Caitlin Clark (born January 22, 2002) is an American college basketball player for the Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten Conference. She attended Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, where she was named a McDonald's All-American in 2020 and was rated the fourth-best player in her class by ESPN.
In her first season with Iowa in 2020–21, Clark led the NCAA Division I in scoring, shared national freshman of the year honors and was an All-American. As a sophomore, she was a unanimous first-team All-American and became the first women's player to lead the Division I in points and assists in a single season. Clark won all major national player of the year awards in her junior season and led Iowa to its first national championship game. She led the Division I in assists and set Big Ten single-season records in points and assists. Clark is Iowa's all-time leading scorer and has won the Dawn Staley Award three times and the Nancy Lieberman Award two times as the top Division I player at her position. At the youth international level, she has won three gold medals with the United States, including two at the FIBA Under-19 Women's World Cup, where she was named Most Valuable Player in 2021.
Clark was born on January 22, 2002, in Des Moines, Iowa, and grew up in West Des Moines.[1][2] She started playing basketball at age five and competed in boys' recreational leagues, because her father could not find a girls' league for her age group.[1][3] Clark also played softball, volleyball, soccer, tennis and golf as a child before focusing on basketball.[2][4] At age 13, she began playing several years ahead of her age group in girls' leagues.[5] In sixth grade, Clark joined All Iowa Attack, an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball program based in Ames, Iowa, for whom she played until graduating from high school.[2][6] She was coached by Dickson Jensen with Attack, and her AAU teammates included future Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) player Ashley Joens.[7][8][9] Clark drew inspiration from Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx, the closest WNBA team to her hometown, and traveled with her father for 3 1⁄2 hours to see their games.[10] She admired All Iowa Attack alumnus Harrison Barnes and became a fan of the North Carolina Tar Heels after Barnes joined the program.[6]
Clark played four years of varsity basketball for Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines under head coach Kristin Meyer.[11] As a freshman, she averaged 15.3 points, 4.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game.[12] She earned Class 5A All-State third-team accolades from the Iowa Newspaper Association and All-Iowa honorable mention from The Des Moines Register.[n 1][14][15] Clark led her team to a 19–5 record and the Class 5A state tournament, where they lost to eventual champions Valley High School in the first round.[16] In her sophomore season, she averaged 27.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.3 steals per game, ranking second in the state in scoring.[1][17] Clark was named first-team Class 5A All-State by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association (IPSWA) and Central Iowa Metro League Player of the Year by The Des Moines Register.[18] She helped Dowling reach the Class 5A state quarterfinals and achieve a 20–4 record.[19] Following the season, she led All Iowa Attack to the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League championship, scoring 23 points in a 64–61 victory over the Cal Storm in the final.[20]
On February 4, 2019, during her junior season, Clark scored 60 points in a 90–78 win against Mason City High School. Her 60-point game was the second-highest single-game point total in Iowa five-on-five girls' basketball history, surpassed only by Abby Roe in 1996. She also set the state single-game record with 13 three-pointers.[21] On February 25, Clark set the Class 5A state tournament single-game scoring record with 42 points in a 75–70 triple-overtime win over Waukee High School in the quarterfinals.[22] She helped Dowling reach the semifinals of the tournament and finish with a 17–8 record.[23] As a junior, Clark led the state in scoring and averaged 32.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game.[24][25] She was named Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year and repeated as a Class 5A All-State first-team selection by the IPSWA.[25][26] As a senior, Clark averaged 33.4 points, eight rebounds, four assists and 2.7 steals per game,[27] leading the state in scoring for a second time. Her team finished with a 19–4 record and reached the Class 5A regional final, where they were upset by Sioux City East High School. Clark finished her career with the fourth-most points (2,547) and the sixth-most three-pointers (283) in Iowa five-on-five history.[28] She was awarded Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year,[27] Des Moines Register All-Iowa Athlete of the Year,[29] and Iowa Miss Basketball, while making the IPSWA Class 5A All-State first-team.[30] Clark was selected to compete in the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic, two prestigious high school all-star games,[31][32] but both games were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[33]
In her first two years at Dowling, Clark was a starter on the school's varsity soccer team but focused on basketball for her final two years.[29] In her freshman season, she scored 23 goals and was named to the Class 3A All-Iowa team by The Des Moines Register.[12][34]
Clark was recruited by NCAA Division I basketball programs before starting high school, receiving her first letter of interest from Missouri State before seventh grade.[6][35] By her sophomore season at Dowling Catholic, she was ranked the number one player in the 2020 high school class by ESPN.[36] At the end of her high school career, Clark was considered a five-star recruit and the fourth-best player in her class by ESPN.[37] On November 12, 2019, she announced her commitment to play college basketball for Iowa over offers from Iowa State and Notre Dame.[38] Clark was drawn to the team's up-tempo style of offense and head coach Lisa Bluder's development of point guards. She also expected to immediately have a key role on the team with the departure of Kathleen Doyle, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year.[39]
Clark entered her freshman season as Iowa's starting point guard.[40] On November 25, 2020, she made her collegiate debut, recording 27 points, eight rebounds and four assists in a 96–81 win over Northern Iowa.[41] In her second game, on December 2, Clark posted her first double-double with 30 points and 13 assists in a 103–97 victory over Drake.[42] On December 22, in a 92–65 victory over Western Illinois, she registered the first triple-double by an Iowa player since Samantha Logic did so in 2015. Despite shooting 3-of-15 from the field, Clark had 13 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists during the game.[43] On January 6, 2021, she recorded 37 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in a 92–79 win against Minnesota.[44] Clark posted a season-high 39 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in an 88–81 win over Nebraska on February 11,[45] breaking the single-game scoring record for Pinnacle Bank Arena, the home venue of Nebraska.[46] On February 28, she scored 18 points and had a season-high 14 assists in an 84–70 win over Wisconsin.[47] At the end of the regular season, Clark was a unanimous Big Ten Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten selection. She was a 13-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, setting a conference record, and led the Big Ten with five Player of the Week awards.[48]
Clark helped Iowa achieve a runner-up finish at the Big Ten tournament, where she was named to the all-tournament team and recorded 37 assists, the most in the event's history.[49] In the second round of the NCAA tournament, she posted 35 points, seven rebounds and six assists in an 86–72 win over Kentucky. She broke program single-game records for points and three-pointers (6) in the tournament.[50] Iowa reached the Sweet 16, where Clark scored 21 points in a 92–72 loss to first-seeded UConn.[51] She was named a first-team All-American by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), a second-team All-American by the Associated Press (AP) and made the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Coaches' All-America team.[52] Clark became the first freshman to win the Dawn Staley Award, which honors the best Division I guard.[53] She shared two major Division I freshman of the year awards with Paige Bueckers of UConn: the Tamika Catchings Award, presented by the USBWA,[54] and the WBCA Freshman of the Year award.[55] As a freshman, Clark averaged 26.6 points, 7.1 assists, and 5.9 rebounds per game. She led the NCAA Division I in scoring and ranked second in assists and three-pointers per game. Her totals in points, assists, field goals and three-pointers also led the Division I. She set program freshman records for points and assists and had the fourth-highest scoring average in Iowa history.[53]
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On November 9, 2021, Clark made her sophomore season debut, recording 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists in a 93–50 win over New Hampshire.[56] On January 2, 2022, she posted 44 points and eight assists in a 93–56 win over Evansville. Clark broke the Carver–Hawkeye Arena women's single-game scoring record and surpassed Kelsey Mitchell of Ohio State as the fastest Big Ten player to reach 1,000 career points.[57] On January 16, 2022, she recorded her fourth career triple-double, with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 93–83 victory over Nebraska.[58] In her next game, four days later, Clark posted 35 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in a 105–49 win over Minnesota. She became the first Division I men's or women's player to record consecutive triple-doubles with at least 30 points and the first women's player in Big Ten history with consecutive triple-doubles.[59] On January 25, Clark had 18 assists,[n 2] which set program and tied conference single-game records, in addition to 20 points and seven rebounds in a 107–79 win against Penn State.[64][65] On January 31, she recorded 43 points, seven assists and four rebounds in a 92–88 loss to Ohio State.[67] On February 6, Clark scored a career-high 46 points, including 25 in the fourth quarter, and had 10 assists in a 98–90 loss to Michigan.[68] She set the women's single-game scoring record for Crisler Center, the home arena of Michigan.[69] After leading Iowa to a share of the Big Ten regular season title, she was unanimously named Big Ten Player of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten by the league's coaches and media.[70][71]
On March 5, 2022, in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament, Clark recorded 41 points and nine rebounds in an 83–66 win over Nebraska.[72] She led Iowa to the title and was named the tournament's most outstanding player (MOP).[70] Her team was upset by 10th-seeded Creighton in the second round of the NCAA tournament, where Clark was held to a season-low 15 points and 11 assists, shooting 4-of-19 from the field, in a 64–62 loss.[73] She was a unanimous first-team All-American: she earned first-team All-American honors from the AP and the USBWA, and was a WBCA Coaches' All-America Team selection.[74] Clark became the first back-to-back recipient of the Dawn Staley Award and won the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top Division I point guard.[75] As a sophomore, she averaged 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists per game. Clark was the first women's player to lead the Division I in points and assists per game in a single season. She also led the Division I in total points, free throws and triple-doubles.[63]
Entering her junior season, Clark was a unanimous selection for the AP preseason All-America team and was named Big Ten preseason player of the year by the league's coaches and media.[76][77] On November 18, 2022, she suffered an ankle injury with 3.8 seconds left in an 84–83 loss to Kansas State, where she recorded 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.[78] Clark played in Iowa's next game against Belmont on November 20, scoring 33 points in a 73–62 victory.[79] On December 1, she scored a season-high 45 points in a 94–81 loss to NC State.[80] Three days later, Clark posted her seventh career triple-double, with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 102–71 win over Wisconsin. She surpassed Samantha Logic as the Big Ten career leader in triple-doubles.[81] On December 21, in her 75th game, Clark tied Elena Delle Donne of Delaware as the fastest Division I women's player to reach 2,000 career points since the 1999–2000 season, scoring 20 points in a 92–54 win over Dartmouth.[82] On January 23, 2023, Clark recorded 28 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in an 83–72 win over AP No. 2 Ohio State, who were previously unbeaten.[83] On February 2, she had 42 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in a 96–82 victory over Maryland.[84] On February 26, Clark recorded 34 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, making a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer, in an 86–85 win against AP No. 2 Indiana.[85] At the end of the regular season, she repeated as Big Ten Player of the Year in a unanimous vote and was named first-team All-Big Ten by the league's coaches and media.[86][87]
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Clark led Iowa to its second consecutive Big Ten tournament championship, where she earned MOP honors. In the title game, she recorded 30 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds in a 105–72 win over Ohio State, the first triple-double in the final of the tournament. Clark moved to second in Division I women's history behind Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon with her 10th career triple-double.[88] In the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, she recorded 41 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in a 97–83 win over Louisville. She became the first player in men's or women's tournament history to record a 30 or 40-point triple-double.[89] During the game, Clark became the first Division I player to record at least 900 points and 300 assists in a single season.[90] For her performance, Clark was named the Seattle 4 Regional MOP as Iowa reached its first Final Four since 1993. In the Final Four, she posted 41 points, eight assists, and six rebounds in a 77–73 upset win over undefeated defending champion South Carolina, ending their 42-game winning streak.[91][92] She broke the single-game scoring record for the women's tournament semifinals and became the first player in tournament history with consecutive 40-point games.[93] Clark also surpassed the program and Big Ten single-season scoring records held by Megan Gustafson.[94] With the win, Iowa advanced to their first women's basketball championship game in program history.[92] Though Clark had 30 points and eight assists against LSU in the national championship, Iowa lost the game, 102–85. She made eight three-pointers, the most by a men's or women's player in the title game.[95][96] Near the end of the game, LSU star Angel Reese followed Clark, making a "you can't see me" gesture implying that Clark could not keep up with her, and also pointing to her ring finger in reference to LSU's imminent championship ring.[97] Reese received considerable criticism for the gestures, which many in the media viewed as unsportsmanlike. However, many also defended Reese's gestures and trash talk, highlighting a double standard, as Clark had made the same gesture at a previous game and did not face similar criticism.[97][98] Clark herself defended Reese over criticism about the gesture.[97][99] In coverage of this incident, journalists and the public have commented on the roles of race and gender in perceptions of sportsmanship.[97][100] With 191 points in the tournament, Clark broke the men's and women's scoring records for a single NCAA tournament. Her 60 assists were the most by a player in women's tournament history.[95]
Clark won all major national player of the year awards: AP Player of the Year, the Honda Sports Award, the John R. Wooden Award, Naismith College Player of the Year, USBWA National Player of the Year and the Wade Trophy. She was the first unanimous national player of the year in Big Ten history.[101] Clark won the Nancy Lieberman Award for a second time and became the first three-time winner of the Dawn Staley Award.[102][103] She was a unanimous first-team All-American for a second straight season, earning first-team recognition from the AP and USBWA and making the WBCA Coaches' All-America Team.[104][105][106] As a junior, Clark averaged 27.8 points, 8.6 assists and 7.1 rebounds per game, leading the Division I in assists and ranking second in scoring. She set Big Ten single-season records in points, assists, three-pointers and free throws, and tied her own conference record with five triple-doubles.[101] She had the fourth-most points and assists and the third-most three-pointers in a season in Division I history.[107] Following the season, Clark won the Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award and the Honda Cup, both honoring the top women's college athlete,[108][109] and the James E. Sullivan Award, presented annually by the Amateur Athletic Union to the top college or Olympic athlete in the U.S.[110] She was selected as the Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year.[111]
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Entering her senior season, Clark was named preseason Big Ten Player of the Year and earned unanimous AP preseason All-American honors.[112][113] On October 15, 2023, she played in Crossover at Kinnick, a preseason exhibition game against DePaul at Kinnick Stadium, and had a triple-double of 34 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 94–72 win. The game had an attendance of 55,646, which set the women's basketball record.[114][115] In her second regular season game, on November 9, Clark posted 44 points, eight rebounds and six assists in an 80–76 win over AP No. 8 Virginia Tech.[116] In Iowa's third game, a 94–53 blowout of Northern Iowa on November 12, Clark recorded her 12th career triple-double, with 24 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. She became Iowa's all-time leading scorer, passing Gustafson, and became only the second player in Division I history with a triple-double in four different seasons, joining Ionescu.[117] One week later, Clark recorded 35 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and seven steals in a 113–90 win over Drake, passing Kelsey Plum of Washington for the most 30-point games in women's Division I history.[118] On December 6, she became the 15th Division I player to reach 3,000 career points and was the second-fastest to reach the mark, posting 35 points, nine rebounds and five assists in a 67–58 victory over Iowa State.[119] On December 16, Clark scored 38 points and made nine three-pointers in a 104–75 win over Cleveland State.[120] Three days later, she shared Sporting News Athlete of the Year honors with Angel Reese.[121] On the next day, in Iowa's final non-conference game, Clark recorded a triple-double of 35 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists in the Hawkeyes' 98–69 win over Loyola Chicago. This was her third career triple-double with at least 35 points, with only four other games of this type recorded in Division I women's history. It was also Clark's ninth career game in which she led both teams in points, rebounds, and assists, with only Nicole Powell of Stanford (2000–2004) having recorded more such games in D-I women's basketball in the 21st century (10).[122]
Clark represented the United States at the 2017 FIBA Under-16 Women's Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She came off the bench and averaged 8.8 points per game, helping her team achieve a 5–0 record and win the gold medal.[123] Clark played at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand. In seven games, she averaged 5.3 points per game and won another gold medal, as her team finished with a 7–0 record.[124] Clark competed at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary and led the United States to the gold medal. She averaged a team-high 14.3 points, 5.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game, was named Most Valuable Player and made the All-Tournament Team.[125]
Listed at 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m),[63] Clark plays point guard, and writers have noted her great size for her position.[126][127] She is praised for her versatility, particularly on offense, with The Washington Post columnist Jerry Brewer stating that no player in the men's or women's game "checks every offensive box" as distinctly as her.[126] Clark has the ability to score in the paint, in mid-range and from three-point range.[128] Her shooting range has been lauded by analysts; she often makes shots from well behind the three-point line and with a high degree of difficulty.[129] Her shooting has often drawn comparisons to National Basketball Association (NBA) player Stephen Curry,[130][131] and USA Today stated that she, like Curry, has "redefined what a good shot is in basketball."[132] Analysts have also praised Clark's passing ability, which The Athletic writer Sabreena Merchant described as being "equally audacious" as her shooting. She can pass ahead in transition and find her teammates through defensive traffic.[133] Her combination of scoring and passing skills helps her excel in the pick and roll.[134] Writers have likened Clark's talent and personality to Diana Taurasi.[135][136] Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder compared her to Sue Bird and Sabrina Ionescu.[130] Clark has modeled parts of her game after Maya Moore, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Pete Maravich.[5]
Clark has been touted as a generational talent by publications and coaches, including LSU head coach Kim Mulkey.[137][138][139] She is projected to be the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.[140][141][142]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| * | Led Division I |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | |
| 2020–21 | Iowa | 30 | 30 | 34.0 | .472 | .406 | .858 | 5.9 | 7.0 | 1.3 | .5 | 26.6* | |
| 2021–22 | Iowa | 32 | 32 | 35.9 | .452 | .332 | .881 | 8.0 | 8.0* | 1.5 | .6 | 27.0* | |
| 2022–23 | Iowa | 38 | 38 | 34.4 | .473 | .389 | .839 | 7.1 | 8.6* | 1.5 | .5 | 27.8 | |
| Career | 100 | 100 | 34.7 | .465 | .377 | .858 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 1.4 | .5 | 27.2 | ||
| Statistics gathered from Sports Reference.[143] | |||||||||||||
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Clark's father, Brent Clark, is a sales executive at Concentric International and played basketball and baseball at Simpson College.[5][130] Her mother, Anne Nizzi-Clark, who is of Italian descent, is a former marketing executive and the daughter of former Dowling Catholic High School football coach Bob Nizzi.[2] She has an older brother, Blake, who played college football for Iowa State, and a younger brother, Colin.[2] Her cousin, Audrey Faber, played college basketball for Creighton.[36] Two of Clark's uncles are former college athletes: Tom Faber played basketball for Drake and Utica, and Mike Nizzi played football for Nebraska–Omaha.[1] She is in a relationship with Connor McCaffery, who played basketball and baseball for Iowa and is the son of Hawkeyes men's basketball head coach Fran McCaffery.[4][144]
Clark majors in marketing at the University of Iowa.[145] In her sophomore year, she was named a first-team Division I Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America, since renamed College Sports Communicators (CSC).[146] As a junior, Clark was honored by the CSC as the 2023 Division I Women's Basketball Academic All-American of the Year before winning the same award for all Division I sports.[145][147]
Clark is an avid golfer, having played the sport since her childhood. In July 2023, she played in the John Deere Classic Pro-Am at TPC Deere Run alongside professional golfers Zach Johnson and Ludvig Åberg.[4][148]
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Clark is represented by agents Alan Zucker, Colleen Garrity and Erin Kane of Excel Sports Management.[149] She has been described by analysts as one of the most marketable college basketball players and college athletes.[150][151] On August 18, 2021, she signed her first name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with The Vinyl Studio, a company based in West Des Moines, Iowa.[152] Clark signed with Nike on October 10, 2022; she has often worn shoes from the company's Kobe Bryant signature shoe line.[153][154] On October 10, 2023, she became a spokesperson for State Farm and was the first college athlete to sign with the company.[155] That December, Clark added Gatorade to her list of endorsements, joining Paige Bueckers as the only women's basketball players to sign with the company.[156] She has also signed NIL deals with Bose, Buick, Goldman Sachs, Hy-Vee, H&R Block and Topps, among other companies.[157]
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On June 18, 2022, Clark threw out the first pitch for the Iowa Cubs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, of whom she has been a lifelong fan. She threw the first pitch for the Chicago Cubs on August 23. In the following year, the Iowa Cubs honored Clark with her own bobblehead night and the first pitch.[150] She has also been a lifelong fan of the Kansas City Chiefs and appeared on the ManningCast for a Monday Night Football game featuring the Chiefs on November 20, 2023, becoming the first college athlete to appear on the broadcast.[158]
In August 2023, the Iowa State Fair unveiled a life-size butter sculpture of Clark. She was one of three Iowa college athletes, alongside former football players Kurt Warner (Northern Iowa) and Jack Trice (Iowa State), whose sculptures were displayed.[159]
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