ESPN assigns Holly Rowe as Caitlin Clark beat reporter for NCAA Tournament

ESPN is ramping up its Caitlin Clark coverage for the NCAA Tournament in a unique way. The network is assigning a reporter to cover Clark during Iowa’s first-round game – and a big name will lead the charge.

Holly Rowe has been tabbed to follow Clark and the Hawkeyes, heading to Iowa City for this week’s game, The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch reported. An official announcement is expected Sunday. Rowe has led ESPN’s coverage of Iowa throughout the year as Clark closed in on history, breaking the NCAA women’s basketball and Division I scoring records.

Now, that reporting will move on to the NCAA Tournament, with Iowa as a projected No. 1 seed following a 29-4 record.

“(Holly) has been on the Caitlin Clark beat, if you will, tracking and following her and being present with her when she broke records earlier in the year,” Sara Gaiero, an ESPN vice president of production, told The Athletic. “That level of coverage is needed and necessary and warranted this year. It’s not something we’ve done for the previous first and second rounds for a specific player.”

Rowe – one of the most respected reporters at ESPN – had a front-row seat as Clark’s star rose throughout the season. Networks broke viewership records when they carried Iowa games, and the Big Ten Tournament championship became the most-watched women’s basketball title game of the year, even as ratings surged elsewhere.

FOX and NBC both debuted cameras dedicated to following Clark as she closed in on Kelsey Plum’s NCAA women’s basketball record, and it continued as she set her sights on Pete Maravich and his Division I mark. Neither record fell on ESPN, but Rowe was still there.

Those efforts will continue into March Madness in a new way. ESPN was not part of the Big Ten’s new media rights package, meaning the network didn’t carry any of Clark’s home games. However, the network has the rights to the NCAA Tournament – giving Rowe even more access to Clark in her chase for a national championship.

“We have had a presence on the ground covering the special moments with Caitlin this year, and I have been at every one of her games where she set a record,” Rowe told The Athletic. “I see it as an extension of the dedicated coverage we have had with Caitlin all year. I think there is an intrigue and appetite for all things Caitlin.”

Clark’s profile is sure to keep increasing if Iowa makes a run in March Madness. She enters Sunday’s selection show with an On3 NIL Valuation of $3.1 million, which ranks No. 4 in the On3 NIL 100 – the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

Iowa games won’t be the only time fans will see Clark on their screens, though. Through her NIL deal with State Farm, she appears in commercials alongside Jimmy Butler and Reggie Miller, among others. Her partnerships with Gatorade and Nike are also part of her impressive portfolio.