Caitlin Clark Fast Facts
CNN Editorial Research
(CNN) — Here’s a look at the life of basketball player Caitlin Clark.
Personal
Birth date: January 22, 2002
Birth place: West Des Moines, Iowa
Birth name: Caitlin Elizabeth Clark
Father: Brent Clark, business executive
Mother: Anne Nizzi-Clark, marketing executive
Education: University of Iowa, B.B.A in marketing, 2024
Other Facts
Colleges started showing an interest in Clark while she was in middle school.
Clark also played varsity soccer for two seasons in high school.
McDonald’s All-American in 2020.
Clark is featured alongside two other top college players in the ESPN+ docuseries “Full Court Press.” The show follows Clark during her senior season at the University of Iowa. She is also credited as an executive producer of the show.
The WNBA’s overall attendance increased by 48% year-on-year to its highest level in over 20 years during Clark’s rookie season. The phenomenon has been coined “The Caitlin Clark effect.”
Timeline
November 12, 2019 – Clark announces she will be playing basketball at the University of Iowa.
October 2023 – Forms the Caitlin Clark Foundation.
February 15, 2024 – Becomes the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball, surpassing Kelsey Plum’s previous record of 3,527 career points. Clark ends the game against the Michigan Wolverines with 3,569 career points.
February 29, 2024 – Announces she has decided to declare for the 2024 WNBA Draft, forgoing a fifth year of college eligibility.
March 3, 2024 – Clark becomes the NCAA’s Division I all-time leading scorer in basketball – male or female – in a win over the Ohio State Buckeyes. She finishes the game with 3,685 points.
April 15, 2024 – Selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA draft.
April 2024 – It is reported that Clark is set to sign an eight-year deal worth up to $28 million with Nike.
May 3, 2024 – Makes her WNBA preseason debut, scoring 21 points against the Dallas Wings.
May 14, 2024 – Makes her WNBA regular season debut. The season opener between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun draws an average of 2.1 million viewers on ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+, making it the most watched WNBA game in more than two decades.
July 6, 2024 – Becomes the first rookie in league history to record a triple-double during a game against the New York Liberty. Clark finishes the game with 19 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds.
October 3, 2024 – Named the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year in a near-unanimous vote, receiving all but one of the 67 votes from a national media panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.
December 2024 – Named Time’s Athlete of the Year.
February 2, 2025 – The University of Iowa retires Clark’s No. 22 jersey.
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