Caitlin Clark shares wisdom for young fans ahead of big WNBA transition: "Dream big and don't let anybody tell you you can't"

Iowa Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark is expected to be the undisputed No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever in Monday night's WNBA draft, which would give the franchise back-to-back No. 1 picks.

Ahead of the event, the $3.4 million NIL-valued Clark (as per On3) shared words of wisdom with young fans in an interview with CBS Sports.

"I would tell my younger self is like, you worked hard for this moment, you earned this moment and it was never given to you," Clark said. "That's the same advice I would give to young girls, too, is just dream big and don't let anybody tell you you can't, but you gotta go out there and earn it."

Caitlin Clark aims to keep young fans amid WNBA interest

There is no doubt that Caitlin Clark has massively increased interest in women's college basketball with her shooting and overall gameplay, even edging the game ahead of the men's version during the past two years.

The big question for most WNBA executives was whether the legions of fans that she had collected in college basketball would translate to the WNBA when she eventually departed.

Ticket company Vivid Seats recently revealed that the Indiana Fever's ticket prices had increased 190% from last season. Per reports, 90% of the Fever's games will be on TV, two more than the repeat champions, the Las Vegas Aces.

The league is gearing up for a massive Clark push and adapting to the demands.

Chicago Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon spoke to The Athletic recently and pointed out what everyone knows, the Caitlin Clark effect seems like it will carry over to the WNBA.

“Caitlin is going to be Caitlin Clark,” Weatherspoon said. “She is an incredible talent, going to do amazing things in the WNBA. And it does an incredible thing for us, for the WNBA because of the fan base that follows along with her.”

Speaking to "TODAY" before the draft, Clark highlighted the reason why she aims to keep her young fans happy whenever she can.

“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,” Clark said. “And I think, you know, understanding how big of an impact that can have on a young girl’s life is super important."

The statistics even before the Iowa Hawkeyes superstar has arrived in the league show that the WNBA is due a boon because of the popularity of Caitlin Clark across all age groups, which seems like it will translate to the pro level.