A Midwesterner through and through, Caitlin Clark wants Indiana back in WNBA playoffs
INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark is a Midwesterner through and through.
The Indiana Fever's newest superstar has spent her entire life in the Midwest — she grew up in West Des Moines, Iowa, and went to college in Iowa City. Staying in the Midwest was always a priority for her, as her final three college choices were Iowa, Iowa State and Notre Dame.
Now, still in the Midwest, she's two states over in the of land basketball and tenderloins.
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And coming from the relatively small town of West Des Moines, population 70,000, she already feels right at home in Indianapolis (pop: 880,000).
"Honestly, this might sound very small city of me, but it just seems like a bigger Des Moines, in a way," Clark said. "Obviously, it's bigger than Des Moines, but that's what I'm excited about. I'm not a big city girl, so I feel like this is the perfect spot for me, for myself: a place that loves basketball, but more than anything, this is in the Midwest. People might think I'm crazy for wanting to stay in the Midwest, but that's just who I am. That's what my roots are. I love the people here."
Clark left college as one of the most decorated players in women's college basketball history. She was a two-time National Player of the Year, three-time Big Ten Player of the Year and the NCAA Division I scoring leader (along with about 44 other broken college records). She left the Hawkeyes with two-straight national championship appearances.
But she has always wanted to keep her roots, her basketball talents in the Midwest. So, when Indiana, Phoenix, Seattle and Los Angeles were the top four lottery teams in December, Clark was quietly rooting for the Midwest team to take the top spot for the second year in a row.
"I was really hoping Indiana got the first pick, it would've made my life a lot better," Clark said. "When I saw that, I was pretty excited. Obviously, that's not every single reason of why I wanted to leave and be done with college. I think I was just ready for a new challenge, something new in my life."
Clark comes into the Fever with one big challenge looming. She's expected to be the one missing piece, and she — along with Aliyah Boston, NaLyssa Smith and Kelsey Mitchell — will lead them back to the playoffs for the first time since Tamika Catchings retired in 2016.
With only four teams missing the playoffs each year, it's a tough trend to swallow for the Fever. But Clark is determined to get this Midwestern team to the playoffs.
She did it once before; Iowa hadn't been to the Final Four since 1993 before Clark got there. She can do it again — and have some fun in the process.
"We want to get back to the playoffs, I think that's the biggest thing, win a lot of basketball games," Clark said to applause from GM Lin Dunn and coach Christie Sides. "I think for myself, continue to be me, have a lot of fun, give myself grace, I think everything else really takes care of itself."
Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark will stay near Midwest roots with WNBA's Indiana Fever
