“Can Have a Huge Impact”: Caitlin Clark Discusses Her Viral Moment With Young Girl at Indy Ignite Pro Volleyball Game

Is there anyone in sports right now with a higher Q rating than Caitlin Clark? Whether it’s being honored as the AP Female Athlete of the Year or watching Chiefs playoff games with Taylor Swift, the Indiana Fever star can’t miss. One of Clark’s most endearing moments occurred last week when she went viral for attending an Indy Ignite volleyball game with a young girl. She recently went on the Swarmcast podcast with David Eickholt of 247 Sports to talk about it.

Love that we got the backstory on the little girl who was sitting next to Caitlin Clark at the Indy Ignite game. pic.twitter.com/ycNigps9jy

— ericaf455 (@ericaf455) January 27, 2025

“Our player relations person at the Fever, that’s her young daughter, and we’re little friends. I texted her, I was like, ‘Hey, I want to go to the Indy Ignite game, can you help me out with tickets?’ And she was like, ‘Yeah, I got you four.’ I’m like, ‘OK, well I got Connor [McCaffery] coming, do you and Mariah wanna come?’ So Mariah came and she was having the time of her life. And it was a pink-out that night, so she had on her whole pink outfit, her pink purse, was crushing popcorn. She was literally the cutest little girl in the world, so it’s just really fun. And obviously a game like that, that can have a huge impact on a young girl too. It was fun, but yeah, she was becoming quite the social media star after that.”

Clark has become arguably the top role model in the sports world, especially for young girls, and it seems that every time we look, she’s doing something else to make a little girl’s day.

Caitlin Clark takes her responsibility to young fans seriously

Though she displays incredible humility for someone who has become a superstar at such a young age, Clark clearly understands how much kids look up to her, and that she has the opportunity to make a difference in so many lives with the platform she has. She’s spoken before about how important it is for her to give back whenever she can, and she can frequently be seen signing autographs after games.

Before being drafted first overall by the Fever last year, Clark spoke to The Today Show about the responsibility she feels to give back.

“The people I idolized in my life were, you know, either professional women’s basketball players, professional soccer players, and that’s what I wanted to be growing up. And I think, you know, understanding how big of an impact that can have on a young girl’s life is super important. So I always try to make as much time as I can for them. And just to see them scream your name or have your jersey on—that’s something that never gets old.”

Clark will receive a hero’s welcome when she returns to Iowa to have her jersey retired this weekend, not only for her play on the court but for the way she’s impacted so many people. She’s extremely deserving of the honor.