Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark.  In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O’Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA’s rookie of the year, she answered without pause. “Caitlin Clark,” she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be “good ..read more

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales. With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides’ squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger ..read more

Caitlin Clark is reportedly close to cementing a hefty endorsement deal with Nike. The Athletic was the first to break the news Wednesday evening, commenting that the deal would be worth “eight figures” and include her own signature shoe. On Thursday afternoon, the publication tweeted that the deal would top $20 million, according to lead NBA Insider Shams Charania. Both Under Armour and Adidas are said to have also made sizable offers to the college phenom and expected future WNBA star. The new agreement comes after Clark’s previous Nike partnership ended with the conclusion of the college ba ..read more

An Indianapolis Star columnist is apologizing for an uneasy exchange with freshly minted Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark on Wednesday. At Clark’s introductory press conference with the Fever, reporter Gregg Doyel introduced himself then abruptly formed a heart with his hands. Throughout her career with Iowa, Clark has often flashed heart hands at her family in the stands after finishing a game. The gesture has since become linked to the standout player. But what ensued between Clark and Doyel was an incredibly awkward interaction, to say the least. “Real quick, let me do this,” Doyel said b ..read more

The 2024 WNBA Draft has officially concluded, leaving the newly minted rookie class facing a tough road ahead. Only 144 roster slots are available throughout the league’s 12 teams, the reason why the players are sometimes referred to as the “144.” And Monday’s draft picks are set to join a large group of established players competing for those same roster spots, from seasoned veterans to young athletes determined to prove their value on the court. Last year, just 15 of the league’s 36 draftees made it onto their drafting team’s opening-day squad. In reality, there are oftentimes fewer than 144 ..read more

Monday night’s WNBA draft added to the nationwide uptick in record-breaking women’s sports viewership, pulling in 2.45 million viewers throughout the nearly two-hour broadcast and peaking at 3.09 million, according to an ESPN release.  That number shatters the previous draft viewership record — 601,000 in 2004 — which was fueled primarily by then-No. 1 pick Diana Taurasi entering the league after UConn’s historic three-peat March Madness performance.   The 2023 WNBA draft drew 572,000 viewers, the most for any televised WNBA event since 2.74 million tuned in to NBC for a Memorial Day ..read more

Could Serena Williams co-own a WNBA team in the near future?  Speaking with CNN on Monday, Williams expressed her interest in that potential — as well as the mounting enthusiasm for women’s sports around the world.  “I think women’s sport is having a moment that it should have always had,” Williams said. “I feel like tennis has had its moment. It’s international, and it’s huge, and it’s always gonna be there. “Now it’s time to lift up other sports — women’s soccer, women’s basketball — there’s so many other sports that women do so great, let’s put it on that platform. Women’s basketb ..read more

Former Iowa captain Kate Martin was in the audience during Monday night’s draft when she was selected 18th overall by the Las Vegas Aces.  The moment quickly went viral, as Martin was in the crowd to support superstar teammate Caitlin Clark going No. 1 overall, and was not one of the 14 players invited to the draft. This moment @kate_martin22 x @LVAces #WNBADraft pic.twitter.com/dVqwR0HRdw — Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) April 16, 2024 “To be honest, I don’t think I’d have the type of career if I don’t have a teammate like Kate,” Clark said about Martin leading up to the 2024 natio ..read more

Caitlin Clark made a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend, which quickly went viral. The Iowa star showed up on the show’s Weekend Update segment to playfully call out Michael Che’s history of making jabs at women’s sports. It started when Che joked that Iowa should replace Clark’s retired No. 22 “with an apron.”  When Clark entered, Che said that he was a fan. But Clark wasn’t convinced – especially not when co-host Colin Jost brought the receipts of Che’s jabs. “Really, Michael? Because I heard that little apron joke you did,” she said, before making him read so ..read more

No one understands what Caitlin Clark and the 2024 WNBA draft class has ahead of them better than Atlanta Dream guard Haley Jones. Jones is a product of her own vaunted draft class, selected sixth overall in 2023 upon finishing a college career at Stanford that produced a 2021 national championship. Since joining the WNBA, Jones had steady output as a rookie, playing in all 40 of the team’s games in her first season. The transition wasn’t always easy. Jones had to balance finishing her Stanford degree with the early months of her first professional season, competing against seasoned veterans w ..read more