First Black Player and Second Defenseman in History to Win
First Black Player and Second Defenseman in History to Win
Ohio State's Sophie Jaques was named the 2023 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner awarded annually to the best Division I women’s college hockey player. Jaques is the first Ohio State athlete and first Black player to win the award. She is also just the second defender to receive the honor, joining Harvard’s Angela Ruggiero, who won in 2004. Jaques is also the first "3 Year Aero" to win the award, and the fourth who has worn the Aeros jersey, preceded by Jennifer Botteril, Loren Gabel and Daryl Watts.
“I am extremely honored and humbled to receive the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award,”Jaques said during her acceptance speech at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota on Saturday. “I am grateful to be a recipient of an award named after the incredible athlete, scholar and human being, Patty Kazmaier. While this is an individual award, I have been supported by a whole team of people throughout this season and my career at Ohio State, and I owe this all to my coaches and teammates over the last five years. Receiving this award is something I never even could have imagined was possible.”
Jaques is the WCHA record holder in career goals by a defenseman (61) and also owns 95 career assists. The Toronto native is the 10th Canadian winner of the Patty Kazmaier award, joining Jennifer Botterill (2001, 2003), Sara Bauer (2006), Sarah Vaillancourt (2008), Vicki Bendus (2010), Jamie Lee Rattray (2014), Ann-Renee Desbiens (2017), Daryl Watts (2018), Loren Gabel (2019), and Elizabeth Giguere (2020).
Jaques was a top-three finalist for last year’s Patty Kazmaier award and went on to help Ohio State win its first ever NCAA championship in women’s hockey in 2022.
Last spring, Jaques graduated magna cum laude with her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and she is currently pursuing her master’s degree at Ohio State in the same field. The 22-year-old is also the vice president of SHEROs, an “organization that provides a safe space for minority female student-athletes to have open discussions and promote diversity in sport.”