Indiana Fever select Iowa Hawkeyes star #1 in WNBA draft
Ticket prices soar for Caitlin Clark's final Iowa home game
The basketball sensation needs just 18 points to pass Pete Maravich's all-time NCAA basketball scoring record of 3,667 points. Fox News' Christina Coleman reports on the historic season.
Caitlin Clark is taking her stardom to professional basketball after being selected as the number one pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.
Although it was highly anticipated that the Iowa Hawkeyes star would be the first pick, her former high school coach said it was a "pretty surreal" moment when the selection was announced.
"I think we all knew she was going to go number one, but to actually see it happen and hear her name called, is just an incredible feeling. I'm so proud of her and so happy for her," Dowling Catholic High School basketball coach Kristin Meyer said on "Fox & Friends" Tuesday.
CAITLIN CLARK'S BOYFRIEND HAS 3-EMOJI RESPONSE TO IOWA STAR'S OUTFIT AT WNBA DRAFT
Meyer was Clark's coach during her four years of high school at Dowling, where she noted the NCAA all-time leading scorer's talent was evident from the beginning.
"Right away, when I first saw her play in the spring before freshman year and then coaching her that summer, it was clear her court vision, her passing ability, her ability to make shots. She just stood out right from the get-go," she said.
Caitlin Clark smiles during the 2024 WNBA Draft on April 14, 2025 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York. (Mike Lawrence/NBAE via Getty Images)
Clark continued to stand out during her collegiate career as she mesmerized fans from across the nation.
She averaged 28.4 points over her four seasons with the Hawkeyes, including 31.6 points per game with 8.9 assists and 7.4 rebounds during her incredible 2023-2024 senior season.
She broke LSU men’s basketball legend Pete Maravich’s NCAA all-time scoring record this past season, among many other accolades, which included NCAA Tournament records on the way to a national championship run. Iowa ended up losing to undefeated South Carolina in the national final.
Before the tournament, Meyer encouraged Clark to "enjoy the experience."
"It was just a, ‘Good luck. Have fun. Enjoy the experience. And go win a national championship.’"
Clark finished her career with a total of 3,951 points, including 548 three-pointers made on 1,452 attempts for a 37.7% mark from beyond the arc.
Meyer noted while Clark has risen to fame for her competitive side, she has a "fun personality" and "loves to have fun" off the court.
"We had a little free time before a game, and, I went to go do some coaching. I come back, and she's doing karaoke on the microphone. And the entire gym was an empty gym besides just her teammates," Meyer recalled.
"But that's the type of fun personality she has. She's very competitive on the court, but off the court, she just loves to have fun and loves life."
Meyer noted the story of Clark dreaming in second grade about going on to play in college and in the WNBA.
"That's pretty incredible that she set that goal as a second-grader and she put in the work to achieve it," Meyer said.
"I think a lot of people dream some really big dreams, but to actually put in the work, to make your dreams come true is incredible."
Fox News' Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
Madeline Coggins is a Digital Production Assistant on the Fox News flash team with Fox News Digital.
