Iowa's Caitlin Clark and Kris Murray and ISU's Ashley Joens earn AP All-America honors

From potential player of the year awards to all-American teams of various kinds, this month is expected to be full of Caitlin Clark love.

More recognition arrived Wednesday, as the Iowa women's basketball superstar was named an Associated Press first-team all-American for the second straight season. The honor arrived two days before Clark and the No. 2 seed Hawkeyes begin their NCAA Tournament journey against No. 15 seed Southeastern Louisiana.

Clark wasn’t the only Iowan to rack up AP recognition. One day after Cedar Rapids native and Hawkeye men's standout Kris Murray was named a third-team all-American, Iowa State standout and Iowa City native Ashley Joens received the same honor. Iowa center Monika Czinan was also named an honorable mention.

The Clark stats are staggering and made for a no-brainer first-team selection.

She is the only player in the nation this season with more than 840 points, 230 rebounds, 250 assists and 45 steals. Clark is also the only player — men or women — to record 25 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds in a game over the last 20 seasons. And she’s done it twice.

Moreover, Clark ranked top-10 nationally in 12 categories: triple doubles, assists per game, free throws attempted, free throws made, points, points per game, 3-point attempts, assists, field-goal attempts, 3-pointers per game, total field goals and 3-pointers made.

In her most recent game, Clark became the first player ever to record a triple-double in the Big Ten Tournament title game. It was her 10^th triple-double, the most in Big Ten history.

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com.