March still has plenty of madness left for college basketball fans as the Sweet 16 tips off Friday, but as the season draws to a close, so too are the campaigns of the biggest stars in the game. There have been plenty of memorable performances this season, both by teams and individuals.

While the remaining 16 squads battle it out for the NCAA title, it’s time for individual awards. Here are my picks for Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and the All-American Teams.

Player of the Year: Caitlin Clark, Iowa

It’s been the year of Caitlin Clark in women’s basketball. The Iowa star is averaging 26.8 points per game (third in the country), 8.6 assists per game (first in the country) and 7.3 rebounds per game. Stats aren’t everything, but Clark’s paint a compelling picture. This season, she’s led her team to a 28-6 record, a Big Ten tournament title and, so far, an appearance in the Sweet 16 (the Hawkeyes play Colorado on Friday afternoon for a spot in the Elite Eight).

Thanks to her logo 3-pointers, Clark is regarded as a prolific scorer. The junior certainly knows how to put the ball in the basket, but there is much more to her game. Her ability to read the floor, run the fastbreak and find teammates with precise passes is also what sets her apart.

The Hawkeyes are an excellent offensive team, scoring an NCAA-leading 87.4 points per game. Offensively, everything that happens for Iowa happens because of Caitlin Clark. And for that reason, she’s my Player of the Year.

Coach of the Year: Lynne Roberts, Utah

In just one season, Roberts has elevated her team from a middle-of-the-pack Pac-12 squad (8-7 conference record, 21-12 overall in 2021-22), to one of the conference’s best contenders. The Utes finished the regular season with just four losses, including an undefeated record at home. They also reached their highest-ever AP ranking, rising to No. 3 at one point, and now find themselves in the Sweet 16 for just the third time in school history.

Roberts had a solid foundation last season, with players like Kennedy McQueen, Jenna Johnson, Gianna Keepkens and Issy Palmer all returning after a first-round victory in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. And while the Utes would have been good with that core, Roberts set out to make them great by securing Alissa Pili from USC in the transfer portal.

Roberts managed to integrate Pili into the lineup seamlessly and, with just one addition, changed the make-up of her entire team.

Defensive Player of the Year: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina

The reigning DPOY gets the nod once again as she continues to dominate for undefeated South Carolina. Boston has her team positioned as the favorite to win the NCAA Tournament once more, and her defense is a big reason why.

She’s averaging 2.0 blocks and 6.3 defensive rebounds per game, but more importantly, offenses have to game plan around the South Carolina big. She changes the way teams attack the Gamecocks because they have to be wary of her in the paint. Boston also allows her teammates to be aggressive in their defensive matchups because, if they get beat, she’s there to clean up with a block, an altered shot or a rebound.

South Carolina allows the fewest points per game in the country at 50.6, a statistic made possible by their rim protector.

Freshman of the Year: Ta’Niya Latson

Unfortunately, Latson didn’t get to showcase her skills in the NCAA Tournament. An injury kept the guard on the bench during Florida State’s opening-round loss to Georgia, but she did enough during the regular season to secure the Freshman of the Year award.

Latson, a five-star recruit, more than lived up to the hype in her first season at Florida State. She helped her team to a 23-10 record after the Seminoles went 17-14 the season before. Her 21.9 points per game ranked 11th among all NCAA players, and she contributed 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Latson recorded 34 points twice this season, 32 points twice and 31 points on three separate occasions.

The guard was also consistent with her scoring, finishing with fewer than 15 points only five times this season, and scoring in double figures in 29 of 31 games.

All-Americans

First Team

Caitlin Clark (Iowa), Aliyah Boston (South Carolina), Alissa Pili (Utah), Maddy Siegrist (Villanova), Angel Reese (LSU)

Second Team

Elizabeth Kitley (Virginia Tech), MaKenzie Holmes (Indiana), Diamond Miller (Maryland), Cameron Brink (Stanford), Olivia Miles (Notre Dame)

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

In a season packed with parity, the NWSL enters its 10th weekend of the 2025 season with just seven points separating No. 2 San Diego from No. 12 Houston on the table — meaning a single win or loss could dramatically shift the standings.

The slate is a bit lighter this weekend with No. 4 Portland and No. 8 Gotham's trip to the 2024/25 Concacaf W Champions Cup knockouts, where the Bats will face Liga MX side Tigres UANL tournament final shortly after Portland's third-place match against Club América on Saturday (Paramount+).

Their absence leaves room for other NWSL clubs to leapfrog the Thorns and Gotham on the league table, with only No. 1 Kansas City's position secure given the Current's four-point lead over the Wave.

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What to watch in the 10th weekend of the 2025 NWSL season

No. 6 Seattle Reign vs. No. 5 Washington Spirit, 10:00 PM ET on Friday (Prime): The Reign hosts a Spirit side with a 4-0-0 road record on the season and a high-octane offense that's scoring nine goals in their last three matches. Meanwhile, Seattle's 2025 campaign has featured only eight total goals across their nine matches.

No. 14 Chicago Stars vs. No. 1 Kansas City Current, 7:30 PM ET on Saturday (ION): While the league-leading Current is safe atop the NWSL table this weekend, their match is still full of question marks as Kansas City is without several key players, including MVP frontrunner Debinha, after a spat of injuries last weekend.

No. 2 San Diego Wave vs. No. 9 North Carolina Courage, 10:00 PM ET on Sunday (CBS Sports): The Wave are riding the league's best record (4-0-1) over the last five games, but the Courage is also on the rise, coming to Seattle on a 3-0-1 stretch and achingly close to a lift above the playoff line.

With San Diego's 17-year-old midfielder Kimmi Ascanio blasting three goals in the last four games and North Carolina attacker Jaedyn Shaw — the Wave's original teen scoring phenom — returning for the first time to face her former club, Sunday's closing NWSL match could be rife with youth firepower.

The Indiana Fever and New York Liberty will bring winning momentum into their first season clash on Saturday, with each claiming victories in Thursday night's WNBA action.

First, the Fever avenged their lone 2025 season loss, defeating the Dream 81-76 on Atlanta's new home court on Thursday after narrowly falling to the Georgia squad in Indianapolis two days earlier.

Forward Natasha Howard led Indiana with 26 points, with guards Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark posting 17 and 11 points, respectively.

After missing the Fever's first two games with a right ankle sprain, guard Sophie Cunningham came off the bench to put up nine points, six rebounds, and three assists in her season debut on Thursday.

Notably, Clark — no stranger to historic streaks — saw her three-point stretch end in Thursday's win, with the second-year Fever star going cold from beyond the arc for the first time in her WNBA career.

Clark's five three-point misses snapped a 140-game sharpshooting streak that dates back to a matchup against Purdue her sophomore season at the University of Iowa — the only NCAA game in which she failed to make a three.

New York, on the other hand, couldn't miss from deep on Thursday, with the Liberty breaking the WNBA regular-season record with 19 three-pointers in their 99-74 win over the Chicago Sky.

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Eight Liberty players contributing to the new three-point mark, with guards Natasha Cloud and Kennedy Burke leading the charge with four threes each in respective 18- and 17-point performances.

The impressive sharpshooting landed the reigning WNBA champs in the regular-season history books, but New York's 19 threes still trail the overall league record of 23, drained by the Las Vegas Aces in a 2022 playoff game.

How to watch the New York Liberty vs. Indiana Fever this weekend

The Liberty will put their 2-0 record to the test in Indiana on Saturday, tipping off against the one-loss Fever at 1 PM ET.

Live coverage of the clash will air on CBS.

The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League final kicks off on Saturday, as underdogs Arsenal and defending champs Barcelona each chase history in a head-to-head clash at Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Spanish titans aren't just hunting their third European championship in a row — a victory keeps Barcelona's hopes of completing a second straight quadruple alive with their Copa de la Reina finale looming next month.

To do so, however, they'll have to outlast the only English team to ever lift the European trophy, a feat Arsenal accomplished back in 2007.

Making their first Champions League final in 18 years, this season's Gunners are scrappy, boasting an explosive offense that led the league in scoring behind joint-WSL Golden Boot winner Alessia Russo.

The WSL runners-up bounced back from three first-leg deficits against Häcken FC, Real Madrid, and OL Lyonnes en route to the championship match — leading Barcelona star midfielder Aitana Bonmatí to call their appearance "a surprise."

"They absolutely deserve it, because scoring four goals against [eight-time Champions League winners] Lyon in the second leg is not easy at all," the back-to-back Ballon d'Or winner told ESPN. "I congratulate them for that because I think it was a big surprise, but a well-deserved one."

On Saturday, the pair will square off for the first time since 2021, when Barcelona defeated Arsenal twice in Champions League group-stage play.

"It's going to be a tough game — it's a final," said Barcelona defender Caroline Graham Hansen. "You just have to be prepared to leave your heart and soul out there and see who the better team on the day will be."

How to watch the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League final

Arsenal and Barcelona will battle for European glory at 12 PM ET on Saturday, with the Champions League grand finale streaming live on DAZN.

The NWSL's Kansas City Current officially placed defender Alana Cook on the Season Ending Injury list on Thursday, after the center back tore her left ACL, MCL, and meniscus in last Friday's 1-0 win over Orlando.

Since joining the Current in a 2024 midseason trade from Seattle, the 28-year-old starter has anchored the backline of her new team to the tune of 10 shutouts in 19 matches.

The injury is also a setback to Cook's USWNT return, with the defender logging her 30th cap and first international minutes since October 2023 just last month.

"Alana has made a big impact for our club on and off the pitch in a short period of time, and our hearts absolutely break for her," said Kansas City head coach and Cook's former USWNT boss Vlatko Andonovski in a club statement.

"Throughout her career, Alana has proven to be determined, resilient, and disciplined with an optimistic spirit," he continued. "We are confident she will carry those same attributes into her recovery process. The team will stand by her every step of the way, and we eagerly await the day she is able to join us on the pitch again."

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Kansas City attack also suffers injury losses

Cook's season-ending knock wasn't the only blow to the NWSL-leading Current, as attacking midfielder Debinha and striker Temwa Chawinga also exited Friday's pitch with injuries. With five goals each, both are currently in a four-way tie for second in the Golden Boot race.

Andonovski told the media on Wednesday that while 2024 MVP Chawinga is still undergoing evaluation, Debinha "is not probably going to be back until after the summer."

With both being considered 2025 MVP frontrunners, the losses may leave fans wondering how long Kansas City can maintain their spot atop the league.