All About Caitlin Clark’s Parents, Brent and Anne Nizzi-Clark

Meet the parents who raised the shooting star.

Caitlin Clark, a record-breaking basketball player at the University of Iowa, is the daughter of Brent and Anna Nizzi-Clark.

On February 15, Caitlin made history as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball during Iowa’s 106-89 victory over Michigan. Her achievement, a total of 3,569 points (and counting), surpassed Kelsey Plum’s previous record of 3,527 points.

Caitlin’s remarkable feat immediately caught the attention of superstar athletes like seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and 39-time Grand Slam winner Billie Jean King — but above all, she had the personal support of her mom and dad on the court when she hit that memorable 3-point shot .

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“Every now and then she’ll look at the stands and I try to calm her down a little bit,” Brent, who has been to almost every one of his Caitlin’s basketball games, said of his daughter’s arrival. – I try to do the best I can.

Caitlin established herself as one of the best women’s basketball players long before she became the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer. In March 2023 alone, she received the prestigious Naismith Trophy and was named the National Player of the Year by the Associated Press.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Anne told Hawkeye Headquarters of her daughter’s honor at the time. “Honestly, it’s been a fantastic journey so far [we’re] super proud of her.”

Read on to learn more about Caitlin Clark’s parents, Anne and Brent Clark.

They share three children together

Caitlin Clark with her brother Colin.

Caitlin Clark/Instagram

Anne and Brent are the parents of three children: Blake, Caitlin and Colin. The basketball star is their second child, who was raised in West Des Moines, Iowa, alongside his athletic siblings.

Caitlin’s older brother, Blake, played football for Iowa State University. He arrived as a rookie before becoming a four-year starter, earning a full scholarship and being named team captain in 2021.

Colin, Caitlin’s younger brother who also plays basketball, previously shared how they played “typical one-on-one games” in their childhood home, which fueled her competitive edge.

“There was a loose ball and it ended up pushing me into the wall in the corner of the basement,” he recalled in a previous interview. “Split my head. I have four staples.”

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Both have athletic experience

Currently, Brent is vice president of operations for Concentric International and Anne works in strategic partnerships for an early-stage investment platform, according to their LinkedIn pages. However, they both grew up playing sports.

Brent was a varsity athlete, playing both basketball and baseball at Simpson College in Iowa. He was a four-year letterwinner for both teams from 1985 to 1988. He earned First Team All-Conference honors and Second Team All-Conference honors in basketball, according to the school’s official Hall of Fame website.

Anne’s side of the family is also involved in athletics. Her father, Bob Nizzi, was the football coach at Dowling Catholic in Des Moines. Caitlin, who also attended high school, continued the family’s athletic legacy by joining the basketball team.

“We’ve always been involved in sports and at home, we’ve always been around sports,” Blake said Messenger his family. “We’ve been watching sports at night, whether it’s going to Drake and watching basketball games, or watching cousins ​​play their basketball games or tournaments, when you’re just around something so much, you do it too.”

Brent coached Caitlin Clark in basketball

Caitlin Clark with her brother and parents.

Caitlin Clark/Instagram

Brent coached Caitlin in basketball when she was young. Her grandfather, Bob, recalled HawkFanatic when he knew Caitlin was destined for greatness at an early age.

When Caitlin was five years old, Bob and his wife watched her play a game together. At one point she was visibly frustrated by the strength and size of the boys playing solid defense.

“They were playing and there was one particularly big young man and quite aggressive who wanted to position and outplay Caitlin and sometimes to the point where he was really taking advantage of the little girl,” Bob told the sports newspaper.

So Caitlin’s father, Brent, made her pull herself together. “Her father sat her down and then said when you’re ready, I’ll put you back in and she stopped crying,” Bob remembered.

Upon re-entering the game, Bob said Caitlin “went right at this guy and made the best block on the court I’ve ever seen and rolled this kid out of bounds and stood over him.” He reiterates, “She’s a five-year-old girl.”

“Then her grandmother and I looked at each other and said, ‘She’s going to be really something.'”

Brent says he sees ‘a lot of himself’ in Caitlin Clark

Being a former athlete, Brent says he sees pieces of himself in his daughter.

“Sometimes I see a lot of myself in Caitlin in terms of her passion for the game,” Brent told KCRG-TV9 in February 2023. “Overall, that’s what really drives her and makes her the player she is.”

Brent, no doubt a proud dad, notices his daughter’s influence on others – especially the young girls who look up to her as a player. “You go out of town and there’s a crowd full of little girls with ‘Caitlin Clark’ signs. I mean, I think that’s pretty cool,” he told the news outlet.

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Anne says Caitlin Clark has a ‘fun, feisty attitude’

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark hugs her mom after a game against the Purdue Boilermakers on Jan. 10, 2024.

Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty

While most of the world sees Caitlin’s competitive and fierce personality on the court during basketball games, her mom Anne opened up Messenger about what she’s really like when she’s at home.

“She just has this fun, sassy attitude,” Anne told the paper. “It lets them say it’s okay to laugh. You really see that at home.”

Meanwhile, Brent said there are elements of her character that shine both on and off the field.

“I think she’s just very outgoing and confident as a person,” Blake added. “I think it shows on the court, she plays with a lot of confidence.”

He continued, “There’s not a shot she thinks she can’t take or take. And she’s just swaggering, she doesn’t care if she misses, she believes she’s going to make the next one.”

Brent shares advice with Caitlin Clark amid her rise to fame

Caitlin Clark Family.

Caitlin Clark/Instagram

While Caitlin’s parents are her number 1 fans, their role as a protective mom and dad comes first. When speaking with KCRG-TV9, Brent shared the advice he’s giving Caitlin as her star rises.

“Sometimes you have to stay off social media. There’s always going to be someone who wants to see you fall,” he said. “Whether you’re the president of the United States or some other high-profile person, about 50% are in line against you, 50% are in line for you.”

“There’s not a place she goes or a game she plays where they don’t know who she is, so it’s always a challenge, but I think it’s great,” he continued. “I think that helps elevate her game and I think there’s a lot of room for improvement on both sides.”

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Source: HIS Education