Iowa City, Iowa Jay Higgins in football and Kate Martin in women’s basketball have been chosen as Iowa’s 2024 Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award recipients. Iowa’s 2023–24 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winners, which included one athlete from each varsity sport, were used to select the pair.
With 34 wins in 2024, Martin and the Hawkeyes tied the Big Ten single-season record, established a programme record, won the Big Ten Tournament, and placed second nationally for the second consecutive year.
The native of Edwardsville, Illinois, is the first player in Iowa women’s basketball history to record more than 900 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists, 120 steals, and 60 blocks in a career. She is also the third player in school history to record more than 1,200 points, 700 rebounds, and 450 assists. The other two players are Caitlin Clark and Sam Logic. Martin averaged 13.1 points per game in her senior year and scored 10+ points in 30 games last season, 15+ points in 17 games.
In the second round of the 2024 WNBA Draft, Martin was chosen with the 18th overall choice by the Las Vegas Aces.
With a great senior campaign in 2023, Higgins led the Hawkeye defence. After winning ten games, Higgins and the Hawkeyes made it to the Big Ten Conference Final. Iowa’s defence led the nation for the second consecutive year in 2023 with 4.08 yards allowed per play, making it one of the best in the nation. The defence was fourth in scoring defence.
With 171 tackles in the regular season, the linebacker tied the Iowa record, led the Big Ten, and finished third nationally. The Indianapolis native was named a first-team All-American by Phil Steele, Sports Illustrated, and the FWAA. He was named to the second team by the Associated Press, Walter Camp, CBS, AFCA, and Sporting News. With three games with 15 or more tackles and ten games with 10 or more stops, he led the squad in tackles in 12 out of the 14 games played.
In addition, Higgins was unanimously chosen to receive the 2023 Duke Slater Golden Gavel Award, which is given each year to the Hawkeye football player who not only cooperates with local media the most but also conducts themselves with professionalism in all of their interactions.
The Outstanding Sportsmanship award was first given out by the Big Ten in 2003. The selected student-athletes were those who had distinguished themselves outside of the sports competition context via exemplary conduct, sportsmanship, and ethical behaviour. They were also in high standing academically.
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