Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Sabrina Ionescu are among the WNBA stars who will get a chance to play one more game in their college arenas as their pro teams return to campuses for preseason contests.
The trend was tipped off by the Las Vegas Aces last season, when they played at the University of South Carolina in a return for A’ja Wilson to her alma mater. It gives WNBA teams a chance to capitalize on the popularity of individual players, and they hope it also brings new fans to the league.
Second-year pro Reese headlined the Chicago Sky’s trip to LSU on Friday to face the Brazilian national team; on Sunday, reigning rookie of the year Clark will lead the Indiana Fever to the University of Iowa for an exhibition game against the same Brazilian squad.
“I’m really excited,” Clark said. “It should be fun. I can’t believe it’s already here. I honestly haven’t been back to Iowa City a ton since I left a year ago now — only been back once for a football game and once for the jersey retirement. But it will be fun to get back there, see some of my former teammates, my friends that are there.”
Both games will be on national television. The WNBA will be showing all 15 of its preseason games either on national television or via its league pass.