Madisen Skinner named CWSA Honda Sport Award Winner

Madisen Skinner, a junior outside hitter from the University of Texas volleyball team, was named the Honda Sports Award winner for volleyball on Tuesday. The award is presented annually by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) group, which recognizes the best of the best in collegiate women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the 2024 Honda Cup,.

More than 1,000 NCAA member schools selected Skinner as the Honda Sports Award winner over other competitions Merritt Beason (Nebraska), Rachel Fairbanks (Pittsburgh) and Sarah Franklin (Wisconsin). This is the second straight Honda Sport Award winner from Texas volleyball after Logan Eggleston won the honor for the Class of 2023 and was named a Top Three.

In the national semifinals against Wisconsin, Skinner had 18 kills, an assist, six aces and nine digs. Then in the championship-match against Nebraska, Skinner had 16 more kills, two aces, five digs and a solo block. For the season, she had a Big 12-leading 547 kills — 203 more than she had in 2022 — averaging 4.8/set and added 46 aces. She also averaged 1.96 digs/set. She finished the season ranked fifth in the nation in points per set and sixth nationally in kills per set.

Skinner is a 6-foot-2 outside hitter who is a two time NCAA D1 National Champion. She grew up living with her parents and her five siblings in Katy, Texas. Her father, Brian Skinner, played basketball in the NBA for 14 seasons. After two seasons as a Kentucky Wildcat, Skinner decided to transfer to the University of Texas. She helped lead Texas to its first national championship since 2012 and credits the win to the work ethic and relationship with her team.

“It means the world to me to receive the Honda Sport Award and to also just be surrounded by some of the best and most inspirational athletes in the country,” Skinner said. “I am grateful for the people that have surrounded me and the connections that I have made throughout this journey. I also want to extend a special thank you to the University of Texas and all my coaches, teammates and support staff that have given me so many opportunities and have helped mold me into the person and player that I am today.”