New York: Kaitlyn Clarke, who set records on and off the court during her stellar college career, was selected in the WNBA draft on Monday amid expectations she will make a difference in women’s professional basketball.
The Indiana Fever officially announced the 22-year-old Iowa Hawkeyes star as the first overall pick in front of a packed crowd at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
“I was a bit worried before the election,” Clarke told ESPN.
“I’ve been dreaming of this moment since I was in second grade, I’ve been working hard, many challenges.
The Heat won the WNBA crown in 2012, but have not reached the playoffs since 2016.
In 2023, it averaged 4,066 fans per game, the lowest attendance in the league.
But with Clark, and last year’s top pick, Aliyah Boston, things look set to change in Indiana.
Pending the WNBA election, it scheduled 36 of the Fever’s 40 games for national television next season.
Before the draft began, basketball-mad Midwestern Indiana began selling a limited number of single-game tickets, betting that it would be prime territory for Clark-mania.
Everyone wants to see the two-time national player of the year whose fame was built on excellence on the court and see Pete Maravich’s 54-year college basketball record eclipsed.
Good long range shooting skills, good for the basket. He averaged 31.6 points per game this season while leading Iowa State to the NCAA Championship game for the second straight year.
He lost both times, but thanks to Clark’s impact, the Hawkeyes set or broke attendance records in both games.
That month’s game, in which South Carolina beat Iowa’s Clark, drew an average of 18.7 million viewers.
It became the most-watched women’s basketball game in history since 2019 and the most-watched basketball game of any kind – men’s or women’s, college or professional.
Clark’s face graces cereal boxes and State Farm insurance labels, and he appeared on the comedy show Saturday Night Live last week.
“That’s not what everybody does.”
Despite Clark’s trademark explosive arm, coaches and teammates noted his maturity and high basketball IQ, which Clark said will be important when he joins Boston and his new teammates to restore the Fever’s fortunes.
The Los Angeles Sparks took Stanford forward Cameron Brink with the second pick, and the Chicago Sky took Brazilian center Camilla Cardoso of South Carolina with the third pick.
Cardoso keyed South Carolina’s undefeated season – beating Clark and Iowa State for the championship.
Cardoso will join Angell Reese, the standout forward who led Louisiana State University to victory over Iowa State in the 2023 women’s final in Chicago.
