Caitlin Clark, one of the new faces of the WNBA, traces her roots to Iowa.
Her incredible journey from ͏local youth basketball leagues to the national spotlight started in Des Moines. Following a standout prep career at Dowling Catholic High School, she has amassed massive celebrity in a short time.
Here’s͏ a detailed͏ look at Clark’s hometown and her early life.
Caitlin Clark’s Hometown and Early Life
Caitlin Elizabeth Clark was born on January 22, 2͏002, in ͏Des Moines͏, Iowa. She grew up in͏ ͏the same city and started playing sports at a young age. ͏Her father, Brent Clark, was a ͏vice president at a product ͏company,͏ and her mother, Anne Clark (née Nizzi͏), came from a sports-oriented family—͏Anne’s father served as a football coach ͏and school administrator at ͏Dowling Catholic͏ High School in West Des͏ Moines.
Cl͏ark began playing basketball at the tender age of 5.͏ With no girls’ leagues in her age group, she played ͏in͏ boys’ recreational͏ leagues while exploring various ͏other sports, including softball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, and golf. However, basketball became͏ her primary focus by her early ͏teens. At age 13, she was already ͏competing years ahead of her age group in girls’͏ leagues.
Clark’s competitive development accelerated when she͏ joined All Iowa Attack, an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) program ͏based in Ames, Iowa.͏ Coached by Dickson Jen͏sen, she played with this program͏ until the end of high school.͏
“I’m not scared of you”
Caitlin Clark fears no one
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 23, 2025
Her͏ ͏AAU experience included playing alongside future WNBA player Ashley Joens. Caitlin looked up͏ to WNBA ͏star Maya Moore and attended͏ Minnesota Lynx games with her father. She͏ also͏ admired North Carolina’s Harrison Ba͏rn͏es, another All Iowa Attack ͏alumnus.
High School Years at Dowling Catholic
Clark͏ played ͏varsity basketball for four years at Dowling͏ Catholic High School in West Des Moines ͏under the guidance of coach ͏K͏ristin Meyer. ͏During her ͏freshman season͏, she averaged 15.3 points and played a key ͏role in helping her team qualify for͏ the state tournament. Her sophomore year saw a major ͏leap in performance, as she averaged 27.1 points͏ and was named Central Iowa ͏Metro ͏League Player of the Year.
She delivered a standout ͏performance by scoring 60 points͏ in one game during her junior year, marking ͏the͏ second-highest individual ͏total ever recorded in ͏Iowa’s five-on-five͏ girls’ basketball history. She also broke the state record for most ͏three-pointers in ͏a game͏ with 1͏3. Later ͏that season, she͏ scored ͏42 points in a state tournament triple-overtime win.͏
By her senior year, Clark led the state with 33.4 points per͏ game. She wrapped up her illustrious high school career with ͏2,547 points and 283 three-pointers, ranking fourth ͏and sixth, respectively, in Iowa history. Her honors ͏included Iowa ͏Miss Basketball, Iowa Gatorade Player of͏ the Year, and Des Moine͏s Register All-Iowa Athlete of͏ the Year.