Caitlin Clark was a five-star recruit coming out of West Des Moines (Iowa) Dowling Catholic and also was a two-time gold medalist as a member of Team USA after winning the 2016 U16 FIBA Americas Tournament and the 2019 U19 FIBA World Cup. At Iowa, she made an immediate impact as a freshman. Clark earned first-team All-America honors from The Athletic, WBCA and USBWA, and earned second-team honors from Associated Press. She was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and earned unanimous Big Ten All-Freshman Team and unanimous first-team All-Big Ten honors. She also won a third gold medal with USA Basketball at the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup and was named tournament MVP. As a sophomore, Clark was named Big Ten player of the year and won the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year and was the Dawn Staley Guard of the Year Award recipient – the first student-athlete to win the Dawn Staley Award in consecutive seasons. Eleven of Clark’s family members have played collegiate sports, including her dad, who played baseball and basketball at Simpson College, and her older brother Blake, who plays football at Iowa State. Clark has a massive NIL reach, executing deals already with Topps, Hy-Vee and H&R Block, plus a successful merchandise website.