Like many other young athletes from the Midwest, Caitlin Clark grew up in awe of Notre Dame sports.
The WNBA phenom spoke about her experience visiting Notre Dame and consideration of playing for the Fighting Irish during an interview on the “New Heights” podcast on Thursday.
“As a kid, you want to go to Notre Dame,” Clark said. “It’s like the coolest thing in the world, it’s Notre Dame, it has that tradition.”
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University of Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark, #22, cheers with teammates near the end of the game against the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Championship at Target Center on Sunday, March 10, 2024 in Minneapolis. (Angelina Katsanis/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Clark previously told ESPN that former Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw tried to recruit her and that Clark’s own family also wanted her to play for the fighting Irish.
“My family wanted me to go to Notre Dame,” Caitlin said. “At the end of the day they were like, you make the decision for yourself. But it’s NOTRE DAME! ‘Rudy’ was one of my favorite movies. How could you not pick Notre Dame?”
However, Clark said Thursday that she ultimately made the decision not to play there because of a feeling in her gut.
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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, #22, reacts to a call during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at Grainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. ( IndyStar-USA TODAY Sports)
“I could feel it in my gut, I was like ‘ahh, I’m not supposed to go there,'” Clark said.
Clark’s gut feeling certainly did not steer her in the wrong direction. She ended up committing to her home state university of Iowa instead, where she played her entire four-year college career. Clark broke multiple program and NCAA records for the Hawkeyes, including the all-time leading scoring record among all college basketball players, men or women, in history.
Clark also met her current boyfriend, Connor McCaffery, while at Iowa. McCaffery was a player on Iowa’s men’s basketball team for his father and head coach Fran McCaffery.
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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark hugs her boyfriend, Connor McCaffery, after defeating the Phoenix Mercury at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Aug. 16, 2024 in Indianapolis. (Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, without Clark, Notre Dame fared okay, but not nearly as well as Iowa. Under the leadership of current head coach Niele Ivey, the Fighting Irish made the NCAA tournament three years in a row from 2021-24, but they lost in the regional semifinal all three times, while Clark led much deeper tournament runs in 2023 and 2024.
Clark led Iowa to two straight national championship game appearances, en route to becoming the No. 1 overall selection by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft. McCaffery was already in Indiana working on the Pacers’ coaching staff, and they are still in the city together as he now works on Butler’s men’s basketball coaching staff.
Clark was named WNBA Rookie of the Year, was selected to the All-Star team, led the WNBA in assists, and helped lead the Fever to the playoffs in her rookie season.
Clark was also named Time magazine’s Athlete of the Year for 2024.
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