South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark were unanimously selected for the Associated Press preseason Women’s All-America Team, released Tuesday.
Boston led South Carolina to its second national championship and won nearly every major award last season. Expectations are still high for the best Gamecocks and Boston, which have appeared on all 30 ballots of the national media panel that selects the AP Top 25 each week.
“I don’t think all the awards define who she is, but they also put her in a position where she’s more relaxed because she accomplished those things. She’s always hungry,” said South Carolina manager Dawn Staley. “She always wants to be the best. When you’ve proven that at such an early stage in your career, you always want more. She has entered a stage where she wants more but she has faith in who she is, as she has been able to accomplish it.
Senior Haley Jones of Stanford, Ashley Joens of Iowa State and Elizabeth Kitley of Virginia Tech were also selected for the team, as well as DePaul’s second Aneesah Morrow.
Boston, averaging 16.8 points and 12.4 rebounds, and Clark were both on the preseason squad last year. Clark followed a fantastic first season with an even better season in his second year, averaging 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Hawkeyes, who are fourth in the preseason poll for the highest score since 1994..
“He worked on a little more emotional control in his leadership. I think it’s really important, “said Iowa coach Lisa Bluder.” You want these officials to be your best friends, let’s treat them like that. “
Bluder also said that Clark has added some post moves to his game: “It can look silly with Monika (Czinano) on the wall. She is almost 5 feet 10 inches and no reason why she can’t post. She looks for him much more.
Joens decided to stay at Iowa State for another year, losing the chance to enter the WNBA Draft. She averaged 20.3 points and 9.5 rebounds last season and is the first All-American preseason in school history.
“It’s a great honor for Ashley and the entire Iowa State program,” said coach Bill Fennelly. “Being recognized with such a large group of players is an outstanding achievement. I know he will continue to work hard to play at an All-American level this season.
Jones helped Stanford to 32-4 before falling to UConn in the Final Four. He averaged 13.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Cardinal. Last season, coach Tara VanDerveer called her star the “Magic Johnson of women’s basketball”.
Kitley had a stellar year, averaging 18.1 points and 9.8 rebounds for the Hokies. His return is a big reason why the team is ranked 13th in the preseason, the highest score since the last poll in 1999, when the school was also 13th.
She is the first player in the school to be awarded an All-American preseason.
“He’s the hardest working guy I know,” said Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks. “If he doesn’t do anything, he has FOMO (fear of missing something). He added so much to his game of him to make us the best we could be. My responsibility is to prepare her for the next level.
Morrow had an incredible first season, averaging 21.9 points and 13.5 rebounds for the Blue Demons. She is the first DePaul player to earn preseason honors since Latasha Byears did so in 1995.
“He deserves it for his daily work ethic and competitiveness,” said DePaul coach Doug Bruno of Morrow.
All six players were honored in the AP All-America squads last spring. Boston, Clark and Jones were on the first team while Joens and Morrow were on the second. Kitley made the third team.
The AP began selecting an All-America preseason team prior to the 1994-95 season.
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The Associated Press 2022-23 preseason All-America women’s basketball team, with school, height, year and grades from a 30-member national media panel (2021-22 statistic keys in parentheses):
Aliyah Boston, SC, 6-5, senior, 30 out of 30 (16.8 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 2.4 bpg.)
Caitlin Clark, Iowa, 6-0, junior, 30 out of 30 (27.0 ppg, 8.0 apg, 8.0 rpg)
Haley Jones, Stanford, 6-1, senior 28 out of 30 votes (13.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 3.7 apg)
Ashley Joens, Iowa State, 6-1, senior, 24 out of 30 (20.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.0 apg)
Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech, age 6-6, senior, 9 out of 30 (18.1 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 2.4 bpg)
Aneesah Morrow, DePaul, 6-1, sophomore, 9 out of 30 (21.9 ppg, 13.5 rpg, 3.0 spg)
Others who received votes: Cameron Brink, Stanford; Rori Harmon, Texas; Hailey Van Lith, Louisville; Olivia Miles, Notre Dame; Angelo Reese, LSU; Maddy Siegrist, Villanova; Azzi Fudd, UConn; Jade Loville, Arizona; Jordan Horston, Tennessee; Deja Kelly, North Carolina; Tamari Key, Tennessee.
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Other AP Women’s College Basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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This story has been updated to correct Jade Loville’s school in Arizona.
Doug Feinberg, Associated Press
