Before Indiana Fever All-Star guard Caitlin Clark had woken up Thursday morning, the Caitlin 1s, her debut Nike signature sneaker, were already sold out.
Later that night, the Fever lost to the Las Vegas Aces in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series, ending Clark’s third WNBA season.
The Fever’s loss was ESPN’s gain.
On Friday evening, College GameDay revealed Clark as this week’s guest picker:
It’s only right to have a Hawkeye legend join College GameDay as guest picker when in Iowa City 🖤💛
See you tomorrow, @CaitlinClark22! pic.twitter.com/htnDis09hX
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 3, 2026
Earlier this week, GameDay announced it would grace Iowa City for the first time in 20 years. That’s a big deal, obviously.
In actuality, GameDay is the second-biggest attraction in town this week, as Dick’s Sporting Goods and Nike is running an exclusive Caitlin 1 experience from Oct. 1 to Oct. 3:
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On Saturday morning, Oct. 3, Clark’s GameDay appearance will likely double as a Nike commercial. It’s hard to imagine anyone within a 50 mile radius wearing any shoe other than the Caitlin 1s. Would we really be surprised if Pat McAfee, Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, and Kirk Herbstreit all rock a pair, too?
GameDay will set up shop on the Pentacrest Lawn at the University of Iowa ahead of the No. 14 Iowa Hawkeyes’ (4-0) matchup with No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday night.
Clark’s pick carries zero mystery. Her four years at Iowa rocketed her to global superstardom before the Fever drafted her with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft. Iowa retired her No. 22 jersey in February 2025.
As great as she is at basketball, Clark has also displayed high-end potential as a broadcaster. Clark debuted as a special contributor on NBC’s “Sunday Night Basketball” on Feb. 1 and appeared on the broadcast again later in the NBA season.
Sitting beside McAfee, ESPN’s resident loose cannon, on GameDay, Clark may need to rely more on improvisational acting skills than analysis. She already has a familiarity with McAfee, however, having appeared on The Pat McAfee Show before.
About Megan Armstrong
Since first getting published as a student by the Kansas City Star in 2013, Megan Armstrong has gone wherever curiosity and stories have taken her, specializing in sports, media, music, and culture coverage. She also has an extensive background in interviewing and profiling public figures. Her work has appeared in Billboard, Boardroom, Bleacher Report, Esquire, GQ, GRAMMY.com, NYLON, Newsweek, Teen Vogue, The Hollywood Reporter, UPROXX, and elsewhere.