DULUTH, Minn. – Behind her 48-point season, Ohio State’s Sophie Jaques has been named the 2023 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner. Becoming the first from Ohio State and ninth WCHA representative in the award’s 26 years, Jaques earns the title as the top player in NCAA Division I women’s hockey.  

Jaques becomes the first defender to be recognized as a Patty Kaz winner since 2004, and just the second all-time by joining Harvard’s Angela Ruggiero.

Through 40 games played, Sophie Jaques recorded 48 points behind 24 goals and 24 assists to be named a First Team All-American and 2023 WCHA Player of the Year. She ranked ninth overall in the NCAA with her 24 total goals and was also named WCHA Defender of the Year. Ohio State’s program record holder for career points by a defender, Jaques also holds the WCHA record for career points by a blueliner. She continues to lead the Ohio State squad with her nine power play goals on the year and currently ranks first nationally in the category.

Off the ice, Jaques is a graduate student earning her master’s in civil engineering, a four-time WCHA All-Academic Team member, and four-time WCHA Scholar-Athlete. A recipient of the 2022 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sport Scholar Award, Jaques was previously named as the WCHA’s Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year in 2022.
In the community, Jaques is a second-year vice president of SHEROs, an organization that provides a safe space for minority female student-athletes to have open discussions and promote diversity in sport. She also volunteers with the 2nd & 7 foundation.

It marks the sixth time in league history that the WCHA was home to a two-time Top-Three Finalist, while the league ultimately had four players as Top-10 finalists with Ohio State’s Jenn Gardiner, and Minnesota’s Taylor Heise and Grace Zumwinkle joining Jaques. After the league’s last honoree in 2017, the WCHA has had back-to-back honorees with Jaques following up on Heise’s 2022 award.

For more information on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, follow the league on Twitter and Instagram @WCHA_WHockey, and online at the new wcha.com.
 
Selection Process
The selection process commenced earlier this month when NCAA Division I women's ice hockey coaches were asked to nominate players for the award. Players who were nominated by multiple coaches were then placed on an official ballot, which was returned to the coaches to vote for the ten finalists. The three finalists, including the recipient of the 2022 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, is chosen by a 13-person selection committee made up of NCAA Division I women's ice hockey coaches, representatives of print and broadcast media, and an at-large member and representative of USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States.
 
About the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award
An award of The USA Hockey Foundation, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is annually presented to the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey. Selection criteria includes outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration is also given to academic achievement and civic involvement. 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the award. For a full list of previous honorees, click HERE. 
 
About Patty Kazmaier
The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman at Princeton University from 1981-86. An accomplished athlete who helped lead the Tigers to the Ivy League Championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-84), Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died Feb. 15, 1990, at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.