The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women’s Swimming and Diving’s Cox named finalist for 2025 Honda Sport Award
04.01.2025 | Women's Swimming and Diving
The freshman and two-time NCAA Champion is one of four finalists for the national award.
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Women's Swimming and Diving freshman Jillian Cox has been selected as one of four finalists for the 2025 Honda Sport Award for Swimming and Diving, The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) announced Tuesday.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 49 years, recognizing the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports and symbolizing "the best of the best in collegiate athletics."
The swimming and diving finalists were chosen by a panel of experts and coaches from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). The Honda Sport award winner for swimming and diving will be announced later this week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.
Cox, hailing from Cedar Park, Texas, had a standout freshman season, capturing the NCAA Championship in the 500 free and the 1,650 free to sweep the distance events and earn two First-Team All-America selections by the CSCAA. She won her first NCAA crown after a dominating victory in the 500 free, throwing down a final time of 4:31.58. It was a thrilling race as Indiana's Anna Peplowski opened with a strong lead, but Cox continued to inch her way into first as she overtook the lead at the 350-yard mark and then separated herself from the rest of the field. Cox overtook the competition and held over a full-body lead heading into the final 100 yards. With the win, Cox also clinched Texas' first title at this year's national meet. She dismantled competition in the 1,650 free after touching the wall in 15:33.54 – 5.67 seconds ahead of Stanford's Aurora Roghair – to win her second and final NCAA title of the national meet. Cox also claimed SEC Championships in the 500 free and 1,650 free, setting a new pool and SEC meet record in the latter.
The recipient of the sport award will become a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the 2025 Honda Cup, which will be presented during the live broadcast of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Presented by Honda at 6 p.m. CT June 30 on CBS Sports Network.
Players Mentioned
