Caitlin Clark honored as AP Female Athlete of the Year following her impact on women's sports - Coast Reporter
Sports fans throw around the words “generational talent” a bit too often these days. When it comes to Caitlin Clark though, she has absolutely earned that title.

After becoming the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer and leading Iowa to back-to-back Final Four appearances, Clark went to the WNBA. In her rookie season with the Indiana Fever, she averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. Not only did she light up the boxscore, she helped the franchise reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 season.

Even though Clark is just 23 years old, she’s already inspiring the next generation of female hoopers.

On Friday night, a photo of a young basketball fan posing in front of a Caitlin Clark billboard surfaced online. It went viral on social media, receiving over 4.5 million views in roughly 12 hours.

Caitlin Clark reacts to getting her No. 22 retired at Iowa.

IOWA CITY, IOWA- FEBRUARY 2: Former Iowa Hawkeye guard and current Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark #22 waves to the fans during a ceremony to retire her #22 following the match-up against the USC Trojans, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on February 2, 2025 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Matthew Holst/Getty Images

“Love this. My daughter fell in love with basketball when Caitlin hit the scene. Now I get to spend even more quality time together watching basketball,” a fan tweeted.

“Real talk it’s funny that people think lil kids care about rings,” another fan said. “Tim Duncan could get all the rings he wanted l was never gonna stop wanting to be like Allen Iverson.”

“Caitlin Clark has truly revolutionized the WNBA. Certified Legend in the Making,” a third person wrote.

“This is so cute,” one person said. “I love girlhood.”

Some pictures are truly are worth 1,000 words.

Following her rookie season in the WNBA, Clark made it clear that she wants to be a role model for her young fans.

“That’s the reason that you play, it’s not because of the wins and the points you score,” Clark said. “It’s the amount of joy that you can bring people and the young girls that will one day grow up to hopefully be whatever they want to be.”

There’s no question Clark has accomplished that goal.