Iowa State's Caitlin Clark drew the attention of millions of viewers during last month's NCAA March Madness tournament. Throughout the NCAA basketball season, Clark continued to break records and earn accolades for her impressive performance on the court. However, despite Clark's best efforts, the Iowa State Hawkeyes lost in the championship game against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Clark also recently appeared on Saturday Night Live, drawing chuckles with her quips on Colin Jost and Michael Che's Weekend Update.
Both on and off the court, the point guard has made it known that she is a big fan of country music. In a 2023 interview with Iowa Everywhere, she was asked, "What are you bumpin' to when you're warming up?"
"Okay, this is probably gonna be surprising to a lot of people, but I go more, like, calm music when I'm warming up. Because I'm already so, like, amped and juiced for the game that I don't need to keep adding to it," replied Clark.
The Iowa State senior specified saying that she typically opts for country music as her warm up soundtrack.
"It's not, like, super slow. It's not like I'm trying to go to sleep, but it's like, you know, you're not getting more amped than you already are," she explained.
"Who's your favorite country artist?" asked
"Oh, Luke Combs. He's my favorite. I wanna see him in concert so bad; he's so good."
After wrapping up March Madness, Clark headed to the WNBA Draft, which took place on Monday, April 15. Clark was the number one overall draft pick, and was selected by the Indiana Fever. She will make her WNBA debut on Tuesday, May 14, when the WNBA regular season begins, against the Connecticut Sun.
Luke Combs himself surprised Clark with a heartwarming video on the night of the special event.
"Caitlin, Luke Combs here. I just wanna say congratulations on being the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft," said the country singer, deeming the accomplishment "incredible."
He continued, saying,"I know I can speak for everybody all across the United States and the world that we've enjoyed watching you the last couple of years, and we can't wait to continue to do so."
Wearing an all-white ensemble, Clark smiled as she watched the video.
"Congratulations, you earned it. Can't wait to see you out there," finished the "Beautiful Crazy" singer.
"Luke Combs! That's my favorite artist of all time. That's pretty cool. " she said with a smile.
Clark said that the singer is a "big women's basketball fan, so I appreciate him." She reacted to the surprise, calling it "amazing" and saying she wasn't expecting the message.
Combs' video isn't the only recognition Clark has received from the country music world. Tim McGraw rocked a Caitlin Clark jersey at one of his concerts. Taking to X, McGraw posted a video of himself on stage with the large "CLARK" on his back.
"Gotta represent! Girl power! C'mon!" said the country music legend as he pumped a fist and pretended to shoot a three pointer.
