Senior outside hitter Sarah Franklin has been named the 2023 Big Ten Conference Player of the Year, the league office announced on Thursday, as four star players from the third-ranked Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team were awarded All-Big Ten honors. Franklin was also a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection.
Sophomore Carter Booth and junior Anna Smrek join Franklin on the All-Big Ten first team while senior Devyn Robinson earned second-team All-Big Ten honors.
No. 3 Wisconsin (27-3) was selected as the top regional seed and the No. 3 seed overall in the NCAA tournament, and will host first and second-round matches on Thursday and Friday in the UW Field House.
Franklin is the sixth Badger to be named the Big Ten Player of the Year and the first since Dana Rettke was honored in 2019. The 6-foot-4 outside hitter leads the team and ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 4.17 kills, racking up double-figure kills in 23-of-29 matches this season.
Booth, a sophomore 6-foot-7 middle blocker, leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth nationally with 1.55 blocks per set while also leading the conference and ranking fourth in the NCAA with a .440 hitting percentage. Booth earns her second straight first-team All-Big Ten honor after being recognized in 2022 at Minnesota.
Smrek, a 6-foot-9 right-side hitter, earns her first All-Big Ten honor and ranks second on the team with 2.62 kills per set, putting away double-figure kills in 10 matches.
Robinson ranks third on the team with 2.58 kills per set, tallying double-figure kills in 10 matches. The 6-foot-2 right-side hitter tied her career high with 21 kills vs. Arkansas in late August. Robinson earns her third-straight All-Big Ten honor after earning first-team awards in 2021 and 2022.
Senior setter MJ Hammill will represent Wisconsin with the Big Ten Sportsmanship award for sportsmanship and ethical behavior. Honorees must also be in good academic standing and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
Wisconsin faces off against Jackson State (17-12) tonight at 7:30 p.m. First-round winners advance to the second round of the tournament on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Field House. All matches stream live on ESPN+.
