit a home run in hiring Jaron as its new head coach. Jaron is a tireless worker and recruiter and is a winner! More importantly than that, he is a great person who loves his players.”

Jamie Pollard, Director of Athletics, Iowa State University:

“We are excited to welcome Jaron and his family to Iowa State, We believe that his knowledge of the Big 12 Conference, coupled with his success as a head coach, have prepared him well to lead the Cyclones and build upon the strong foundation that has been established in our program over the last five years. He has a clear vision for the future of our program, and we look forward to helping him execute that in the coming years.”

Dr. Calli Sanders, Senior Associate Athletics Director/Sport Administration, Iowa State University:

“Jaron’s enthusiasm for Iowa State and his passion for the sport of tennis came through loud and clear in our conversations, and we believe that based upon his understanding of our program, Iowa State and the Big 12 Conference, he will be able to hit the ground running when he arrives in Ames. His commitment to academic and athletic excellence was also evident during our discussions, and we believe that our student-athletes will continue to perform well in the classroom and on the court.”

Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark has been taking golf lessons getting ready for next week’s John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities. The national player of the year will team with Iowa native and former Masters and British Open champion Zach Johnson in next Wednesday’s Pro-Am.

Clark says coach Lisa Bluder has excused her from weightlifting next Wednesday to play in the event. She admits there will be some nerves.

Clark says the strength of her game is off the tee, but she struggles with putting.

Harlan at Atlantic Freshman baseball has been cancelled this morning due to weather/field conditions.

Van Ness on handling the pressure and spotlight of being the 13th overall pick in the draft.

Van Ness played hockey in high school but settled on football.

There’s been a lot of transition from hockey to football.

Van Ness on learning from veterans like Preston Smith & Rashon Gary.