ATLANTA – UCLA junior Jaylen Clark has been selected as one of four finalists for this season's Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award, as announced on Tuesday by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
 
Clark, a 6-foot-5 guard from Riverside, Calif., joins Chase Audige of Northwestern, Caleb McConnell of Rutgers and Ryan Kalkbrenner of Creighton as the award's four finalists.
 
Clark, who sustained a lower right leg injury in the Bruins' home finale against Arizona on March 4, has been a vital part of UCLA's Pac-12 regular-season title team this season. He has averaged 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in 30 games (29 starts) for the Bruins. Clark leads the Pac-12 in total steals (78) and steals per game (2.6), as the Bruins boast the conference's No. 1-ranked scoring defense (surrendering just 60.3 points per game).
 
Clark's single-season steals total of 78 is tied for third with Darren Collison's total (78) from the 2006-07 season. Clark is 17 steals shy of tying the Bruins' single-season record (95 steals), set by Jordan Adams during his sophomore season in 2013-14.
 
Clark was named the Pac-12 Conference's Defensive Player of the Year last week. He earned Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honors for the second straight season.
 
The Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award is annually presented to the nation's most outstanding defensive basketball player who achieves tremendous on-court success. The award has been presented since 2018. Last season, Auburn's Walker Kessler was honored with the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award.
 
Seeded No. 2 in the NCAA Tournament's West Region, UCLA (29-5) will return to action against No. 15-seed UNC Asheville (27-7) on Thursday, March 16. Game time in Sacramento at the Golden 1 Center is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. (PT). UCLA's game will be televised by truTV, while the Bruins' radio broadcast will be available on AM 570.