Paige Bueckers, a redshirt senior from the University of Connecticut, has been named the Honda Sport Award winner for Basketball, as announced today by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA).
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 49 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports, signifying “the best of the best in collegiate athletics.” The recipient of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2025 Honda Cup, which will be presented during a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on June 30, at 7 pm ET, in New York City.
Bueckers was selected via a nationwide vote of administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. The other finalists for this year’s award were Madison Booker (Texas), Hannah Hildalgo (Notre Dame) and JuJu Watkins (USC).
A two-time Honda Award finalist, Bueckers, hailing from Hopkins, Minn., capped off a remarkable collegiate career by leading UConn to its 12th national championship title—and first since 2016. In her final season, she earned the 2025 Wade Trophy, was named a Wooden Award and Naismith finalist, and took home the Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation’s top point guard. A three-time Big East Player of the Year and Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Bueckers was a consistent presence on national award ballots, having previously won the Wade and Naismith Awards in 2021. She also earned 2025 WBCA First Team All-America honors and was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team.
One of the most decorated and efficient guards in the nation, Bueckers finished her career ranked third in UConn history with 2,439 career points and ninth in assists with 561. She became the fastest player in program history to reach 2,000 points, doing so in just 102 games. This season, she averaged 19.9 points and 4.6 assists per game while posting elite shooting splits of .534 from the field, .419 from three-point range, and .889 from the free throw line. Her 3.49 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked second nationally.
Off the court, Bueckers was just as impressive—named to the 2025 NACDA Good Works Team, recognized as the 2024 Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and honored as a CSC First Team Academic All-American.
“I’m very happy for Paige to earn the Honda Sports Award”, said head coach Geno Auriemma. " She worked really, really hard last season, both on the court and in the locker room, as a leader. Paige finished her UConn career as a national champion. Winning the Honda Award and being able to say she won every major national player of the year award in college, is like the cherry on top.”
The CWSA, now in its 49th year, continues to honor the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for their exceptional athletic achievements, leadership, academic excellence, and dedication to community service. Since the inception of its partnership in 1986, Honda has contributed over $3.4 million in institutional grants to support women’s athletics programs at the universities of award winners and nominees.
About Honda Corporate Social Responsibility and the Honda USA Foundation
For more than 65 years in the U.S., Honda has been committed to making positive contributions to the communities where its associates live and work. The company’s mission is to create products and services that help people fulfill their life’s potential, while conducting business in a sustainable manner and fostering an inclusive workplace. Advancing its corporate social responsibility, Honda and the Honda USA Foundation support this direction through giving focused on education, the environment, mobility, traffic safety, and community.
Learn more at http://csr.honda.com/.