The Rotary Club of Salem has announced Emory University women's basketball graduate student Claire Brock as a finalist for the 2024 Jostens Trophy.
The Jostens Trophy honors – one for men's basketball and one for women's basketball – are national awards created by the Rotary Club of Salem and sponsored by Jostens, Inc., to recognize the most outstanding men's and women's Division III basketball players of the year. The awards focus on three major criteria: basketball ability, academic prowess and service to one's surrounding communities. The Jostens Trophy models the Rotary International motto of "Service Above Self" by recognizing those who truly fit the ideal of a well-rounded Division III student-athlete. The 2024 season marks the 26th time the Jostens Trophy honors will be awarded.
Brock is one of 10 women finalists as she joins Trinity's Reilly Campbell, Brianna Fitzgerald of SUNY New Paltz, Aleah Grundahl of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Illinois Wesleyan's Lauren Huber, Lesley's Alexandra Kerley, Parris Parmer of Hardin-Simmons, Cassidy Perry of Gallaudet, Kasey Schipfer of Ohio Wesleyan and Occidental's Toni Thompson.
For the full Jostens Trophy finalists release, click here.
Brock was recently named to the All-University Athletic Association first team after becoming one of the leading scorers for the Emory squad. She averaged 17.1 points per game good for first in the conference and finished top 10 in the conference in field goal percentage (47.3, 7th) and three pointers per game (2.4, 1st).
Brock's highest scoring game against a conference opponent came against Carnegie Mellon (Jan. 21) where she scored 26 points and shot 46.2 percent from beyond the arc. She also posted two double-doubles this season against Chicago (Feb. 11) scoring 17 points with a career-high 16 rebounds and Rochester (Feb. 23) where she posted 22 points and 10 rebounds. Outside of conference play, Brock posted a career-high 39 points against the then ranked No. 23 Washington and Lee (Nov. 25) ranking her second on the all-time program list. This season, Brock added three UAA Athlete of the Week awards to her collection while picking up two D3Hoops.com National Team of the Week honors.
Away from the court, Brock received her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. This year, she has been working towards a Master's of Arts in Bioethics and maintains a 4.0 GPA while being a four time honoree on the UAA All-Academic Team. She became the first Academic All-American in Emory women's basketball history and is a two-time Academic All-American in her career, earning First Team honors in 2023 and Second Team acclaim in 2022.
"Claire's impact on Emory University and on our women's basketball program truly cannot be overstated," said head coach Misha Jackson. "Claire not only competitively excels on the basketball court and in the classroom, but she also contributes to and positively impacts both our program and our institution."
The finalists will now be evaluated by the Jostens' 27-person trophy committee which features current and former athletic administrators and head coaches, past Jostens Trophy recipients and select members of the Division III media. The committee will spend the next two weeks reviewing the nominees with the aim of announcing the two winners on Monday, March 18. This year, there will be a fan element to the voting as well, please use this link to vote https://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2024/03/jostens-finalists-announced.