“With the first pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, the Indiana Fever select Caitlin Clark!” Words by Cathy Engelbert echoed loud and clear as the ‘Iowa sensation’ got drafted No. 1. That was the moment that changed it all. After an exceptional four years with the Iowa Hawkeyes, the No. 22 got to ply her trade in the W. However, when one of her best friends and teammates Kate Martin was drafted during the second round, it did not go well with Clark but for one positive reason.

On Monday’s episode of Fresh Tawk with Jada Gyamfi, Clark was present with her ex-teammates Martin, Gabbie Marshall, and host Gyamfi, enumerating the reason she was upset by the Aces rookie draft.

“I was sitting right next to Connor except I was so upset. Because I was like… after I got drafted… drafted that I got just drug out immediately. And I didn’t get to see any of the draft and like I had my phone I couldn’t really go on it. Made me so upset. And then like I didn’t even get to see Kate get drafted. And somebody’s like ‘Kate just got picked,’ and I’m I went on my phone I’m like… but so yeah that made me really upset,” Clark stated.

None of the projected drafts from platforms like ESPN, etc showed ‘The Glue’ as one of the players to be selected. Hence, Martin, without any expectations, attended the event only to cheer for the point guard. So when her name was announced as the eighteenth overall pick, she couldn’t control her happiness, hugging her then-assistant coach Jan Jensen and teammates Marshall and Gyamfi. Meanwhile, Clark’s boyfriend Connor McCaffery could be seen clapping for Martin.

“I didn’t even take pictures with you guys, my family, Connor like no one like … the photo booth was fun that was really cute… It was crazy ’cause when they came up to me, they were like… like ‘give them your phone’ and so I didn’t have my phone. Whenever I was going back and doing like interviews and stuff too, so like talk to my mom on the phone. I couldn’t talk to my mom or my sister or anybody and like you guys, and I didn’t know how I was going to find,” Clark concluded.

The Las Vegas Aces picked her up during the second round as the 18th overall pick, hinting that she too built herself a legacy with the Hawkeyes. However, what disappointed Clark was that she wasn’t able to use her phone and couldn’t capture the happiness of her teammates until they all moved into the photo booth. Meanwhile, as for her draft, the former NCAA Queen had expressed excitement at that time.

Caitlin Clark doesn’t feel tired despite a hectic NCAA season

Clark had an exceptional time with the Hawkeyes, leading them to back-to-back NCAA Championship Finales. The point guard became the first Hawkeye to be drafted first, after ending her season as the all-time leading scorer in men’s and women’s basketball, eclipsing the legendary Pete Maravich. However, the media suspected the 2x NPOY to be tired because she had just come off a recently concluded NCAA season and now a full W season lay before her. But the Des Moines-born denied feeling any lag.

“I think the biggest thing is I’m just very lucky to be in this moment, and all these opportunities and these things, they’re once in a lifetime… When things might get tiring or you have to do stuff, I think the biggest thing is look at it just as an opportunity. This isn’t something everybody gets to do. It’s once in a lifetime, and just trying to soak in every single experience because I know how quick of a turnaround it is, and I have a lot of people helping me,” Clark had expressed.

But she surely would have been disappointed, not getting to memorialize her friend Martin’s special moment. However, whenever they get time, the Iowa alums might go through the videos of the day posted on the internet and relive the moment once again!