Who Is Caitlin Clark?

Who Is Caitlin Clark?
 
 
On March 3, 2024, Caitlin Clark stood at the free-throw line and on the brink of history.
With a well-practiced flick of her wrist, she sent the basketball in a graceful arc toward the hoop. It rippled through the net. Good!

Then she did it again. This time, the shot was so perfect, the net barely moved. Swish!
In that moment, Caitlin became the highest scorer in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I history, across both women and men. She broke “Pistol Pete” Maravich’s record of 3,667 points, set in 1970—a record that many thought would never be broken, much less by a woman. There were 14,998 fans in the sold-out crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Millions more watched on TV.
 
Caitlin wasn’t nervous taking the shot, even though the spotlight had been on her for months in anticipation of this moment. In fact, she wasn’t even thinking about the record. Caitlin’s free throw was as routine as it gets. She had made the same shot thousands of times, practicing in her driveway as a kid, playing in high school, and playing for the University of Iowa.
 
But this game was anything but routine. The attention Caitlin got in the run-up to the record was extraordinary. Even people who did not follow basketball were buzzing about Caitlin. Her trademark “logo threes”—three-pointers made from near mid--court where the school logo was printed—-had made her a household name, like male basketball icons LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
 
From that moment on, Caitlin had cemented herself in history. She’d only continue to grow more popular, and she’d continue to break records as she debuted in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a professional player.
 
Now, Caitlin is one of the most beloved athletes in the world—but twenty years ago she had just been a little girl who wanted to play basketball with her brothers.

Chapter 1
Little Caitlin
 
 
Caitlin Clark was born on January 22, 2002, in West Des Moines, Iowa, to Brent Clark and
Anne Nizzi--Clark. Caitlin grew up as the middle child of two brothers, Blake and Colin, in a competitive family that loved playing and watching sports.
 
Brent had played basketball and baseball at Iowa’s Simpson College. Blake, Caitlin’s older brother, was the quarterback for Iowa State’s football team. Caitlin is especially close to her older cousin Audrey Faber, who played basketball for Creighton University and later became a girls’ basketball coach at Dowling Catholic High School, where Caitlin would eventually go to school.
 
Caitlin’s childhood was full of activities, mostly sports. She played basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, softball, and golf. She didn’t like things like video games—if she wasn’t playing a sport, she’d rather hit a tennis ball against the wall or throw a football around.
She had a competitive spirit even outside of sports. If there was a school math contest in first grade, Caitlin wanted to win. When her older brother Blake first rode his bike without training wheels, four-year-old Caitlin was determined to do it, too.
 
Caitlin and her brothers were constantly competing against one another. Once, playing basketball in the basement, she missed a shot and, in frustration, shoved Colin into a wall. He hit his head and needed stitches. Caitlin was apologetic, but Colin wasn’t mad at her—-he understood his sister wasn’t being a bully or trying to hurt him. She was just competitive like him.
 
When Caitlin was around five, her parents put her in a nearby boys’ basketball league where her dad was the coach. Right away, people noticed her, and not just because she was the only girl. She was also the best player on the team! Caitlin played in the league from kindergarten to third grade. She would make long shots that no one else could. Teammates knew that if they got the ball to Caitlin, she would probably score. The boys on opposing teams knew she was the one to stop.
 
By second grade, Caitlin was the league’s most valuable player (MVP). Her parents put up a hoop above the garage and eventually had to dig up grass to extend the driveway because Caitlin wanted to shoot from farther and farther back.
 
Basketball wasn’t Caitlin’s only sport. She liked soccer, too. When she was eleven and in a youth league tournament final, she asked her coach if she could shoot from the field’s center circle on a kickoff following a goal. The coach said yes. Caitlin hatched the plan with teammates, one of whom had to touch the ball first. Then, Caitlin took a running start and swung her foot. The kick sailed toward the net, catching the goalkeeper by surprise and scoring a goal! The coach said later this showed how, even at a young age, Caitlin was different—she could do things most kids could not, and saw opportunities that others might not.
 
Still, basketball remained Caitlin’s favorite. She liked watching college and professional games. The closest WNBA team to the Clarks was the Minnesota Lynx in Minneapolis, a four--hour drive away. Caitlin loved watching the Lynx play. They won four WNBA championships while she was growing up. Caitlin especially liked all-star Maya Moore, the forward who had played for Caitlin’s favorite college team—-the University of Connecticut—-before turning pro. Once, Caitlin and her dad drove to Minneapolis for a game when Caitlin was twelve. After the game, as fans and players mixed on court, Caitlin ran up to Maya. When Caitlin got to her, she realized she didn’t have a phone to take a photo. So Caitlin just gave her a big hug. Maya hugged her back. The moment lasted only about ten seconds but stayed with Caitlin forever.
 
As Caitlin continued playing basketball, she kept getting better and better. When she was in sixth grade, she started to play on an all-girls team in the All Iowa Attack program, a well-known league. After just one year, she was good enough to compete with fourteen-year-olds while she herself was only twelve. By the time she was fourteen, she was playing against girls who were seventeen.
 
When Caitlin was in seventh and eighth grade, college coaches around the country were noticing her. They began sending Caitlin recruiting letters, asking her to play for their teams—even though she hadn’t even started high school yet. Caitlin’s parents tried to shield her from all the attention because they didn’t want her to feel pressured at such a young age. They would send Blake ahead to open the mail so Caitlin wouldn’t see all of it.
But the attention would only grow: Caitlin Clark, basketball superstar, was about to enter high school.

Chapter 2
High School Ball
 
 
Caitlin’s college decision had to wait. High school basketball had begun, and her hoops game continued to grow.
 
During her first year at Dowling Catholic, a private school, Caitlin averaged 15.3 points, 4.7 assists, and 2.3 steals per game and was named to the Class 5A all-state third team, which meant Caitlin was among the state’s top fifteen players. This was rare for a freshman—most players to receive this honor were seniors.
 
The summer after her freshman year, something even bigger happened—-the national team called fifteen-year-old Caitlin! USA Basketball invited her to Colorado to try out for the under--sixteen national team that would play a tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Competition was fierce for the twelve spots on the team. Caitlin wanted to be as ready as she could. Before tryouts, she and her high school coach practiced shooting from the international three--point line, which was farther out. Caitlin took it very seriously and practiced while wearing a special mask that made her feel like she was at Colorado’s high altitude, where breathing is more difficult for athletes.
 
When she made the team, Caitlin was thrilled.
 
But a year later, she did not make the under-seventeen team. Caitlin used it to motivate herself and was soon named the Gatorade National Player of the Year after her junior year season. Caitlin eventually won World Cup gold medals with the under-nineteen team in 2019 and 2021. She was even named MVP of the tournament.
 
In high school, Caitlin kept dazzling coaches. She continued to play soccer during her freshman and sophomore years. Her soccer coaches said that she could have played at the national level in that sport if she had wanted to. A tall striker with a powerful shot, Caitlin scored a remarkable twenty-six goals in just six games and was the only freshman named first-team all-state. Like in basketball, her height—-almost six feet tall—combined with her strength made her an uncommon talent. Caitlin found that soccer made her basketball game even better. It trained her to create room for herself in crowded spaces so she could get passes from teammates. It also helped her develop her skill at making amazing passes on the basketball court. Caitlin didn’t practice passing against a wall to get better like a lot of other players do. She practiced by playing both basketball and soccer, which helped her understand angles.
 
After sophomore year, Caitlin quit soccer to put all her effort into basketball. In one game her junior year, she scored a remarkable sixty points, one point short of the state record. She hit a state--record thirteen out of seventeen attempted three-pointers. As a joke, opposing schools’ students chanted “Overrated!” at her during games. Caitlin would just laugh. After the game, they’d ask for her autograph.
 
It wasn’t always easy being so good. Caitlin had a fire that sometimes worked against her. She’d get frustrated by her teammates who couldn’t always handle her passes. Even though she piled up big scoring and rebounding numbers, it didn’t always mean her team would win. Dowling Catholic did not win a state title in the four years Caitlin played, but that didn’t stop college coaches from wanting Caitlin on their team. Caitlin was rated the number four prospect in the nation in girls’ basketball. She dreamed of playing for the University of Connecticut, like Maya Moore. Coaches from other big teams would come watch Caitlin play. But Connecticut’s head coach, Geno Auriemma, did not show interest, so Caitlin had to set her sights elsewhere.
 
After all those years, letters, and visits by coaches, Caitlin narrowed her choices to the University of Notre Dame, the University of Iowa, and Iowa State University. Finally, she decided on Notre Dame. She called the head coach, Muffet McGraw, and told her she’d come. But the more Caitlin thought, the more she believed she had made the wrong decision. What she really wanted was to play for the University of Iowa. Caitlin’s mom loved Notre Dame, and Caitlin was worried about disappointing her by not choosing that school. But this had to be what Caitlin wanted, not what she thought her mom wanted . . . so it had to be the University of Iowa.
 
That meant that Caitlin had to call Muffet McGraw and tell her she had changed her mind. Caitlin dreaded making the call. She eventually gained the courage to do it. Muffet understood, and Caitlin was relieved. Then Caitlin called Iowa’s head coach, Lisa Bluder, who was overjoyed to have Caitlin on the team.
 
The University of Iowa is located in Iowa City, just a two-hour drive from Caitlin’s home. She was happy to be close to her family.
 
Caitlin’s other reason for choosing Iowa was a far bolder one. She wanted to bring the team to the best of women’s collegiate basketball: the semifinals of the national tournament, famously known as the NCAA Final Four. Iowa had done it only once before. That was in 1993—nine years before Caitlin was born. Caitlin was determined to lead Iowa to new heights.