3x National Champion Hails Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese as Forerunners in Women’s Sports Despite Their Recent NCAA Setback

Women in the World of sports are rocking it. And what better way to learn more about that than hearing it directly from the 3x NCAA National champion, Madisen Skinner? Skinner joined the EssentiallySports Thought Leadership Podcast Series—Think Tank this week as Trey Holder, our host, talked to the 22-year-old about her opinions on how women are becoming trendsetters in the world of sports.

As Trey spoke to Skinner, one thing got increasingly clear: she believes that young and upcoming players making it to the top is “a big stride”. Of late, there have been various instances of exciting moments in women’s sports, and the young sensation from Katy, Texas, who has got two titles playing for Texas and one for Kentucky, spoke all about it.

Madisen Skinner is in awe of how far women’s sports have come

The pride was palpable as she spoke. With a smile, she said, “Just to see women’s sports start to get recognition and the platform that they deserve is awesome.” As she addressed her admiration for women being seen on “so many amazing platforms like ESPN which is just not the norm,” two names stood out. They were Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, whom Skinner talked about at length with pride. 

She eloquently shared, “So just to open my phone and like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese and all those girls are the first thing I see is awesome. It’s a big stride in women’s sports for sure.” Speaking of big strides, remember when Sunday’s NCAA women’s basketball championship between Iowa and South Carolina attracted close to 19 million viewers? 

To better understand this record-breaking number, let’s look at some stats. CNN reported that “The game not only eclipsed Monday’s men’s final between Purdue and UConn by more than 4 million viewers, but it also the most-viewed basketball game of the past five years, outpacing any NBA contest during that period, according to Nielsen.” Shocking, right? That pretty much indicates the power of names like Clark and Reese.

Skinner spoke with pride about “so many girls now that have amazing platforms and college to inspire the next generation of female athletes that are young right now”. With that, she acknowledged how women’s sports are starting to get recognized.

Women like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, as the Honda Sport Award Winner mentioned, have not only dominated the WNBA headlines but have also transformed the discussion surrounding women’s sports. What speaks volumes about their impact is that, despite their NCAA setbacks, it goes beyond trophies. That’s right, while Clark’s cabinet lacks that NCAA Championship Trophy, Reese said she has “been attacked so many times” after winning hers. 

Skinner’s awe of how far women’s sport has come led her to make a bold prediction. She shared, “My bold prediction is that I have Texas winning it all. Texas women’s basketball..” She further explained how incredible the team is and how hard those girls have worked. And with that, she made the bold prediction with the statement “I have confidence in them”. Evidently, women have redefined what the word ‘superstars’ means in the sporting world.

The EssentiallySports Think Tank is a premium platform that brings together the leading minds in sports content. Apart from engaging in insightful discussions on strategy, leadership, and change, we also open a forum to talk about the opportunities and achievements in the sports content landscape. To prepare for challenges and inspiration from the thought leaders, stay tuned!

To watch the full episode, tune into ES Think Tank on Apr 23 at 11:00 AM EST!