Caitlin Clark’s talents extend beyond just basketball.
Footage has emerged of the Indiana Fever star excelling in a different sport and it’s left everyone stunned.
Clark recently had her basketball jersey retired by the University of Iowa women’s program, cementing her college basketball legacy.
Not long after the ceremony, highlights of Clark playing soccer picked up steam with footage first uploaded 10 months ago going viral.
It becomes clear in the footage that the WNBA‘s star athleticism isn’t just limited to basketball, and the statistics back it up.
Chad Leistikow of HawkCentral took a look at the background behind the star’s soccer days and the information is remarkable.
“Clark was busy representing Team USA in the FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she only played in six soccer games as a high school freshman,” he wrote.
“In those half-dozen games, Clark scored 26 goals. She was the only freshman named first-team all-state.”
According to the reports, scouts rated Clark extremely highly, and had she focused on the sport, they believe she would have gone on to be a successful soccer star.
“’She was D-I material in soccer, easily,’ Pearson said. ‘She did have a way to go, but if she would have stayed in soccer and made that her No. 1 sport …,’” Leistikow added.
When Clark was a teenager, John Sheridan was the executive director for Sporting Iowa and the youth coach.
He remarked on Clark’s soccer prowess: “I’ve been doing this for 23 years and I’ve not seen a female soccer player strike a ball like Caitlin. … There have been some better players, for sure. But in terms of ball-striking, she had unbelievable technique.”
Clark’s dad, Brent Clark, also weighed in, suggesting his supremely gifted daughter could have gone professional.
“I’m not trying to brag about it, but I think she probably could have been the same sort of talent in soccer that she is in basketball,” he said.
An average of four goals per game is incredible, and had Clark carried on playing soccer, she might have had a spot on NWSL team, the Kansas City Current.
The Fever star recently revealed how much she loves Kansas City, which is close to her family home in West Des Moines, Iowa, and how the area loves women’s sport.
She’s also a huge fan of their NFL franchise, the Kansas City Chiefs, attending a game this season alongside Taylor Swift.
The Current are even backed by Chiefs’ superstar Patrick Mahomes, and in some parallel universe Clark might have ended up playing for his soccer team had she persisted with the sport.
In January 2023, Mahomes and his wife Brittany expanded their sporting empire when they joined the ownership group of the Current, a club which is valued at $182 million.
The NWSL team has enjoyed huge success over the last few years and became the first professional women’s soccer team to have its own purpose-built venue, the CPKC stadium.
“I am thankful for the chance to join my wife as part of the Kansas City Current’s ownership team,” Mahomes said in a statement announcing his investment.
“Brittany and the Longs have done an incredible job building a world-class organization. I am excited to join another championship-caliber club as it continues to make history.”
Clark ultimately decided to pursue basketball instead of soccer, a decision that’s been more than vindicated with her journey to the summit of the WNBA.
For now, both Clark and Mahomes are busy in their own respective sports, with the 23-year-old enjoying the off-season of what is expected to be another thrilling WNBA campaign.
Meanwhile, the superstar quarterback is preparing for a Super Bowl showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday with an unprecedented three-peat on the line.
