Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark was among 14 players selected for Team USA’s training camp in Cleveland April 3-5, USA Basketball announced Thursday. Clark could participate if she doesn’t qualify for the Final Four, which takes place in Cleveland at the same time as U.S. training camp.
Clark won three gold medals with USA Basketball’s junior national teams, most recently with the 2021 USA U19 Women’s National Team. She averaged 14.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5 .6 assists per game and was named the competition’s MVP.
Clark, 22, is the only college player currently on the roster. She’s almost certainly the No. 1 pick in next month’s WNBA draft and her accolades deserve great consideration. She is the leading scorer in NCAA basketball history – men’s or women’s – with 3,830 points. On Monday, Clark set the NCAA women’s single-season scoring record with 1,113.
There is also Clark’s influence on the national landscape. The Hawkeyes set viewership records for women’s basketball on six different networks or streaming platforms this year, and Iowa’s first two NCAA Tournament games were by far the most watched for a non-Final Four in sports history. Iowa’s 62-52 victory over West Virginia on Monday recorded 5.4 million viewers, breaking the previous non-Final Four record set two days earlier by Iowa against Holy Cross (3.23 million viewers) .
All but two of Iowa’s games this year were sellouts — home, away or neutral. All eyes are on Clark, no matter where she plays. If she’s in Paris, you can be sure that American households will be tuning in to see the Iowa superstar, no matter how many minutes she has.
Athleticism Clark was unanimously named national player of the year this season. She led the country in points (31.8) and assists per game (8.8).
Nine Olympians were on the training camp roster, including five-time Olympic champion Diana Taurasi, Ariel Atkins, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young.
With Clark making the training camp roster, she is now part of the candidate pool for the U.S. team selection committee tasked with deciding the Olympic team. The committee is made up of Dawn Staley, Seimone Augustus, DeLisha Milton-Jones, Jennifer Rizzotti and WNBA League Operations Manager Bethany Donaphin.
It wouldn’t be unusual for Clark to make the Olympic roster as a recent graduate. Breanna Stewart made the list in 2016 after UConn. Candace Parker (2008) and Taurasi (2004) were the others.
Final publication of the list is expected in late spring.
The women’s Olympic basketball tournament begins July 28 and ends August 11. Team USA’s first game will be against Japan on July 29. The U.S. women’s basketball team is trying to win its eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
Team USA training camp roster
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(Photo: Matthieu Holst / Getty Images)