A homecoming fit for a star: Caitlin Clark returns to Iowa with Indiana Fever
The WNBA star guard gets to play back home, in front of Hawkeye fans one more time — this time as a pro, in a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena. They're ready for the heat.
IOWA CITY — Caitlin Clark sent out a warning a week ago: Be ready for the heat.
And she didn’t mean from the Indiana Fever or the new-look lineups built to elevate the franchise from playoff qualifier to title contender.
Instead, it was a potential preview to what Saturday afternoon inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena could be like as Clark returns to her alma mater and gets to introduce her new coaches and teammates to a loyal fan base that has followed her over to Indianapolis after she was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft last April.
That’s because there’s no air conditioning in the arena; basketball is not typically played there in May.
“Hopefully it stays a little cool in there,” she said with a smirk. “I don't know what the humidity is looking like, but we'll see how it goes. It might be a little toasty.”
This exhibition — a Caitlin Clark showcase, really — came together during the winter. It was announced in January and sold out in just 42 minutes. Tickets were not made available to the public; instead, they went to Iowa season-ticket holders, many of whom made the 5.5-hour drive to Indianapolis last season to see No. 22 as a pro.
But this is not an Iowa or Fever-sponsored event. It’s being run by ProHoops Sports & Events — though there will be plenty of Fever branding and presence.
“I'm really excited,” Clark said in the days leading up to it. “It should be fun. I can't believe it's already here.”
At 23, Clark is one of the most in-demand athletes in sports. She doesn’t just move the needle — she is the needle. Her schedule is packed, yet she still makes time to knock out her workouts in the mornings, even as a self-proclaimed night owl.
She hasn’t made it back to Iowa City much since being drafted No. 1 overall. She returned in the fall for a football game, and again on Feb. 2, when Iowa retired her jersey — No. 22 — now immortalized in the rafters. There’s even a ‘22’ decal on the court where she hit the three to become NCAA women’s basketball’s all-time leading scorer.