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ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Former Purdue University basketball standout Zach Edey has been selected as the 2023-24 Big Ten Conference Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year, and University of Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark has been recognized as the 2023-24 Big Ten Conference Female Athlete of the Year, the conference announced Thursday.
Edey is the third Purdue student-athlete to earn the honor, joining diver David Boudia in 2011 and basketball's Glenn Robinson in 1994. Edey also joins former Ohio State wrestler Kyle Snyder (2017 and 2018) as the only repeat winners.
Edey is the eighth basketball honoree and the first since Iowa's Luka Garza in 2021.
Likewise, Clark joins field hockey standout Kristy Gleason in 1994 and basketball great Megan Gustafson in 2019 as award winners from Iowa and becomes the third repeat winner in the award's 42-year history, joining Wisconsin's Suzy Favor and Indiana's Lilly King.
Edey is the only player in NCAA history to average at least 25.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 assists per game. He led the Boilermakers to their first Final Four since 1980 and NCAA championship game appearance since 1969.
Clark was named the consensus National Player of the Year in 2023-24, earning 12 National Player of the Year accolades. The West Des Moines native led Iowa to a 34-5 record and its second consecutive Big Ten regular season and tournament titles and a return trip to the NCAA championship game.