Caitlin Clark most popular college basketball player in 2024, claims poll

IOWA CITY, IOWA: Caitlin Clark is a name most recognized in college basketball this season.

That’s right, the news came after a Seton Hall Sports Poll confirmed that nearly half the population, 47 per cent, got her name correct. The figure rose to 60 per cent for sports fans and 69 per cent for college sports fans.

What did Seton Hall Sports Poll find out?

The participants were given the names of 10 college basketball players, five men and five women in the poll.

It was found that Clark had more than twice the name recognition in comparison to any other athlete and four times the name recognition of the top men's player.

The poll found that Clark's name was recognized by 44 per cent of the general population while LSU's Angel Reese came second, at 18 per cent. Clark's name recognition was up from 58 per cent among sports fans and 65 per cent among NCAA fans.

It could be an indication that women’s sports are on the rise, as the six most decorated athletes were female players. These were Clark and Reese, with UConn's Paige Bueckers fifth (10 per cent) and Stanford's Cameron Brink sixth (9 per cent). Hunter Dickinson of Kansas and Zach Edey of Purdue, both at 11 per cent, were the only male players in the top five, USA Today reports.

"Caitlin Clark is carrying the March Madness brand this year,” said Daniel Ladik, chief methodologist of the poll, which was conducted with YouGov.

Why is Caitlin Clark so popular?

Fans who have followed college basketball this year should hardly be surprised that Clark tops the poll. Tickets to the Iowa game were top selling for both home and away games, while others watched their incredible game on television across the country.

To explain this, Clark’s last four games drew over a million viewers each time. She also went beyond Pete Maravich’s record for scoring a record number of points

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), an avid Hawkeyes fan couldn’t help but praise Clark. "Caitlin Clark cements herself as the gr8est college bball player EVER as she breaks the all time scoring record The pride of Iowa & leader of a gr8 Hawkeye wbb TEAM," he said on X. "Congrats to Clark The GOAT," he added.