"I was never a huge Iowa fan": Caitlin Clark once made honest confession about her ties to the Hawkeyes

The decision to attend the University of Iowa was one of the best moves of Caitlin Clark's career. The Iowa native thrived over four seasons under coach Lisa Bluder and broke a handful of records, most notably shattering the record for points by an NCAA player. Committing to the Hawkeyes, however, was not always a sure thing.

Clark was a highly rated recruit coming out of high school, and several of the nation's top programs were interested in signing the talented guard. Notre Dame, along with both the big Iowa schools, Iowa and Iowa State, were all on Clark's radar. During a press conference in December 2022, Clark admitted she was not a big fan of the Hawkeyes growing up.

"I was never a huge Iowa fan, a huge Iowa State fan. I just loved basketball and being around it," Clark said.

Clark was raised in Des Moines, Iowa, which is closer to Ames, where Iowa State University is based. She attended college games at both schools.

Finally, the highly recruited prospect had to choose between Notre Dame and Iowa, and she decided to stay in-state with the Hawkeyes.

Clark played 139 games at Iowa and led her team to the NCAA National Championship game twice. In 2023 and 2024, the gifted shooter was named the AP Women's College Basketball Player of the Year. In her final season with the Hawkeyes, Clark surpassed LSU legend Pete Marovich's point total of 3,667, the most ever by any player at the collegiate level.

A stellar four-year spell with Iowa propelled Clark up the draft rankings and she went into the 2024 WNBA Draft as the unanimous first pick. Indiana Fever selected the 22-year-old with the first overall pick, which has changed the franchise's fortunes.

Caitlin Clark once shared that she wanted to play for the UConn Huskies

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark celebrates after scoring against the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Imagn

Over the last 30 years, UConn has established itself as one of the top women's basketball programs. Under legendary coach Geno Auriemma, the Huskies have won 11 national championships and reached the Final Four on 23 occasions. Unsurprisingly, a young Clark had one eye on the highly rated program on the East Coast.

Clark once shared that she wanted to play for UConn when she was younger. According to a piece from NPR in April, Clark said:

"I thought I was going to go to UConn when I was growing up. Honestly, it was more I wanted them to recruit me to say I got recruited. I loved UConn."

Auriemma, however, did not push hard enough to sign Clark and never talked to the player or her family. Finally, Clark chose to remain in her home state and became an icon in Iowa City.