It didn't take long for universities to start recruiting Caitlin Clark.
Travis Kelce said he heard Clark's first job offer arrived when he was in seventh grade, something Clark acknowledged in a recent appearance on “New Heights.”
The Indiana Fever star said he feels very lucky with how his parents responded to his early adoption letter from the school.
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Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever speaks to the media during an introductory press conference at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on April 17, 2024 in Indianapolis. (Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
“Honestly, it's sad. It's like losing college recruiting, it's just insane. I feel very lucky. My parents told my brother, 'Come and pick up the mail.' Just like I don't want my sister to do that.'' Look at that. 'They wanted me to be in seventh grade and enjoy middle school, like playing with my friends, and not having to worry about where I'm going to college,'' Clark said.
Clark said he didn't think much about it at the time because he was just playing basketball and having fun.
“Seventh grade was wild, and I played until sophomore year, so I was playing with high school kids, but yeah, I didn't really want to think about that. I just wanted to go out and hoop and have fun. It was just 'kind of what came with it,''' Clark said.
The former Iowa State star said his parents protected him from the possibility of burnout from playing too much basketball.
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No. 22 Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever poses for a portrait during the inaugural press conference at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on April 17, 2024 in Indianapolis. (Matt Kreiger/NBAE via Getty Images)
“I played in AAU and then on my high school team, and my mom used to say, 'It's crazy that she only plays three or two games a day,' because sometimes they play on my high school team. I play on a 7th grade team and an 8th grade team, so my parents have been really good about that and they've made sure that I don't lose that love and don't want me to burn out. They made it for me. You want to have fun while you're doing it, and if you're lucky you can become a pro,'' Clark said.
“And maybe, as a kid, I thought, 'Mom, no, I can go on, I feel like I can go on,' but looking back, that was very fortunate, because I lost it. Because it's fun, I'm passionate about it, and I'm always trying to get better. That's why sometimes people get burned out. It's because they did it too much as a child or their parents or someone else pushed it too hard. It's something I don't really deal with. I feel very lucky that it didn't happen.”
Clark said she was in no rush to decide where to attend college.
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Guard Caitlin Clark (#22), forward Hannah Stuelke (#45), and guard Kate after the NCAA Tournament Elite 8 Basketball game against Louisville on Sunday, March 26, 2023 in Seattle. -Iowa State players, including Martin (#20), held a celebration. (AP Photo/Kian Kout)
“I didn't actually visit until after my freshman year (in high school), and then I didn't decide until my senior year, so I never rushed it and my parents did a really good job. I definitely had a really good circle around me, and I wasn't always being recruited by colleges, and that didn't really happen when I was growing up,'' Clark said.
Clark said he wanted to stay in the Midwest, ultimately choosing Iowa State and going on to have one of the most successful college careers in history.
She is NCAA Division I's all-time leading scorer and has earned countless accolades, including being named AP Player of the Year twice.
Iowa has already retired No. 22.
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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark sits on the team bench after making a pass to the basket that leads to a score during the second half of the WNBA basketball game against the Dallas Wings on Sunday, September 1, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. look at it and smile. . (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Following her success at Iowa, she was selected by the Fever with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Clark was named the WNBA Rookie of the Year, made the All-Star team, led the WNBA in assists, and helped lead the Fever to the playoffs in his rookie season.
Clark was also named Time Magazine's 2024 Athlete of the Year.
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