Caitlin Clark broke every major scoring record during her scintillating four-year run at the University of Iowa, becoming a legend in her home state in the process.
However, Clark almost never made it to Iowa City. During the recruiting process, she actually made a silent commitment to Notre Dame and their legendary head coach, Muffet McGraw.
Clark broke down what happened with that decision in an episode of “Full Court Press,” the new ESPN+ docuseries.
“It’s a lot of pressure having to choose and decide where you’re going to spend four years of your life. We’re Catholic and every person, like, idolizes Notre Dame,” Clark said, via 247Sports. “Like, that’s just what you do. I told Muffet McGraw, one of the greatest coaches of all-time, that I’m gonna play for her.”
Ultimately though, Clark went with her gut and flipped to Lisa Bluder and the Hawkeyes.
“I just knew like — something wasn’t sitting right with me,” Clark said. “So, I tell my parents and I’m like, ‘I think I’m gonna switch to Iowa.’ Which was hard, like, I was scared. I’m 17 years old and now I have to call Coach McGraw and tell her that I’m not coming. I remember sitting in my bed and I’m like sweating. I’m like, ‘Oh, this is so bad.’ But I really loved the idea of being close to home.”
Clark has also said on multiple occasions that her “dream school” growing up was UConn, and she idolized Huskies legend Maya Moore.
Had Geno Auriemma ever extended an offer, Clark would have been playing in Storrs instead of Iowa City. Hey, sometimes you need a little luck on your side, and it seems like Iowa got it, in addition to the hard work the coaching staff put in trying to sign Clark.
After leading Iowa to back-to-back national championship game appearances, Clark was picked No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
She’ll make her regular season professional debut against the Connecticut Sun tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.