Before she became a superstar on the Iowa Hawkeyes, Caitlin Clark spent her high school years as a normal student at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa.
As a member of the 2020 class, she was expected to be good. ESPN’s recruiting service had her as the No. 4 overall recruit and the No. 2 point guard in the country. Still, no one could have anticipated what was to come.
Clark produced immediately upon entering high school. Her freshman year she averaged 15.3 points, 4.7 assists and 2.3 steals. In her sophomore year, her averages ballooned to 27.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4 assists.
During her junior year of high school, Caitlin Clark averaged 32.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists on her way to being named the Gatorade Player of the Year. Her senior year expanded on that. She averaged 33.4 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists to go with another Gatorade Player of the Year selection.
She left Dowling Catholic named Iowa Miss Basketball, and she was selected to participate in the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Des Moines Register All-Iowa Athlete of the Year.
As Clark approaches the women’s basketball all-time scoring record, here is a look at her before she became the national phenomenon.