Caitlin Clark turned down a chance to play at a respected Catholic school because she “felt in her gut.”

Like many other young athletes from the Midwest, Caitlin Clark He grew up admiring Notre Dame sports.

The WNBA phenom talked about her visit experience Our Lady and considering playing for the Fighting Irish during an interview on the New Heights podcast Thursday.

“When you’re a kid, you want to go to Notre Dame,” Clark said. “It’s like the most beautiful thing in the world, it’s Notre Dame, it’s got this tradition.”

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University of Iowa Hawkeyes guard #22 Caitlin Clark celebrates with her teammates near the end of the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Championship game against the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers at Target Center, Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Minneapolis. (Star Tribune via Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images)

Before Clark told ESPN former Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw tried to recruit her, and Clark’s own family wanted her to play for the Fighting Irish.

“My family wanted me to go to Notre Dame,” Caitlin said. “At the end of the day, they said, you make up your own mind. But it’s NOTRE DAME! ‘Rudy’ was one of my favorite movies. How come you didn’t choose Notre Dame?”

However, Clark said Thursday that he decided not to play there because of his gut feeling.

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Indiana Fever guard #22 Caitlin Clark reacts to the call during the game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky on Saturday, June 1, 2024, at Grainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (IndyStar-USA TODAY Sports)

“I was just feeling it in my gut, I was like, ‘ahh, I shouldn’t go there,'” Clark said.

Clark’s gut feeling certainly didn’t steer him in the wrong direction. Instead, he went to his hometown Iowa State University, where he played his entire four-year college career. Clark set numerous program and NCAA records for the Hawkeyes, including the all-time leading scoring record by any college basketball player in history, men’s or women’s.

Clark also met her current boyfriend, Connor McCaffery, While in Iowa. McCaffery was a player on the Iowa men’s basketball team for his father and head coach Fran McCaffery.

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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark hugs her boyfriend Connor McCaffery after defeating the Phoenix Mercury at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on August 16, 2024 in Indianapolis. (Icon Sportswire via Brian Spurlock/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Notre Dame was good without Clark, but not as good as Iowa. Under current head coach Niele Ivey, the Fighting Irish made the NCAA tournament three consecutive years from 2021–24, but they lost in the regional semifinals all three times, while Clark led them to deeper tournaments in 2023 and 2024.

Clark led Iowa to two consecutive national championship games en route to being the No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft. McCaffery was already on the Pacers coaching staff in Indiana, and they are still in town together as he now works on Butler’s men’s basketball coaching staff.

Clark was named WNBA Rookie of the Year, named to the All-Star team, led the WNBA in assists and led in assists. fever to the playoffs in his rookie season.

Clark was also named Time magazine’s 2024 Athlete of the Year.

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