Indiana Fever select Iowa’s Caitlin Clark No. 1 in 2024 WNBA draft

NEW YORK – Caitlin Clark is officially a pro.

Clark, the record-breaking face of women’s college basketball, was selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA draft Monday night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

“I got a little anxious before the pick,” Clark said with a laugh during an interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe. “I’ve dreamed about this moment since I was in second grade, and it’s taken a lot of hard work, a lot of ups and downs, but more than anything, just trying to soak it in.”

Los Angeles selected Stanford’s Cameron Brink at No. 2. She will stay in California and give the Sparks a two-way player. The prolific scorer was also the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. The Sparks needed to replace franchise player Nneka Ogwumike, who left for Seattle in free agency.

Brink is the third Stanford player selected in the top two of the WNBA draft, joining Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike. The only university with more is UConn.

Chicago had the third pick, which Sky used to select South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, the 2024 Final Four Most Outstanding Player. Cardoso’s 59.4% field goal percentage in 2023-24 led the SEC and was ranked 15th overall in Division I. South Carolina has now had 11 players selected in the first round over the past 10 seasons, the second most of any program in draft history behind UConn. . .

The Sparks went again at No. 4 and selected Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson, who was one of five SEC players to average at least 20 points and 5 rebounds in multiple seasons over the past 25 years. Jackson is one of two Tennessee players with 30 points and 10 rebounds in an NCAA tournament, the other being Candace Parker, who also started her career with the Sparks.

Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon went fifth for the Dallas Wings, and the Washington Mystics took UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards at No. 6. Edwards posted career highs in both scoring (17.6 points per game) and rebounding (9.2 points per game) in 2023-24.

The Sky then moved up to seventh to select LSU star Angel Reese, the Final Four Most Outstanding Player during LSU’s national championship run in 2023. Reese had 61 double-doubles over the past two seasons, the most amount in Division I and the second most at LSU. history, only behind Sylvia Fowles.

“I’m excited to play with Kamilla; I’ve played against her since high school,” said Reese, who is the highest pick LSU has had since Fowles in 2008 (second overall).

Utah’s Alissa Pili was selected No. 8 overall by the Minnesota Lynx. Pili averaged 21.1 points the past two seasons, ranking fourth in Division I, trailing only Clark (29.7), Ta’Niya Latson (21.3) and McKenna Hofschild (21.3).

The Wings selected Carla Leite of France with the ninth pick. Leïla Lacan, also from France, heads to the Connecticut Sun at #10.

Clark, a 6-foot-0 guard and native of West Des Moines, Iowa, enters the league on top of the world. A two-time national player of the year, Clark finished her collegiate career with 3,951 points, the most in men’s and women’s Division I history, while leading the Iowa Hawkeyes to back-to-back national title game appearances, their first in the history of the program. .

His logo-marked 3-pointers, standout assists and offensive firepower (he averaged 31.6 points per game as a senior and 28.4 points in his career) have drawn crowds in Iowa City and on the road, while also tearing up television ratings in a crowd. from television networks and streaming platforms along the way.

She has her own cereal box, State Farm commercials and last weekend appeared as herself on “Saturday Night Live.” Now her greatest challenge and her greatest opportunity await her.

“I earned it, that’s why I’m so proud of it,” Clark told Rowe.

The Fever have not appeared in the playoffs since 2016, the final season of the legendary Tamika Catchings. But with Clark joining forces with last year’s No. 1 overall pick in Aliyah Boston, the generational power couple appears destined to change the trajectory of the franchise (and possibly the league) for years to come.

Indiana, winner of the 2012 WNBA title, has languished since Catchings’ retirement, sporting the league’s worst winning percentage since the start of the 2017 season despite selecting lottery picks in each of the last seven drafts. . Four of those seven selections are no longer with the team.

Signs of progress emerged last season with Boston, the franchise’s first No. 1 pick, in tow, as they won 13 games, tied for the most since Catchings retired. With Clark now in the mix, he appears to be within reach for the franchise to break what is currently the league’s longest active streak without making the playoffs.

Clark, the only Division I player with more than 3,000 points and 1,000 assists, will have two equally young but elite post targets in Boston, the reigning rookie of the year, and NaLyssa Smith, a 2022 lottery pick. After While Clark developed strong chemistry with Iowa posts Monika Czinano and Hannah Stuelke, the connections she, Boston and Smith can form in Indianapolis are tantalizing prospects for Fever fans.

“The organization has one of the best post players in the world. My point guard eyes light up with that,” Clark said.

Clark will also share the backcourt with two senior guards: Kelsey Mitchell, No. 4 on the NCAA Division I all-time scoring list and one of the league’s best 3-point shooters last season, as well as returning point guard Erica Wheeler.

ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.