For years, women’s college basketball fans have been waiting for the emergence of someone. Someone that will take over the sport and be the league’s superstar. There have been unbelievable teams in the past that have gotten credit, such as any UConn team from 1995 to 2016. Pat Summit at Tennessee built a winning culture that can only be matched by Geno Auriemma at UConn. However, the two that always got credit for the victories were the coaches. We applauded these coaches more than the players that they produced. That’s no knock on them, I still regard the two as the best collegiate basketball coaches of all-time. But, as I mentioned earlier, the league needed a bigger than life character. Enter Caitlin Clark.
Caitlin Clark Takes center stage
Clark became a big name in college basketball in 2023 with the Iowa Hawkeyes, however no one could anticipate what was coming next. The NCAA Women’s National Championship Tournament was a showcase for all the talent in the league. Including Clark. This is when she garnered her household-name status that she carries with her. The Hawkeyes took on the LSU Tigers and superstar Angel Reese in the National Championship. The two created a rivalry in that game that was much more anticipated than anything going on in the men’s tournament.
Both Reese and Clark returned to the league in 2024, and Clark’s superstardom is now otherworldly. I just have one problem with it. She isn’t the only person in the league. The fans have made her bigger than the sport itself. Clark is one of the humblest athletes that I have seen that has reached the status she has. And I understand the NCAA pushing her as the face of the league, because she is. However, I do also understand that the sport as a whole needs to be admired right now.
Coverage of “NCAA Women’s basketball” has just turned into the “Caitlyn Clark highlight reel”. Again, this isn’t her fault, but there is much more to be loved about women’s college basketball right now than just her and Reese.
Who and What else is out there
An NC State team that is just two years removed from an Elite Eight appearance that had to completely rebuild. Being able to be the third-ranked team in the nation after that should be celebrated. Colorado who sits at 19-3 looking for their revenge game against the Hawkeyes after they lost to them in the Womens National Tournament last season. The team is as deep as any other team in the country this season, yet no word on them.
Freshman JuJu Watkins at USC has almost singlehandedly turned the program around. She averages 27 points per game this season, trailing only Clark. They sit in the top 10 in the country right now. McKenna Hofschild at Colorado State is putting up near Clark numbers, yet no mention. Averaging 24 points and 7 assists per game. South Carolina is putting together one of the best seasons in the school’s decorated history. They’ve won all but one game this season by at least 16 points. That lone win came against Reese and the LSU Tigers by six points.
Kansas State is putting together perhaps the best season that the program has ever had with Ayoka Lee, perhaps the best center in the women’s game right now, leading the way on the court.
Where to watch
I get that leagues have their own network deals set in place. The ACC, Big Ten, SEC, and Big 12 all have their own individual streaming networks. However, now is the time to capitalize on these opportunities for the league. Even streaming sites online aren’t picking up the sport to allow viewers to watch. Put some of these teams besides Iowa front and center on ESPN and allow people to see them. Allow rivalries to build.
People will be invested if they have something or someone to cheer for. And right now, that person is Caitlyn Clark. So go out and make storylines of the teams that could compete with them. Womens basketball is the hottest that it has ever been and maybe it stays that way if Clark decides to leave, and maybe it don’t. Either way, right now is the time to put the sport front and center.