William Cowden (September 6, 1920 – October 17, 2007) was an American basketball player. A 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) guard from Lowell High School in San Francisco, California, Cowden played collegiately for Stanford University with his Lowell teammate, Don Burness. In 1942, Cowden was team captain and led Stanford to the 1942 NCAA Championship, in which he played all 40 minutes and scored 5 points. He earned first-team All-PCC honors.