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

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.