Caitlin Clark’s star has risen so high that ESPN is dispatching a reporter to Iowa City to chronicle her every move during the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
The reporter who landed this plum assignment is herself a pretty big deal given she’s already enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Holly Rowe, a 2023 Naismith Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Media Award recipient, is heading to Iowa City to cover Iowa’s opening game (and second-round matchup barring a historic upset). She will embed with the Clark crew. ESPN will formally announce Rowe’s tournament role on Sunday.
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“I am honored to say that I am the Caitlin Clark reporter,” said Rowe on Saturday. “We have had a presence on the ground covering the special moments with Caitlin this year and I have been at every one of her games where she set a record.
I see it as an extension of the dedicated coverage we have had with Caitlin all year. I think there is an intrigue and appetite for all things Caitlin. I can’t tell you how many NBA coaches and players have asked me about Clark this year.
(Rowe works as an analyst for the Utah Jazz in addition to her ESPN duties.) For instance, I just had a long conversation with Steph Curry after one of his games in Utah where we talked about her.”
“Me and my colleagues on the production management side sat down and talked about the need for having additional coverage there,” said Sara Gaiero, an ESPN vice president of production who is responsible for strategic oversight and management of ESPN’s coverage of the NCAA women’s basketball.
“The name that came to mind was Holly.
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She has been on the Caitlin Clark beat, if you will, tracking and following her and being present with her when she broke records earlier in the year. That level of coverage is needed and necessary and warranted this year. It’s not something we’ve done for the previous first and second rounds for a specific player.”
Gaiero said Rowe will be available to SportsCenter and other ESPN entities that request her during the opening rounds. She’ll report on Iowa’s practices and other things around the game.
Here is something else that is an offshoot of the Clark effect: For Iowa’s opening-round NCAA games, Rowe will serve as traditional sideline reporter for those games. That’s currently the only game right now, Gaiero said, for the first and second round that has a sideline reporter. (ESPN will staff all games with sideline reporters after the second round.)
Clark enters the NCAA Tournament with 3,771 career points.
With the Big Ten Conference media rights moving to CBS, FOX, NBC and NBCUniversal’s Peacock, ESPN has been shut out of Clark’s games this year. They’ve had to come up with creative ways to report on the expected No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, which is why Rowe has been with the team as much as she has this year.
“Caitlin has been so gracious with us,” Rowe said. “I’ll give you an example. I have been there for games we don’t have the rights to and for those games Fox, Peacock, CBS or whomever gets the first interview on the court.
Then I have gotten the very next interview on the court. I will never be able to say thanks to Caitlin and Bailey Turner (Turner is an assistant director of communications in charge of media relations for the women’s basketball program), I do think we have helped grow Caitlin in some ways over the last couple of years and I hope we have done it in a respectful way.”
Rowe has covered women’s basketball for decades, one of the broadcast O.G.’s of the sport, and said last October she asked her ESPN bosses if she could focus exclusively on the women’s college game this season as opposed to splitting her time between the men and women.
“I asked to get taken off men’s basketball this year because I felt this moment that was about to happen,” Rowe said. “I don’t think many people ask to get taken off a men’s sport and I am proud of myself for knowing where the story is. This is the big-time and this is where I need to be.”
Hot news: The most explosive scene we’ve ever seen in the NCAA history! Caitlin Clark showered with 3-WORD REQUEST from Iowa fans after outburst vs Michigan On Thursday evening, Iowa women’s basketball superstar Caitlin Clark absolutely lit up the rival Michigan Wolverines to the tune of 49 points, 13 assists, and five rebounds in what ultimately turned into a 106-89 home victory for the Hawkeyes over their Big Ten counterparts.
With a basket made earlier in the game, Clark had already broken the NCAA women’s basketball all-time scoring record, a distinction previously held by Washington Huskies star Kelsey Plum, but little did Iowa fans in attendance know that it was just going to be the beginning of what was to become yet another electric night for the future WNBA superstar on Thursday.
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In fact, after the game, Iowa fans showered Clark with a simple, three-word request as the superstar made her way back to the tunnel.
“Iowa fans chanting, ‘One more year! One more year!’ to Caitlin Clark,” reported Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.
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That chant would of course refer to the idea that most pundits have that Caitlin Clark will leave the college basketball world at the end of this season in order to join the ranks of the WNBA, where she would almost assuredly be the number one overall pick.
At 22 years old, Clark will have already fulfilled eligibility requirements to be able to take her talents professionally by the end of this season, but that sure didn’t stop Iowa fans from trying their luck on Thursday.
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The Hawkeyes next take the court next Thursday on the road against Indiana.
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is transformative, just like Michael Jordan once was
Even if you didn’t like the NBA, or care about any sports, you knew who Michael Jordan was.
His jersey was ubiquitous in the ’90s, his shoes and commercials even more so, and kids across the country flocked to courts in hopes they, too, could “be like Mike.”
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Jordan was so enmeshed in the cultural fabric of our society that he became a de facto member of every American household.
It wasn’t just in the United States, either. Jordan had already won two NBA titles when he and the Dream Team played at the Barcelona Olympics, and even the possibility of catching a glimpse of “MJ” in a hotel lobby or getting on a bus was enough to draw throngs of fans.
Even those who didn’t see him in person were inspired to buy the products he pitched or take up the game — future Hall of Famers included.
Clark’s impact might not be as widespread — yet — but it’s no less transformative.
Interest in women’s sports has skyrocketed over the last few years. Viewership during last year’s NCAA basketball tournament obliterated the previous high, with the final between Clark’s Iowa team and LSU alone watched by almost 10 million people.
Hot news: Iowa recruiting announcement provides boost ahead of Caitlin Clark’s exit The Iowa Hawkeyes landed a heavily sought-after 5-star recruit, somewhat softening the blow of losing star guard Caitlin Clark to the WNBA at the end of the season.
The Iowa Hawkeyes are likely dreading star guard Caitlin Clark’s impending departure to the WNBA. Landing 5-star recruit Addie Deal, however, certainly softens the blow.
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On Tuesday, Deal announced she’d committed to the University of Iowa. The Mater Dei High School prospect is ranked No. 12 overall in the 2025 class and first overall from California, according to ESPN. She becomes the highest-rated recruit to join the Hawkeyes since Clark (No.4 overall) in 2020.
The Hawkeyes have had their eye on Deal for quite some time, actively recruiting her over the last several years. The 6-foot guard last visited the campus on March 3 for Iowa’s Senior Day, where she watched Clark and co. defeat No. 2 Ohio State, 93-83.
“They had us there at 9 in the morning for [College GameDay]. It was amazing,” Deal told The Gazette of her visit to Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “It was loud the whole time. It was amazing to see in person.”
Deal officially committed to Iowa the same day, but didn’t publicly divulge her decision until nine days later.
During her sophomore season, Deal averaged 15 points — a team-high — 5.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game. She suffered a season-ending ankle injury her junior year, but is expected to be fully healthy by the start of club season in the summer.
After much deliberation, Deal chose Iowa over 26 other schools, among them Iowa State, Ohio State, Indiana, LSU, Oregon and Arizona.
“I love Iowa, I love the coaching staff, and I love the culture. Their style of play suits me,” she said. “I love Iowa’s transition offense. I love their pace of play. They’re so much fun to watch.
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Deal is just the second recruit that the Hawkeyes have landed from the 2025 class. She joins Davenport guard Journey Houston, who is ranked No. 36 overall.
Iowa will hope that Deal, who won’t officially join the team until 2025, can help replace the irreplaceable. After Clark formally declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft last month — where she is all but guaranteed to be selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever — the Hawkeyes have begun to bring in the players who will succeed her.
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Clark recently solidified herself as one of the greatest college players of all time, surpassing LSU’s “Pistol” Pete Maravich as the leading scorer in NCAA Division I basketball history. Deal was in attendance for this monumental event, and her play-style is eerily similar to the 22-year-old’s.
Like Clark, Deal prides herself on her ability to score from well beyond the three-point arc. She is additionally a crisp passer who routinely creates scoring opportunities for her teammates.
At Iowa, Deal is poised to assume the starting shooting or point guard position in no time.
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ESPN’s Holly Rowe assigned as Caitlin Clark beat reporter during women’s NCAA Tournament