It didn’t take long for colleges to start hiring Caitlin Clark.
Travis Kelce said he heard Clark’s first recruiting letter came in seventh grade, and Clark confirmed that during a recent appearance on “New heights.”
The Indiana Fever star said she feels fortunate about the way her parents handled early recruiting letters from schools.
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Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark speaks to the media during an introductory press conference on April 17, 2024 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
“It’s honestly sad, like college recruiting is kind of gone, it’s just crazy. I feel really happy. My parents said to my older brother, ‘Go get the mail, like we don’t want your sister to see that.’ They wanted me to be in seventh grade and enjoy high school and enjoy hanging out with my friends, like you don’t have to worry about where you’re going to college,” Clark said.
Clark said she didn’t think too much about it at the time, because she was just playing basketball and having fun.
“Seventh grade was wild, and I played for two years, so I played with the high school kids, but yeah, I didn’t really like to think about it. I just went out and played and had fun. That’s kind of just what came with him,” Clark said.
Former star of iowa she said her parents protected her from potential burnout from playing too much basketball.
HOW CAITLIN CLARK FIGHTED THROUGH THE CULTURE WARS ON THE WAY TO A HISTORIC 2024
Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark, #22, poses for a portrait at Gainbridge Fieldhouse during her introductory press conference on April 17, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Matt Kryger/NBAE via Getty Images)
“I played AAU and then I played for my high school team, but my mom would say, ‘She doesn’t play more than three or two games in a day, like that’s crazy,’ because sometimes they would want me to play for the team seventh grade and the eighth grade team, so my parents were really good about it, like they didn’t want me to lose love for it, like you don’t want to burn out, you still want to have fun when you’re doing it as a pro if you are lucky enough,” Clark said.
“And, maybe, as a kid, I thought, ‘Mom, no, like I can keep going, like I can keep playing,’ but looking back, I’m very happy about that, because I haven’t lost that fun of it and that passion for team and the desire to always be better and sometimes people get burned out because they did it too much as children and their parents forced them to do it or who pushed them too much and that was never something I really had to deal with, so I feel very happy.”
Clark said she is in no rush to decide where she will attend college.
CAITLIN CLARK’S REACTION TO WHITE PRIVILEGE REMARKS PROVES WE HAVE A ‘RACE PROBLEM,’ SAYS WNBA BIG
Iowa players, including forward Caitlin Clark, #22, forward Hannah Stuelke, #45, and guard Kate Martin, #20, celebrate after the Elite 8 NCAA Tournament basketball game against Louisville on Sunday, March 26, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Caean Couto)
“I didn’t visit until my freshman year (of high school), and then I decided only in my senior year. So I was never in a rush, and my parents did a very good job, I’m sure I have a very good circle around me, like it wasn’t always about college recruiting, I didn’t like to post my offers, like it wasn’t a thing growing up,” Clark said.
Clark ultimately chose Iowa, saying she wanted to stay in the Midwest, and went on to have one of the most successful college careers of all time.
She is NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer and twice named AP Player of the Year, among countless other accolades.
Iowa has already retired its No. 22 jersey number.
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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark smiles as she looks into the team’s bench after making the go-ahead basket in the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Dallas Wings on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
After her success at Iowa, she was selected first overall 2024 WNBA Draft after Fever.
Clark was named the WNBA Rookie of the Year, was selected to the All-Star team, led the WNBA in assists and assists fever to the playoffs in her rookie season.
Time magazine also named Clark the athlete of the year for 2024.
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