Iowa Hawkeyes basketball star Caitlin Clark quickly rose to fame with her college career. The 22-year-old is taking women’s basketball to new heights and is slowly solidifying her stature as a college and future WNBA star.

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Caitlin Clark has been a star performer for the Iowa Hawkeyes since joining them as a freshman back in 2020. Being a hometown talent, she’s spent her whole life in the state of Iowa and showcased exceptional talent in basketball right from her high school days.

Here’s a closer look at Clark’s childhood and the place she grew up.

Caitlin Clark’s childhood and hometown

Caitlin Clark was born on Jan. 22, 2002, to parents Brent and Annie Nizzi Clark. She was born in West Des Moines, a two-hour drive from the University of Iowa.

The capital city of Iowa, Des Moines, is known for being the major hub for the US insurance industry along with a large number of financial services. Business Wire also called Des Moines the “No.1 spot for US insurance companies”.

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Since her childhood, Clark was an athletic kid who played various sports including softball, basketball, soccer, tennis and others.

But in the end, she loved the game of basketball the most and started playing in boys’ recreational leagues as her father could not find a girls league for her age group.

When Clark was in sixth grade, she joined All Iowa Attack which was an Amateur Athletic Union basketball program based out of Ames, Iowa.

She then attended Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines where she played varsity basketball for four years. During this stint, Caitlin Clark went on to develop her talents and started making a name for herself.

Caitlin Clark on X: "happy national sibling day to the best around. love ya 💕🤗 https://t.co/Rd90m2kns6" / X

Dowling Catholic High School – St. Joseph Chapel - Graham Construction

During her high school career, Clark won several awards and accolades for her performances. She was honored as Iowa’s Gatorade Player of the Year for her incredible junior season.

Clark averaged 32.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game during that campaign.

Caitlin Clark breaks Lynette Woodward’s record in all-time women’s basketball scoring

The 22-year-old star has been having an incredible campaign this season. Just three games ago, she broke Kelsey Plum’s NCAA Divison 1 women’s scoring record during Iowa’s 106-89 victory over Michigan.

Now, during the Hawkeyes’ triumph over Minnesota, Clark scored 33 points, which helped her overcome Lynette Woodward as the leading scorer by any major college women’s basketball player. With this victory and performance, Clark has now scored 3,650 points so far this season.