Outrage as Caitlin Clark omitted from 'Top 5 Women's College Basketball Players' list: 'This is stupid'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In a stunning omission, Caitlin Clark has been kept off ESPN’s 'Top 5 Women's College Basketball Players of All Time' list.

Clark, who has sparked a revolution in women's sports visibility, was a strong contender for the list.

The omission has raised eyebrows, especially as fans criticized the list for overlooking the WNBA star and Indiana Fever standout, who continues to shine at the professional level. 

According to WhiskeyRiff, the list features Breanna Stewart, Candace Parker, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, and Cheryl Miller, igniting a fierce debate among fans.

Caitlin Clark is snubbed in ESPN's 'Top 5 Women's College Basketball Players of All Time' list

In a YouTube video posted on Sunday titled “Is Caitlin Clark the Greatest of All Time in College Basketball?”, ESPN delved into the debate surrounding Clark's place in history.

Running just under 11 minutes, the video concluded that while Clark is undoubtedly one of the best, she doesn't rank as the greatest women's college basketball player of all time.

In fact, she didn’t even make it into the top five, leaving many viewers questioning how such a decision could be made, especially considering Clark's undeniable impact on the game.

ESPN's Sam Ravech, Ari Chambers, and Alexa Philippou tackled the topic and agreed on one thing: while Caitlin Clark’s talent is extraordinary, her lack of a national championship is the main reason she was excluded from the top five.

Chambers explained, "Love Caitlin, love how she has transcended the game … But in the open, we said ‘What makes a top-five player? Winning. 'The only thing, the only strike against Caitlin Clark, is that she has not won a national championship."

She went on to say, "And that is the only thing that you can put against her, because the way that she has dominated the record books when she was at Iowa was something you could not duplicate. But how can you be a top-five player if you have not won a title?"

Chambers even acknowledged that Clark had "transcended the game." Given her legacy, it’s hard to ignore that the list feels incomplete without her name among the top five, as per Awful Announcing.

Despite the omission, Clark left an indelible mark on the sport, becoming the all-time leading scorer in women's college basketball and earning two Naismith Player of the Year awards.

While Caitlin Clark may not have secured a national championship with the Iowa Hawkeyes, her college career is filled with remarkable accomplishments. She is the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball history, with an impressive 3,951 points.

During her final two seasons, Clark led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back appearances in the national championship games. Additionally, her presence on the court significantly boosted attendance, with games featuring Clark seeing a 150% increase in spectators.

Caitlin Clark's fans say ESPN 'should be fired' for their 'ridiculous' decision

Caitlin Clark's fans quickly took to X to express their outrage over ESPN's decision to exclude her from the top five list.

One user shared, "There has not been a better college basketball player, on the women’s side of things, than Caitlin Clark. All you had to do was just watch one game and you could figure it out."

Another user slammed, "ESPN is unwatchable, Caitlin Clark will have another MVP season, and they will hate her more."

One dubbed, "This is stupid. It is a team sport. Caitlin Clark got Iowa to the final game twice. LSU  and SC paid for a lot deeper talent on the rosters. CC was a generational talent that clearly raised the sport to highest levels ever."

A fan said, "They love to push the "give other players some shine, its not just CC" narrative. But they insist on shoehorning her into every conversation because no one watches if they don't. ESPN has been embarrassing for a long time."

A commenter tweeted, "They should be fired for this ridiculousness."

A shocked fan wrote, "This is insane! She played at Iowa! All of those other players had teams loaded with blue chip recruits. I like the girls on Iowas team but none of them would even play minutes for any of the other title teams."

A disappointed fan shared, "Nasty work."

A person deemed, "That's a joke she has no championship in college or pro just like ESPN to overrate her how laughable😂."

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