Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark took the WNBA by storm in 2024. After the Fever drafted her No. 1 overall, Clark claimed Rookie of the Year and the league’s 2024 assists title. She was also named All-NBA, All-Rookie, and an All-Star.
Then, the 24-year-old experienced a sophomore slump. But it wasn’t her fault.
Last May, Clark suffered a quad strain that sidelined her for two weeks. She returned on June 14 and played five games before injuring her left groin on June 24. That put her on the shelf again until July 9, and it was another short stretch of action before she suffered another groin injury on July 15.
Clark had no timetable for return, but after suffering a bone bruise in her left ankle during a private workout in August, the Fever officially ruled her out for the season. Ultimately, she averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.6 steals across just 13 games.
Now, Clark is nearing her return. On Friday, she and the rest of the USA Basketball women’s national team arrived in Miami for training camp ahead of next week’s FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament. It will mark Clark’s competitive debut with the U.S. senior national team.
The U.S.’s opening game against Senegal is scheduled for 2 p.m. CST on March 11. Assuming Clark sees some minutes, it will be her first game in almost exactly eight months. And, considering the rocky CBA negotiations between the WNBA and WNBPA, it might be a rare chance to watch Clark in 2026.
“It’ll probably take me a second to knock a little bit of the rust off,” Clark told reporters on Saturday, according to Madeline Kenney. “I’ll probably be a little bit nervous, which I usually don’t get nervous, but that probably comes from, I haven’t really played basketball in a while.”
Clark continued, “I’m sure after the first minute of running around on the court, I’ll be just fine. But more than anything, just really excited. I know how much work and how much time I put in to make sure my body’s as healthy as it can be and to get back not only to a point where I feel like I’m myself, but I feel like I’m even. better than where I was at the beginning of last season.”
The qualifying tournament will take place from March 11 through March 17 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. USA Basketball, which already qualified for the FIBA Women’s World Cup by winning the 2025 AmeriCup, is slated to play Senegal, Puerto Rico, Italy, and Spain. The full schedule can be found here.
On Thursday, TNT Sports announced it had acquired “the exclusive U.S. English-language broadcast rights” to the FIBA men’s and women’s tournaments, including next week’s women’s qualifier. The 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup will tip off on Sept. 4 in Berlin, Germany. USA Basketball is the four-time defending champion.
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