By Jordan Morey | FeverBasketball.com
Entering the franchise’s 25th season, the Indiana Fever chose Iowa senior Caitlin Clark with the first pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. Clark is Indiana’s second straight No. 1 overall pick, and it is also the second top pick ever for the Fever, as the organization took Aliyah Boston with the top spot in last year’s draft.
Here are some relevant stats and 10 things to know about the newest Fever player.
Caitlin Clark
Position: Guard
College: University of Iowa (2020-2024)
Hometown: Des Moines, Iowa
Age: 22
Height: 6-0
Weight: 155 pounds
2023-24 Season Stats (Game averages)
Games played: 39
Minutes: 34.8
Points: 31.6
Assists: 8.9
Rebounding: 7.4
Steals: 1.7
Field goal %: 45.5
3-point %: 37.8
Free throw %: 86.0
Career Stats (Averages and Totals)
Games played: 139
Minutes: 34.8
Points: 28.4 per game, 3,951 total
Assists: 8.2 per game, 1,144 total
Rebounds: 7.1 per game, 990 total
Steals: 1.5 per game, 210 total
Field goals: 46.2 percent, 9.3 per game, 1,293 total
3-pointers: 37.7 percent, 3.9 per game, 548 total
Free throws: 85.8 percent, 5.9 per game, 817 total
10 Things to Know About Caitlin Clark
A record-breaking career
Clark shattered dozens of NCAA and Big Ten records throughout her four-year career at Iowa. At the top of her list of accomplishments is the most points scored all-time by any college player — men’s or women’s — in NCAA history, with 3,951 points. With 1,144 career assists and 990 rebounds, she is also the first collegiate player to notch at least 3,800 points, 1,000 assists and 950 rebounds in a career. Clark’s 28.4 points per game average for her career and 548 made 3-pointers are women’s NCAA Division I records, and her 201 3-pointers and 1,234 points were both women’s D-I records for a season. Clark also finished as the record-holder for points (491), assists (152) and 3-pointers (78) in women’s tourney all-time play, among her other significant records.
Filling the trophy case
The list of awards Clark has collected during her college career is lengthy. Among the most prestigious, which she has won each of the last two seasons, are the AP Player of the Year, John R. Wooden Award, Naismith College Player of the Year, and USBWA National Player of the Year honors. Clark was also a three-time unanimous NCAA First Team All-American member, four-time First Team All-Big Ten honoree, and three-time Big Ten Player of the Year winner.
Must-watch TV
Clark’s popularity exploded during her junior and senior seasons, translating to record-breaking broadcasts. The 2024 NCAA Championship between Iowa and South Carolina drew around 18.7 million viewers on average — the most ever measured for a women’s basketball game. This year’s NCAA men’s final drew 14.8 million viewers on average, so the women’s final outdrew the men’s for the first time. The Hawkeyes progressively built up to that 18.7 million, as their game against the University of Connecticut in the Final Four drew 14.2 million viewers after their game against defending champs Louisiana State University averaged 12.3 million viewers. For measure, the 2023 final between LSU and Iowa drew 10 million viewers on average.
Lethal shooting range
No women’s college basketball player in the sport’s history has shot 3-pointers like Clark. In her senior season, Clark shattered the record for 3-pointers in a women’s season by making 201 from deep, 54 more than the second-place holder in the record books. She also finished with 548 career 3-pointers, which is 11 more than second place, and averaged a record 5.15 made 3-pointers per game. Clark also made shots from deep when it mattered most, as she holds the record for women’s D-I tourney play with 78 total 3-pointers.
Flashy dime dropper
While Clark’s incredible scoring skills often dominated TV highlights during her college career, she’s also highly accomplished in distributing the ball. Clark led the NCAA in assists in her last three seasons and is just one of six women’s basketball players to finish with over 1,000 career assists. Her career mark of 1,144 is third-most all-time, trailing just Andrea Nagy (1,165) and Suzie McConnell (1,307). Many analysts believe that, of all Clark’s skills, her playmaking ability will shine immediately.
Seeing Gold?
Clark has been invited to practice with Team USA this spring leading up to the 2024 Olympics in Paris. If Clark makes Team USA, it wouldn’t be the first time she wore the Red, White, and Blue. Clark won three gold medals with USA Basketball on junior national teams, most recently with the 2021 USA Women’s U19 National Team. Fever teammate Aliyah Boston was also invited to practice with the team. The WNBA will take a month-long break from July 18 to Aug. 14 for the Olympics.
Big Ten dominance
Teams outside Iowa will be glad that Clark has graduated from the Hawkeyes’ program. Clark dominated the Big Ten during her college career, as she’s the only player in NCAA D-I men’s or women’s history to lead her conference in scoring and assists in four straight seasons. Clark is the Big Ten all-time leader in points and assists and was named to the All-Big Ten First Team all four years. She was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, three-time Big Ten Player of the Year, and three-time Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player during her time at Iowa. The Hawkeyes had a record of 55-18 in Big Ten play while Clark was there, and won the Big Ten Tournament three times (2022-2024) and regular season title in 2022.
Midwest nice
Clark was born and raised in West Des Moines, Iowa, and attended Dowling Catholic High School. In he early years, she played on boys’ basketball teams due to a lack of AAU options. She was a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year at Dowling, Iowa Miss Basketball, and was invited to the McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand Classic games in her final year. In her senior season, Clark averaged 33.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.7 steals per game, leading the state for a second straight year in scoring. In her junior season, she scored 60 points in a game, the second-highest single-game point total in girls’ basketball state history. Her 13 made 3-pointers in that game is a state record. She finished her career with the fourth-most points (2,547) in Iowa girls’ basketball history.
A family of athletes
Clark comes from a family of athletes. Often shown during TV broadcasts in the stands, Clark’s father, Brent, played basketball and baseball at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. Her grandfather, Bob Nizzi was a football coach at Dowling Catholic, where she attended high school. Caitlin’s older brother, Blake, won two state football championships at Dowling Catholic and went on to play at Iowa State. Two of Clark’s uncles are also former college athletes: Tom Faber played basketball at Drake and Utica, and Mike Nizzi played football for Nebraska-Omaha.
Multisport athlete
Clark is a multisport athlete. As a kid, she played softball, volleyball, tennis, and golf before focusing on basketball. Clark was a starter on her high school soccer team in her freshman and sophomore seasons and was named to the Class 3A All-Iowa team as a freshman. While basketball is her main focus now, Clark is still an avid golfer. According to Golf Digest, Clark tries to play golf four times weekly during the offseason.
The Fever will open their season on May 14 at the Connecticut Sun before hosting Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty on May 16 for the home opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Season ticket packages and single game tickets are available now at FeverBasketball.com/Tickets.