"Happy for our girls": $3.1 million NIL-valued Caitlin Clark opens up about Iowa getting its first No. 1 seed since 1992
After 32 long years, Iowa women`s basketball finally clinched a No. 1 seed once more. And perhaps not a lot of people are happier than the Hawkeyes` resident superstar, Caitlin Clark.
Speaking to the Big Ten Network's Justine Fernandez, the $3.1 million NIL-valued athlete made her thoughts known about the achievement that`s been a long time coming for her squad.
Clark said:
"I felt pretty good about it coming in here today, but honestly, it doesn`t really matter what number is above your name. It`s just [about] going out there and performing. I think it`s been since 1993 or 1992 where we haven`t been a 1 seed so, I think it just speaks to our hard work but also how we`ve been playing lately so I`m happy for our girls."
The Iowa Hawkeyes women`s hoops team has never been seeded No. 1 in the NCAA tournament for over three decades. During the 1992 season, the team bowed out of the tournament with a slim 60-61 loss to the No. 8 seeded Southwest Missouri State.
Aside from that, the Hawkeyes have also had a couple of heartbreaks within the past two seasons. In 2022, they were knocked out of the tournament in the second round by Creighton. Then last year, they lost big in the national championship game to Kim Mulkey, Angel Reese and the LSU Tigers.
Safe to say, this year is a season of redemption for Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes.
What`s the outlook for Iowa in this year`s NCAA women`s tournament?
As one of the top four seeds in the bracket, Clark and her teammates will have massive targets on their backs. They`re sharing the top seed with the still-undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, the Texas Lady Longhorns, Juju Watkins and the USC Trojans. These are all tough teams, but perhaps a bigger argument can be made about SC head coach Dawn Staley and her 32-0 squad.
Not to mention, there`s still the defending champs from Baton Rouge seeded No. 3 right within the same Albany 2 region that the Iowa Hawkeyes are. It seems like if Caitlin Clark wants to take her team to the top, they`ll have to go through their last year`s conquerors once more to exorcise some demons.
Iowa will face the winner of the First Four matchup between Holy Cross and UT Martin in the first round, hosting the game at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena.