Caitlin Clark isn’t satisfied with dominating just one sport.
The No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft has become the face of women’s basketball after a record-breaking Rookie of the Year campaign.
Clark dominated the WNBA last season and has turned her attention to golfGetty
Clark finished the season by setting a string of records with the Indiana Fever, including the most points and assists by a rookie in WNBA history and the most points by a point guard in a season.
She also became the first player in WNBA history with more than 20 points, 15 assists and five rebounds in a game.
The 22-year-old has also signed an historic endorsement deal with Nike, worth $28 million over eight years, which is the largest shoe deal ever for a women’s basketball player.
Despite all her personal achievements, the Fever were knocked out of the WNBA playoffs in the first round, meaning Clark had a bit more time to fill than she would have hoped at the end of the season.
While a host of the WNBA’s other huge names are preparing for a brand new – and lucrative – new league, Clark has been trying her hand at another sport.
Clark joked that she would spend the offseason “becoming a professional golfer” – and she already has her first event coming up.
The basketball star will play alongside Nelly Korda, who is currently ranked No.1 in the world, and golf icon Annika Sorenstam at The Annika in Florida.
Clark is slated to play in the Pro-Am and appear as a panelist at the Women’s Leadership Summit on the eve of the event.
She has been working with Martha Foyer-Faulconer, a former pro on the LPGA Tour, who has already seen some improvement in Clark’s game.
“Within the time we were working, we saw some drastic changes,” Foyer-Faulconer told Golf Week.
Clark has been praised by her golf coach ahead of a Pro-Am appearanceGetty Images
“It’s also part of her DNA… because she’s going to do things well. She wants to be as good as she can in everything she touches.
It will come as little shock that Clark has fully committed to improving her golf game in the offseason, and she is even being touted as a natural talent on the green.
“She’s very driven and passionate. It’s fun to work with her… some of this stuff you can’t teach people,” Foyer-Faulconer added.
“They just either have it or they don’t.”
While Clark has been taking some time away from basketball, the Fever announced on Sunday that they are parting ways with head coach Christie Sides.
Sides went 33-47 in her two seasons with the team, and went 20-20 this season as she steered Indiana to the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
Sides is leaving the Fever after two years in chargeAP
Kelly Krauskopf, President of Basketball Operations, said the decision wasn’t easy, but that it was “imperative that we remain bold and assertive in the pursuit of our goals, which includes maximizing our talent and bringing another WNBA championship back to Indiana”.
Clark is also be a target for the ‘Unrivaled’ league which will launch in January in Miami, and has already lured the likes of Angel Reese, Kelsey Plum and Breanna Stewart to the league.
It has been reported by Front Office Sports that one more push to temp Clark could feature a ‘Lionel Messi-like’ deal as they have just three slots to fill.
