Caitlin Clark has candidly revealed why she spurned Notre Dame, a move proven golden as her time at Iowa State dramatically propelled her to WNBA Rookie of the Year glory. The Indiana Fever standout dazzled on the hardwood, seizing imaginations with a sensational debut season both on and off the court.

Without her four years honing skills at Iowa State, Clark's meteoric ascent could have remained grounded. She secured the prestigious AP Player of the Year title for two successive years and holds the throne as NCAA Division I's leading scorer with a titanic 3,951 points.

Whilst Notre Dame's NCAA Division I championship victory just two years prior posed a safe bet, Clark opted for riskier pastures that undoubtedly reaped rewards. Speaking on the 'New Heights' podcast hosted by NFL brothers Jason and Travis Kelce, Clark illuminated the motive behind her choice: proximity to her beloved family.

"When I was going through my options, I knew I wanted to be in the midwest. I am a family person and wanted to stay fairly close to home, so that narrowed it down," Clark explained. "I visited Oregon and Texas and a few other places. I liked them but I just felt it was too far.

"Then I visited Notre Dame a bunch of times. I loved it and as a kid, you want to go to Notre Dame. It has that tradition and has had so many great players go through there, in so many different sports. But I could feel something in my gut that I wasn't supposed to go there. So I picked Iowa.

"It had been really good at women's basketball before I went there, made a few sweet 16s, elite eight but hadn't been to the final four since like 1992. I wanted to go somewhere that was good but hadn't been a 'blue blood' for quite a few years, and I could help them get back to that.

"It was the perfect distance that my parents couldn't just show up, but I could go home sometimes. It kind of all added up and I guess my decision worked out!"

Clark played her entire college career with the Hawkeyes, becoming the all-time leading scorer among all college basketball players in history across both male and female divisions. Clark also met her boyfriend, fellow Hawkeyes basketball player Connor McCaffrey, while at Iowa.

The Fever star reflected on her incredible 2024 on the podcast as well, telling the Kelces that the year had been "life-changing."

"It is crazy looking back a year ago to today, I was just beginning my senior year. People knew who I was and attended our games but not to the magnitude they do now. That is what makes it cool. I started a new chapter in my life moving to Indianapolis too," Clark said of her journey into the league from college.

"It is so unlike any other professional sport. I played in the National Championships, went straight to the draft and got picked. You basically pick up and move and don't even finish senior year in college. You don't have time to overthink things but I feel like I never really ended the chapter of college."

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