2024 MARCH MADNESS
Has Caitlin Clark ever won the NCAA national championship?
The NCAA all-time scoring leader is expected to go first overall in the WNBA Draft, but there is one prize still to claim for Caitlin Clark.
As the number one seed Iowa Hawkeyes take on number sixteen Holy Cross in the 2024 Women’s March madness, all eyes will be on Caitlin Clark.
After a monumental season, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer also scored a career-high 49 points in the win over Michigan last month and set a new Iowa women’s single-game record.
Whether you judge her 3,771 points against Lynette Woodard’s 3649 in the women’s game or by Pistol Pete’s 3,667 points, you have to acknowledge that very few athletes like Caitlin Clark have graced our tv screens.
Clark was named the AP Player of the Year, the Naismith College Player of the Year, the USBWA National Player of the Year, she is a three-time Unanimous first-team All-American, a four-time First-team All-American, named Big Ten Player of the Year three times, was Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2021, two-time NCAA season scoring leader, two-time NCAA season assists leader, Iowa Miss Basketball, and the FIBA Under-19 World Cup MVP. She has done it all, won it all, and is poised to become a huge figure in the WNBA.
Won it all, that is, except one thing.
Caitlin Clark has never won a national championship. The Hawkeyes came tantalizingly close last season when they lost to LSU in the final.
That game was notable for the backlash directed at LSU forward Angel Reese for making a John Cena-style “you can’t see me” gesture toward Clark. The criticism had more than a smattering of racism about it - Reese is African American and Clark is Caucasian - since the howls of derision in the press and fanbase ignored the fact that Clark had made the same gesture to an opponent only two games before that, without comment from the fans or media.
It is noteworthy that Clark herself actually defended Reese’s actions when asked about them, saying, “I don’t think Angel should be criticized at all. No matter which way it goes, she should never be criticized for what she did. I’m just one that competes, and she competed. I think everybody knew there was going to be a little trash talk. It’s not just me and Angel. I don’t think she should be criticized, like I said. LSU deserves it. They played so well. Like I said, I’m a big fan of hers.”
With both schools on a collision course in the brackets, it is more than conceivable that we could see a repeat of last year’s final. And with the season that Caitlin Clark has been having, it might not be a good idea to bet against her. She could easily add that last piece of silverware to her display cabinet.