Nominee list announced for 89th Annual Sports Star of the Year Awards
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – As the calendar year of 2024 is in its early stages, that means that we’re nearing the annual Seattle Sports Star of the Year Awards, and as always there’s a legendary crop of nominees for the main three categories of men’s and women’s sports stars of the year, and the sports story of the year. With how remarkable the Seattle sports scene is as a whole; it makes these awards more difficult to vote upon considering all the unique stories that unfold each season and year, narrowing them down to just one in these respective categories. As always, it’s up to the fans of our Seattle sports teams to vote upon these categories starting today, and you could even enter to win a pair of tickets to the award show itself!
The sights and scenes from the 88th annual Seattle Sports Star of the Year Awards show (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Nominees: Sports Star of the Year, Women’s Sports
Vanessa Aniteye, Seattle Pacific University Track & Field | National Champion: The 2023 National Champion in the indoor 800 meters set a school-record of 2 minutes, 6.84 seconds. Aniteye was a 9x Coaches Association All-American, Great Northwest Indoor Female Athlete of the Year, West Region Indoor Female Track Athlete of the Year, and one of thirty nominees across the NCAA for the national Woman of the Year Award, following a three-year hiatus during which time she gave birth to her son, Josiah.
Lauren Barnes, Seattle Reign FC | An "OG" leading the National Women's Soccer League: Lu legend continues to push forward on the pitch, as a leader, and for the planet, with no signs of stopping. As captain of Seattle’s professional women’s soccer club, Barnes led the club to its third NWSL Championship appearance while extending her own record for the most minutes played in NWSL history, becoming the first to pass 18,000 with over 2,000 more minutes than the second-most player. One of the clubs three players who’ve played their entire career with the Reign, known as the “OG’s,” Barnes also became the first NWSL player to log 200 regular season appearances all-time.
Seattle Reign FC defender and captain Lu Barnes throughout the 2023 season. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm | 5x WNBA All-Star: The Gold Mamba had a season worthy of gold, and while she didn’t take home the WNBA’s MVP award, her talent was on full display all year long. Loyd broke the WNBA records for single-season points, free throws, and 25+ point games, and was named WNBA All-Star MVP with an All-Star Game-record 31 points scored. The last member of franchises “big 3” (Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd) brought career numbers to a Storm team that was young and growing before she signed a two-year contract extension just a day before the team's final game of the year. While the team’s record wasn’t the best, Jewell Loyd had one of the best individual seasons in franchise history.
Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd throughout the teams 2023 season. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Charlisse Leger-Walker, Washington State University Basketball | Pac-12 Tournament MVP: A 3x Sports Star nominee for her excellence on the court every season, the Pac-12 Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player was All-Pac-12 First Team, and ranked in points per game (3rd), 3-pointers made (5th), and assists per game (2nd). Leger-Walker is only the third Coug in program history to score 40+ points and ninth Coug to score 500+ in a season.
Angela Zhang, Washington Junior Golf Association | Course Record: At 14-years old, Zhang is turning heads in the golf world. In the 2023 season, she sank a 25-foot putt to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open, won her second-straight WA Women’s Amateur title, seven WJGA titles, and earned the most points in WJGA history. At her home course in Dupont, she set the women’s course record with a 7-under par 65 to win the WA State Champion of Champions event by 11 strokes.
Nominees: Sports Star of Year, Men’s Sports
Matty Beniers, Seattle Kraken | NHL Rookie of the Year: The first overall draft pick in Seattle Kraken franchise history and the decisive winner of the 2023 NHL Rookie of the Year, Beniers became only the second rookie from an expansion franchise to do so within the first two seasons. Matty B led all rookies in multipoint games and shooting percentage in his Calder trophy winning campaign, was second in assists, and was the fourth player in NHL history to play at least 80 games in a season and receive two or fewer penalty minutes. Beniers’ bright season helped the Kraken to their first ever Stanley Cup playoffs berth.
Seattle Kraken forward Matty Beniers throughout the 2022-23 season, in which he won the Calder trophy for the NHL’s most outstanding rookie. (Photos by Liv Lyons)
J.P. Crawford, Seattle Mariners | Career Highs in 2023: The team's shortstop defacto leader, Crawford anchored the Mariners infield in 2023, posting the best season (5.0 bWAR) by a Mariner at his position since Alex Rodriguez in 2000. J.P. came through in the clutch for Seattle so much that he was one of the best in baseball in those tight moments, leading MLB with a staggering .688 batting average with the bases loaded. He posted career-highs in nearly every offensive category, including a .380 on-base percentage (4th in the American League), while tying the club record with six leadoff home runs. While Crawford’s impressive season couldn’t help the Mariners to a second consecutive playoff berth, his strong season was a primary bright spot for Seattle.
Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford throughout the course of the teams 2023 season. (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Stefan Frei, Seattle Sounders FC | Captain Posts Career Bests: Frei is becoming somewhat of an ageless wonder, as the Sounders goalkeeper tracked some of his best career stats as the new captain of the club, taking the captains armband as a late season move. He led the MLS with a 0.88 goals against average and 14 shutouts, setting a new single-season club record as the Seattle defense had another season of stout performance. Named as the Sounders Team MVP and Humanitarian of the Year, Frei became the first Sounder in the MLS era to make 350 appearances.
Rome Odunze, University of Washington Football | Star Wide Receiver: The AP/All-Pac-12 First-Team selection is one of the best, if not the best, wide receivers in Pac-12 history and certainly in this year's NFL draft class. Odunze helped the Huskies to a 14-1 season while breaking school records with nine 100-yard receiving games, broke UW’s single-season receiving yards, and became just the second Husky to reach 1,000 yards in multiple seasons. He did so while playing half of the season with a punctured lung and other injuries, as the Washington passing attack helped the team get all the way to the College Football Playoff National Championship game.
Michael Penix Jr., University of Washington Football | Heisman Trophy runner-up: The Walter Camp First-Team and AP/All Pac-12 Second Team selection won the Maxwell Award as the nation's outstanding player and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting, the highest ever for a Husky player. Penix led the Huskies to a 14-1 season, falling only to Michigan in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. With an incredible season that fell just short, Penix became the first quarterback in program history to record 4,000 passing yards in back-to-back seasons.
Nominees: Sports Story of the Year
Seattle Kraken score a first in playoff history: After clinching a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Kraken became the first team in NHL history to win their first playoff season series by beating the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche. Following an up and down inaugural season, the Kraken continued to draw in new fans, and delighted day one followers, with a seven-game first-round win and thrilling second round that saw them push the Dallas Stars to the final minutes of another game seven. The depth displayed by the Kraken was evident all season long, and nearly pushed them to the Western Conference finals.
The sights and scenes from rounds one and two of the Seattle Kraken’s Stanley Cup playoff run in the 2022-23 season. (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Seattle Thunderbirds win WHL Championship: In front of a sold-out crowd at the accesso ShoWare Center, the Thunderbirds overtook the Winnipeg Ice (Now the Wenatchee Wild) to win their second Ed Chynoweth Cup in franchise history. Goaltender Thomas Milic was named WHL Playoffs MVP and WHL Goaltender of the Year as he was electric in net for the team throughout the regular season, but especially the postseason. Consistently noted as one of the best teams in program history, six players won gold medals at the U20 World Junior Championship and 10 players from the 2022-2023 team were drafted to the NHL. General manager Bill LaForge crafted a loaded roster, and the end goal of a championship was realized.
The sights and scenes as the Seattle Thunderbirds won the Ed Chynoweth Cup to cap off their 2022-23 season. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
UW Football has undefeated regular season and trip to the National Championship: After an undefeated regular season with a high-powered offense and a defense that was able to make the right plays at the right times, the Pac-12 Champions made it all the way to the College Football Playoff National Championship. The first team in program history to play in the Sugar Bowl, the Huskies played as a collective unit, making for thrilling games and upset victories.
UW Men’s Track & Field set records and take first Pac-12 title: The Huskies had one of their best seasons in program history, including a major upset as they broke Oregon’s 15-year winning streak to bring home UW Track’s first-ever Pac-12 Championship. They made national history with eight athletes running sub-four-minute miles in the same race (twice!) and became just the second team ever to win every Pac-12 Championship distance race.
WSU Women’s Basketball win school's first Pac-12 Championship: The 2022-2023 team won the Pac-12 Championship and broke a 44-year-long program-record by winning 23 games. The lowest seed ever to win the Pac-12 tournament, the Cougs defeated six nationally-ranked teams and became the first women’s sports team in school history to win a conference title in the NCAA era.
How do I vote?
Seattle sports fans are encouraged to vote for a nominee in each of the three categories at https://www.seattlesports.org from January 15 until 11:59pm PT January 22. Fans will be able to vote once for their favorite athletes, teams, and stories of the year and can enter to win a pair of tickets to the Awards Show!
Nominees are selected by the Sports Star Nominations Committee and then voted on by the public. Once an individual has been named a Sports Star, that person becomes a member of an elite group that forever etches their name in Washington’s sports history. The winners will be announced during the 89th Annual Sports Star of the Year Awards Show presented by Microsoft, which will be held at The Westin Seattle on February 15, and broadcast on 89SSY Broadcast Sponsor station, KING 5 in March.
