Caitlin Clark could easily be setting soccer world on fire instead of the WNBA

Playoffs and Rookie of the Year
Exceeding expectations
More than just a baller
Making a decision
Soccer
High school
Equally as skilled
Numbers don't lie
26 goals
Winning gold
Her soccer coach
Making the right decision
Playoffs and Rookie of the Year

Number one draft pick, rookie of the year and a one-women hype machine Caitlin Clark has fast become the WNBA’s greatest asset.

Exceeding expectations

The star rookie exceeded all lofty expectations after being drafted number one in the draft, averaging 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 8.4 assists, ESPN reports.

More than just a baller

Noted for her near-unmatched shooting and basketball IQ, Clark is a natural basketballer. But it turns out she could probably be doing this in another sport too.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

Making a decision

Many elite athletes decide early in their careers which sport they want to pursue at the next level, potentially abandoning what they have excelled in since childhood.

Soccer

For Clark, that decision was no different at an early age. The newly crowned WNBA Rookie of the Year also excelled on the soccer pitch, playing the sport throughout high school.

High school

At Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, Clark played soccer for two seasons and immediately left a lasting impact with incredible performances and goals.

Equally as skilled

According to Sporting News, her father, Brent Clark, believes she could have been equally skilled if she had stuck with soccer rather than basketball.

"Same sort of talent in soccer"

Her father said: "Quite frankly, and I'm not trying to brag about it, but I think she probably could have been the same sort of talent in soccer that she is in basketball. She could have been on the USA, junior-national type teams."

Numbers don't lie

Those words may seem ridiculous for a basketball player as exceptionally talented as Clark. However, the numbers do back up Brent Clark's claims.

26 goals

During her freshmen season at Dowling, Clark scored a staggering 26 goals in six games as a striker. She was the only first-year to make First-Team All-State in 2017.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

Picture – YouTube @Austin Franklin

Winning gold

She only played six games that season, a testament to Clark's incredible athletic ability. For the other half of the season, she represented Team USA at the FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina, winning gold.

Her soccer coach

JP Pearson, the head coach of the women's soccer team at Dowling, believes Clark could have taken her soccer ability to the next level, which has drawn comparisons to her basketball game.

"She was D1 material"

Sportskeeda reports that Pearson said, "She was D-I material in soccer, easily. She did have a way to go, but if she had stayed in soccer and made that her No. 1 sport ... she was good."

"Really good at turning players"

"The way she used her body, even as a freshman ... with her back to a defender, the defenders couldn't win the ball. As you can see on the (basketball) court, she was really good at turning players."

"Strike a ball like Caitlin"

John Sheridan, one of Clark's youth coaches, said: "I've been doing this for 23 years, and I've not seen a female soccer player strike a ball like Caitlin. There have been some better players, for sure. But in terms of ball-striking, she had unbelievable technique."

Making the right decision

Despite her apparent ability to excel in soccer, the WNBA star has made the right choice in picking basketball. She has already become the biggest star in the women's game.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

More for you