A’ja Wilson, a senior forward from the University of South Carolina, was named the Honda Sport Award winner for Basketball as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) today.

The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 42 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”.  With this honor, Wilson becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2018 Honda Cup which will be presented on a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on Monday, June 25, 2018, in downtown Los Angeles.

Wilson was chosen by a vote of administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Finalists included Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon), Kelsey Mitchell (Ohio State) and Katie Lou Samuelson (Connecticut).

"So many great players have won this award, including Coach [Dawn] Staley, and I’m honored to have my name added to that list, “said Wilson. “For the last four years, I’ve been on an amazing journey, and closing my college career with these awards has been an added blessing and a great way to end that part of my basketball life."

Wilson is a three-time Honda Sport Award nominee and became the unanimous national Player of the Year this season after earning the Wooden Award, the Wade Award, Naismith, USBWA and AP Player of the Year honors. She was also the first three-time SEC Player of the Year in league history.

The senior forward from Hopkins, S.C., was a three-time unanimous first-team All-American and is South Carolina’s all-time leading scorer. She closed her career averaging 22.6 points per game to rank seventh in the nation, while her 11.8 rebounding average was 11th and her 3.18 blocked shots per game were fifth. She was the only player in the country ranked among the top 30 of all three categories.

Wilson was just the second player in program history to amass 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. She reached double-figures in all but one of her 33 games this season and her season ending 24 double-doubles were one away from Carolina’s 40-year old single-season record. 

Honda Sport Award winners will be presented with the honor during on-campus presentations throughout the year.

The CWSA, in its 42nd year, honors the nation’s top NCAA women athletes recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service.  Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.1 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs at the institutions.