While Caitlin Clark’s influence on American women’s sports is indisputable, her global impact has surprised even the typically modest Iowa Hawkeyes star. Clark’s scoring prowess has surpassed not only NCAA women’s basketball legends but also men’s greats like LSU and NBA icon “Pistol” Pete Maravich, making her the all-time leading scorer in Division I history.
Following its third consecutive conference tournament championship win (a 94-89 overtime victory against the Nebraska Cornhuskers) in its fourth straight Big Ten title game Saturday, Iowa (29-4) celebrated another victory. Clark, a three-time tournament Most Outstanding Player, faced an understandable barrage of questions from reporters. Notably, a reporter who had traveled all the way from France to Minneapolis specifically for the event highlighted the growing international interest in Clark and women’s college basketball.
The reporter asked Clark about her global impact and how her prowess has not only been felt in France but across all of Europe. She couldn’t help but smile when realizing that her game has transcended geographical boundaries, influencing women—young and old—across the globe.
“I’ve never been to France but I would love to go,” she said. “I think it’s really cool, obviously. Even when we went on our foreign trip, there were a lot of people that would show up to our games and find out where we were playing—whether it was Italy and Croatia.
“Obviously, it’s hard for me to wrap my head around having an impact globally. And obviously, that’s my goal, and that’s my dream. That’s always what I want to do. And, it’s definitely super cool. It’s super cool to see who we have an impact on in our state, also in our country, but certainly around the world too.”
With the Indiana Fever likely calling her name with the first overall pick in the WNBA Draft, it begs the question if Clark’s global ambassadorship for women’s basketball will only continue to grow on the professional stage, inspiring future generations around the world.
[Blake Hornstein on Twitter/X]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.