Clark, Caitlin (2002-…), is an American basketball star. Clark stands 6 feet (183 centimeters) tall. As a guard for the University of Iowa, she became one of the most decorated players in college basketball history. Clark became known for her ability to make three-point shots more than 25 feet (7.6 meters) from the basket. In 2024, during her senior season in college, she set National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) career and single-season scoring records. 
Clark was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 22, 2002. She grew up in nearby West Des Moines. She is part of an athletic family, and she played many different sports as a child. Clark ranked among the top students at Dowling Catholic High School, where she became a standout player in both soccer and basketball. She gave up soccer after her sophomore year to focus exclusively on basketball. Her numerous high school awards included the Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year for girls’ basketball in 2019 and 2020 and Iowa Miss Basketball in 2020.
Clark has also played for United States national teams in a number of international competitions. In 2017, she played on the United States Under-16 team that won a gold medal at the 2017 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Americas Championship in Argentina. In 2019, Clark was a member of the team that won the Under-19 World Cup tournament in Thailand. In 2021, she helped lead her team to a gold medal at the Under-19 World Cup in Hungary. She was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.
Clark enrolled at the University of Iowa in 2020. She immediately established herself as one of the best scorers and passers in the college game. She was named Co-National Freshman of the Year, along with Paige Bueckers of the University of Connecticut, in 2021. Clark led the NCAA in scoring in her first two seasons, averaging 27 points per game. She averaged about 28 points as a junior, ranking second nationally. In her senior season, she led all NCAA players with a 32-point average. She led the nation in assists per game in her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons and was named to the Associated Press All-America team each year. Clark won the Naismith Award for women’s college player of the year for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons. Her University of Iowa team reached the NCAA women’s championship game in 2023 and 2024 but finished as the runner-up both times.
In February 2024, Clark broke the NCAA women’s career scoring record. She surpassed the previous total of 3,527 points set by Kelsey Plum of the University of Washington in 2017. In March 2024, Clark broke the overall NCAA record of 3,667 points set by Pete Maravich of Louisiana State University in 1970. She also became the women’s single-season scoring leader after breaking Plum’s record of 1,109 points, set in the 2016-2017 season. Clark finished her college career with 3,951 points, including 1,234 points in the 2023-2024 season. The Indiana Fever of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) made Clark the first player selected in the 2024 WNBA draft.
