Caitlin Clark heads into next week’s WNBA Draft as the consensus No. 1 overall pick — and more than left her mark on the college game at Iowa over the past four seasons.
Having run into Clark in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons, South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley recognizes the impact Clark has had on taking women’s college basketball mainstream.
“I still think that Caitlin Clark almost single-handedly has elevated our game and I hope that — I said this yesterday that as she moves on to the WNBA, she elevates the WNBA,” Staley said on TBS ahead of the men’s national championship game. “I know she has ticket sales are are out of the roof with the Indiana Fever. The away games to go see Caitlin Clark lay [are] out the roof.
“They’re not at regular season prices — they are at Caitlin Clark’s elevated prices, so she does something good for the sport.”
Clark’s name on the marquee alone is enough to sell out an arena at any level. Her limitless range and intensity on the court have made for much-watch television throughout her career and now has the opportunity to do so at the highest level.
Staley got to see first-hand what Clark was capable of during the national championship game on Sunday. Despite falling to the Gamecocks, Clark still was able to score 30 points. In the 2023 Final Four matchup, Clark flirted with a triple-double and finished with 41 points.
“There’s not a whole lot of generational talents like Caitlin Clark that come along and they captivate a different audience,” Staley continued. “But they also keep the same audience and elevate. Caitlin Clark gave our team an opportunity to play it kind of over 18 million people. So they tune in to watch her, but at the same time, just like as we recruit, when you go see that number one recruit, there’s going to be 10-12 other young people that are going to be playing in that game.
While Clark was unable to finish her story on Sunday — a new one begins eight days after her last game. The 2024 WNBA Draft is set for Monday, April 15 live from the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Before that, however, Iowa is set to hold a celebration for this season’s team inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday. The event is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CT.
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