What has Caitlin Clark been up to since March Madness run? Catching up with the Iowa star

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Caitlin Clark has a schedule and travel demands that could rival a well-seasoned state department official.
Since her spring semester concluded, Clark was celebrated at an Iowa Cubs Triple-A baseball game, and some fans stood in line for 12 hours for her autograph. The Iowa women’s basketball star hosted her basketball camp that sold out within minutes, attended a Taylor Swift concert and recently accepted the Honda Cup Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year honor in Los Angeles.
Advertisement
Next Wednesday, Clark will play in the John Deere Classic Pro-Am alongside longtime professional Zach Johnson near Silvis, Ill. She was nominated for two ESPY Awards and will travel with her team to Italy and Croatia on a summer trip. All the while she’s in the gym daily for workouts and was named a Big Ten distinguished scholar this week.
Has Clark exhaled yet? If she wanted to, does she even have the time?
“My summer is very full, but that’s how I would want it,” Clark said over Zoom on Wednesday. “Life never slows down. But I’m lucky that I get to live this life, and I’m very thankful and blessed to have the opportunities that I do.”
Clark led the Iowa women’s basketball team to the NCAA championship game, and her impact on the sport was staggering. The Hawkeyes’ title-game appearance against LSU attracted the largest audience in women’s basketball history at 9.9 million viewers. More than 19,000 fans attended both Iowa Final Four games in Dallas, and the Hawkeyes set the Big Ten record for average home attendance. At Big Ten road venues, Iowa’s opponents averaged 3,482 fans more than average when facing Clark and the Hawkeyes.
On the floor, Clark posted the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA Tournament history (men’s or women’s) and shattered NCAA single-tournament records for most 3-point field goals made (24) and most points scored (191). She is the first player in Division I women’s basketball history with more than 1,000 points and 300 assists in the same season. No player during the past 20 seasons — men’s or women’s — reached 1,500 career points faster than Clark. She was the unanimous women’s basketball player of the year.
But now she’s more concerned about her golf game and not embarrassing herself in front of a gallery. Here are some takeaways from Clark’s news conference.
Time to celebrate! @CaitlinClark22 is the 2023 #HondaCup Winner.
The @IowaWBB family is rolling deep in LA with @LisaBluder and @goiowa. 🖤💛#CWSAFamily pic.twitter.com/kajZHKCVEA
— CWSA Honda Cup (@CWSA_HondaCup) June 27, 2023
Golfing in public
“I’ll probably be way more nervous for this than I am for a basketball game,” she said.
Advertisement
Clark enjoys golf more than any sport save for basketball. She picked up form-fitted clubs last year and considers herself a strong driver but a weak putter. She never has played the course at TPC Deere Run and asked NBA first-round selection Kris Murray for his advice when he played there on his draft day.
With a gallery likely to swarm behind her and Johnson, who is a fellow Iowa native, Clark recognizes the attention. She joked, “They should definitely stay behind me just in case anything goes wrong.”
“I’ve been out playing a lot,” Clark said. “I definitely think when I step on the first tee, I will be probably shaking and really nervous. I don’t know if I’ll be able to tee off on the first tee (laughing). But I’m excited.
“Golf is amazing. People are following you for 18 holes. It’s kind of different. It’s not always loud and exciting unless it’s the Ryder Cup or Solheim Cup. It’s a little different feel. But it still has that environment.”
Zach Johnson brought the Claret Jug with him to Iowa City on Saturday. Hawkeyes win again. https://t.co/CxGk52HJCw pic.twitter.com/OcEClL7iAR
— PGA Amateur Golf (@PGAAmateurGolf) November 1, 2015
Playing with Johnson
If there was an Iowa native sports Mount Rushmore, Clark and Johnson would join Kurt Warner, Dan Gable, Nile Kinnick, Bob Feller and Shawn Johnson among others on a short list of finalists. Zach Johnson has won the 2007 Masters and the 2015 Open Championship at St. Andrews and serves as the Ryder Cup captain with five Ryder Cup appearances.
Johnson attended Drake University but is a diehard Iowa fan who has served as honorary team captain for football games and posts on sports message boards. He and Clark have never met, despite their pairing at the John Deere.
So will basketball dominate their conversation or golf?
Advertisement
“I get four hours to basically get a lesson from Zach Johnson. Are you kidding me?” Clark said. “I’m gonna be asking him everything. A lot of people have actually come up to me like, ‘Man, you get to pick Zach Johnson’s brain for four hours. Like that’s so cool.’ But we’ll definitely be talking about golf a lot.”
Clark’s favorite golfers include Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy on the men’s side. Clark follows Nelly Korda and two-time NCAA champion Rose Zhang of Stanford on the women’s side. Zhang was supposed to attend the Honda Cup alongside Clark but couldn’t appear because of golf commitments.
Known for her competitive emotion, Clark said she is much calmer on a golf course than on the court.
“I’ve never broke a club, nothing like that,” Clark said. “People probably think I would have done something like that, thrown a club, broke a club. I’ve never done that, probably because they’re too expensive, and I don’t want to have to buy new ones.”
We've got B1G news! Iowa Women's Basketball star @CaitlinClark22 is going to tee it up with us in the Wednesday Pro Am on July 5th alongside Iowa-native @zachjohnsonpga!
Learn more here: https://t.co/f1gWsVvIOa pic.twitter.com/7Nmv4614zu
— John Deere Classic (@JDCLASSIC) June 2, 2023
On the floor
Iowa set a program record with 31 victories last season and the athletic department had to halt season ticket orders because demand exceeded supply. Expectations are high, which suits Clark fine.
The Hawkeyes return 68 percent of their scoring, 67.7 percent of their rebounding and 83.8 percent of their assists. But losing All-Big Ten center Monika Czinano, who scored more than 2,000 career points, and forward McKenna Warnock will be a challenge.
After a month to unwind, Clark returned to the gym for workouts. She likes what she sees so far.
Advertisement
“I’m really excited about Hannah Stuelke,” Clark said. “I think that’s very obvious to the outside world is that she’s going to be a special player. It’s just getting her to believe that in herself and getting her to believe what she can contribute to this team because we really need her.
“Obviously, our posts are going to be really battling, and it’s an open position that really hasn’t been open and what, four years now. So I think that’s going to be an exciting battle, and Coach J (Jan Jensen) has been putting a lot of time into them.”
The Hawkeyes leave Aug. 4 for a three-game trip to Italy and Croatia and return home on Aug. 16. The practices and games will give the team a chance to evaluate personnel before the regular season.
“We’re lucky we have the foreign trip to really go out and play games and see what works and what doesn’t,” she said. “It’s gonna be a really fun year for us.”
First camp in the books!! Thank you to the 600 campers over the four days! Would not have been possible without my amazing staff and sponsors @HyVee @nikebasketball … See everyone next year 🖤🖤 pic.twitter.com/ynYd5leRIi
— Caitlin Clark (@CaitlinClark22) June 11, 2023
Time away
The aftermath of Iowa’s national title loss, which included LSU’s Angel Reese taunting Clark by holding up her hand and pointing to her ring finger, was “a little distorted” Clark said Wednesday. Clark diffused the situation almost immediately and then focused on relaxing and attending class.
“It was a very exhausting run for myself: mentally, physically, emotionally,” she said. “To be able to play on that stage and in that spotlight for that long, it can be very draining.
“I was quite run down after that point. But the coaches made sure I wasn’t in the gym too soon, which was very hard for myself. I’m just somebody that loves to be in the gym. And then after a few weeks, we got back to it.”
Advertisement
Time management also remains critical for Clark. Basketball and school take up significant time, and she has several high-profile NIL deals that keep her even busier. She said the craziness “can be a challenge at times.”
“I’m very fortunate and lucky to get to live this life. I know a lot of people would want to be in my shoes. So there’s not a day I don’t take it for granted because it goes really fast. I’m going into my senior year already. So just trying to soak in every single moment.”
The 2023 Collegiate Athlete of the Year is… CAITLIN 👏 CLARK 👏
🏆 2023 #HondaCup Winner 🏆
She was the only player in the nation this season with 1,000 points, 240 rebounds, 310 assists and 45 steals.
Welcome to the #CWSAFamily, @CaitlinClark22!
This is history. pic.twitter.com/zpUi8b9bTd
— CWSA Honda Cup (@CWSA_HondaCup) June 27, 2023
Humbling honor
Monday, Clark earned The Honda Cup Award, which is presented to the top female athlete in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports and is considered “the best of the best in collegiate athletics.” Administrators from more than 1,000 NCAA member schools voted and chose Clark.
Clark was flattered to rank among the top athletes in other sports, let alone win the award.
“To be named No. 1 out of all of them is pretty incredible and kind of hard to wrap your head around,” she said. “Some of those athletes have played in the Olympics or will be in the Olympics someday. I believe just any of them that were on that stage with me could have won that award. That’s how prestigious it is and how incredible those women are.”
(Photo: C. Morgan Engel / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k29rcXFpbHxzfJFsZmluX2eFcK%2FAoquloZ5isK2t0aRkoqenlnqjrdKknK2akaG5cA%3D%3D