As college basketball season continues, players are making their cases for the national player of the year awards.

While the plethora of talent makes narrowing the list difficult, Just Women’s Sports takes a look at five front-runners for the end-of-season honors.

Caitlin Clark, Iowa

27.8 PPG / 7.9 APG / 7.9 RPG / 46% FG

At this point, the Naismith Player of the Year award could be Clark’s to lose. After featuring heavily in the conversation last year, Clark is having an even better season this time around.

To give a rundown of everything Clark has done so far this year: She became the only player to put up at least 40 points against a ranked opponent twice this season. Her triple-double against then-No. 2 Ohio State put her in the same conversation as Dwyane Wade and Courtney Vandersloot. And she is the only player in Division I basketball history to have four triple-doubles with 25 or more points.

She’s also the only D-I player in the past 20 seasons to have four straight games of at least 20 points and 10 assists. Her points and assists both rank second in the country, and if last year wasn’t Clark’s year to win the POY award, this one certainly could be.

Aliyah Boston, South Carolina

12.9 PPG / 10.0 RPG / 60.1% FG

The reigning player of the year has dropped off a bit after her historic season in 2021-22. But she set the bar incredibly high.

That Boston has seen a dip in production as other players have stepped up for South Carolina isn’t unusual. But it also speaks to her leadership skills, as freshman Raven Johnson leads the team in assists and steals. Still, she’s one of just three players in this conversation averaging a double-double on the year.

📽️📽️ Aliyah Boston Film Room 📽️📽️

Fresh off of her record-breaking 73rd career double-double, @aa_boston and Assistant Coach Fred Chmiel sit down in the Gamecocks Film Room as we look at how she continues to dominate into her senior season even with all the extra attention. pic.twitter.com/YOxJTmyo1C

— Gamecocks Plus (@GamecocksPlus) January 30, 2023

Angel Reese, LSU

23.4 PPG / 15.5 RPG / 54.6% FG

The primary challenger to Clark’s player of the year bid appears to be Reese. The sophomore transfer has 22 double-doubles to start the season, which has coincided with LSU’s 22-0 start – the longest winning streak in program history. Her streak puts her just five back of the SEC record (set by Aliyah Boston last season), and she already has broken the LSU record set by Sylvia Fowles.

She also became the first SEC player to have at least 25 points and 25 rebounds in 20 seasons, putting up 26 points and an LSU record 28 rebounds in a win over Texas A&M in January.

Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana

22.3 PPG / 7.8 RPG / 69.2% FG

One of the most efficient shooters in the country, Holmes is a danger to her opponent anytime she steps on the court.

With six straight games of 20 or more points, Holmes has been a stalwart on an Indiana team currently ranked fourth in the country. Her average of 26.5 points per game over those contests is bolstered by the fact that three of those games were against ranked opponents: then-No. 21 Illinois, then-No. 13 Michigan and then-No. 2 Ohio State.

Aneesah Morrow, DePaul

25.4 PPG / 11.6 RPG / 41.9% FG

Aneesah Morrow is one of the best sophomores in the country, if not the best. And it doesn’t come as a surprise after she averaged 21.9 points and 13.8 rebounds per game as a freshman. With multiple games of 40-plus points this season, she’s building on a résumé that likely will make her a top WNBA draft pick. She’s second in the Big East in scoring and leads the conference in rebounding all while taking on a bigger role for the Blue Demons.

As she should 😤@AneesahMorrow24 is a Top 10 candidate for the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award!

🔗: https://t.co/bfM75ZlKqO pic.twitter.com/E4qRbQUDCn

— DePaul Women's Basketball (@DePaulWBBHoops) February 2, 2023

USWNT stalwart Alex Morgan will miss at least one week of NWSL action after suffering a left ankle knock in her last club appearance, Wave manager Casey Stoney said on Thursday.

Morgan was helped off the field after rolling her ankle in the later stages of the Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride last weekend, despite the San Diego side being out of available substitutes.

“She's got an ankle injury and she's out for this weekend, and then it'll be week by week from there,” Stoney said, confirming that Morgan’s been ruled out for Saturday’s showdown with NWSL newcomer Bay FC.

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Depending on its severity, Morgan’s ankle issue might have larger ramifications than missing a few weeks of NSWL play. Morgan was added to the team's Gold Cup roster after an ACL injury sidelined young striker Mia Fishel, and she's since made a number of USWNT starts in the team's Gold Cup and SheBelieves wins. A long-term injury could potentially derail the center forward’s Olympic plans.

With her return timeline uncertain, it's possible the injury could also impact Morgan's ability to participate in new head coach Emma Hayes' first U.S. friendlies in June and July.

Morgan's injury concerns aren't uncommon in the U.S. player pool, but add a sense of urgency as Hayes eyes the NWSL for top-performing players in the upcoming weeks. Gotham's Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle have also been dealing with injuries: Lavelle has yet to appear for Gotham, while Davidson exited last weekend's match early with a hamstring injury.

Gotham has yet to issue an update concerning Davidson's status.

This week, legendary Brazilian superstar Marta announced that she’ll retire from the national team at the end of 2024.

In an interview with CNN Esportes published Thursday, the iconic footballer confirmed that she would be hanging up her boots regardless of whether or not she ends up making Brazil's 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she said. “There is no longer Marta in the national team as an athlete from 2025 onwards.”

Marta will retire as a giant of the women's game, having appeared in five Olympics and multiple World Cups. When discussing her retirement, she stressed confidence in the rising generation of Brazilian players, noting that she was, “very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes." 

The statement echoes back to a plea she made during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after Brazil lost to France 2-1 in the Round of 16. “It's wanting more. It's training more. It's taking care of yourself more. It's being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls,” she said then, addressing the young players following in her footsteps. 

In 2023, she signaled a farewell to World Cup competition with the same sentiment, telling media, “We ask the new generation to continue where we left off.”

If selected for the 2024 Olympic team, Marta has a shot at extending her own consecutive-scoring record with the ability to score in an unbelievable sixth-straight Olympic Games. She currently stands as Brazil’s top goalscorer, racking up 116 career goals in 175 matches, as well as the leading goalscorer in any World Cup, women’s or men’s, with 17 to her name. 

Marta will continue to play for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride through at least the end of 2024. The longtime forward and club captain has already contributed to multiple goals this season.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.