Angela Zhang of Bellevue, Wash. has been announced as a nominee for the 89th Annual Sports Star of the Year by the Seattle Sports Commission (SSC).
Click here to watch the announcement of Zhang’s nomination.
Click here to vote for Zhang.
Click here to watch the promo about voting.
In the 2023 season, Zhang sank a 25-foot putt in a playoff to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open, becoming the youngest player, at age 14, in that national championship held at Pebble Beach. She had won the Washington Women’s Amateur in 2022, being the youngest player, at age 13, to win that state championship, and then repeated the feat in 2023 for her second consecutive title. At The Home course in DuPont, she set the women’s course record with a 7-under par 65 to win the Washington Champion of Champions by 11 strokes. Also in 2023 she won seven WJGA titles, including the state title. So dominant was she in 2023 that Washington Golf named her the Player of the Year in both the Women’s and Junior Girls’ categories.
Nominees for the three Awards categories – Men, Women, and Sports Story of the Year – are athletes from across the state who excelled in the 2023 season and include professional and collegiate athletes with history-making achievements. 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 SSC encourages all sports fans to vote for a nominee in each category at 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.
The winners will be announced live onstage 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.
Created in 1936 by legendary sports editor, Royal Brougham, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Sports Star of the Year Awards Show is one of the longest-running sports awards in the country. The event has hosted and honored the region’s most iconic sports figures and is beloved by those in the industry.
Other nominees in the Women’s Sports category include Vanessa Aniteye, track & field national champion for Seattle Pacific University; Lauren Barnes, captain of the Seattle Reign FC, in leading the National Women’s Soccer League; Jewell Loyd, five-time WNBA All-Star for the Seattle Storm; and Charlisse Leger-Walker, Pac-12 Tournament MVP for Washington State University Basketball.
Nominees in the Men’s Sports category are Matty Beniers, Seattle Kraken, NHL Rookie of the Year; J.P. Crawford, shortstop for the Seattle Mariners; Stefan Frei, goalkeeper for the Seattle Sounders FC; Rome Odunze, wide receiver for the University of Washington Huskies; and Michael Penix Jr., quarterback for the University of Washington Huskies.
Nominees in the Sports Story of the Year category are Seattle Kraken for being the first team in NHL history to win their first playoff season series; the Seattle Thunderbirds for winning the WHL Championship; University of Washington football for having an undefeated regular season and trip to the National Championship; UW men’s track & field for setting records and taking its first Pac-12 title; and the Washington State University women’s basketball for winning the school’s first Pac-12 Championship.
The Seattle Sports Commission is committed to making Seattle a world-class sports community by creating opportunities that bring the world to the Pacific Northwest. Go to seattlesports.org to learn more about the SSC.