Caitlin Clark fever has come to Indiana. The University of Iowa basketball star was predictably selected with the top pick of the WNBA draft on April 15 by the Indiana Fever. After her name was called at the draft, held in Brooklyn, New York, Clark hugged her family sitting alongside her before approaching the podium to pose with an Indiana Fever jersey.
“I got a little anxious there before the pick,” she said after the pick was made. “I’ve dreamed of this moment since I was in the second grade ..
. I earned it and that’s why I’m so proud of it.” Clark said her top goal for her first season in the WNBA is to be herself and “have fun.
” The Fever finished last in the WNBA's Eastern Conference in 2023 with the league's third-worst record (13-27) before winning the WNBA's draft lottery in December to secure the No. 1 pick. They add the NCAA Division I's all-time leading scorer in men's and women's basketball, who led Iowa to two straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament championship game.
Clark also set the NCAA Division I single-season record for 3-pointers made, scored the most points in a single season in women’s NCAA Division I history, and set the women’s record for the most career points in Division I NCAA Tournament games. Clark's long-range shooting , prolific scoring and pinpoint passing helped bring unprecedented attention to women's college basketball. The Hawkeyes' loss to undefeated South Carolina in this season's NCAA championship game marked .
