Caitlin Clark shares her biggest motivation ahead of 2025 WNBA season: "I want to be the best at it"

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark continued her busy offseason Tuesday night at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky. Clark was the keynote speaker for the university’s annual Excellence in Leadership Series. She discussed a variety of topics, including her motivation ahead of the 2025 WNBA season.

One major topic Clark addressed was motivation. The reigning Rookie of the Year spoke about her constant desire to be the very best.

"Whatever I’m doing, I want to be the best at it," Clark said. "My drive to get better, that’s what motivates me."

She also shared her hope of becoming someone young people can look up to and find encouragement in.

“I hope I can be somebody that gives young people hope and joy. I want to show them you can achieve anything you put your mind to,” she said.

University of the Cumberlands started the series to help its students and the Williamsburg community learn about leadership values. Clark has been a leader in high school, in college at Iowa and now in Indiana. She joined a list of athletes who have taken part in the Excellence in Leadership Series, including Shaquille O'Neal, Drew Brees, Terry Bradshaw, Laila Ali and Jon Dorenbos.

Clark endured a rough start to her rookie campaign but bounced back to show the world she was ready for the spotlight. She led the Fever back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. She even finished fourth in WNBA MVP voting and was one vote shy of being a unanimous Rookie of the Year.

To cap off her stellar 2024, Caitlin Clark was named Time magazine’s Athlete of the Year.

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Caitlin Clark sends message to JuJu Watkins after knee injury

One of the biggest headlines over the past 24 hours was JuJu Watkins’ knee injury on Monday in USC’s win over Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans announced later that Watkins suffered a torn ACL in her right knee and will likely miss her entire junior season.

Athletes from across many sports sent their well wishes to Watkins, including Caitlin Clark, who shared words of encouragement on X (formerly Twitter).

"Sending all my thoughts and prayers to JuJu. Kid will come back stronger than ever," Clark tweeted.

Watkins has been compared to Clark after her scoring outburst this season. The USC star broke Clark’s records for most points in a player’s first two seasons.