Sophie Jaques Wins 2023 Patty Kazmaier Award as Top NCAA Women’s Hockey Player

The NCAA has announced that Ohio State University defenseman Sophie Jacques is the recipient of the 2023 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.

The prestigious award is given to the top Division I women’s hockey player.

Jaques is the first player from Ohio State to win the award, and only the second defender in the award’s history since it was first presented in 1998. She was also a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier last year after scoring 21 goals and 59 points.

Jaques leads all NCAA defensemen with 24 goals and 48 points in just 40 games. Jaques also won WCHA Defenseman of the Year and WCHA Player of the Year after helping the Buckeyes advance to the NCAA National Championship on Sunday.

The civil engineering student spent three seasons with the Toronto Eros of the PWHL, where she established herself as one of the best two-way defensemen in the league.

Jaques is the 26th different player to win the award, with Taylor Heise (2022) and Aerin Frankel (2021) being the latest winners. Other famous winners include Loren Gabel, Daryl Watts, Ann-Renee Desbiens, Brianna Decker, Jennifer Botterill (twice) and many other current and former Olympic champions. Many previous winners have gone on to outstanding careers on the PHF or Olympic national teams.

Jaques edged out Alina Mueller of Northeastern and Danielle Serdachy of Colgate to win the award.