Caitlin Clark was selected with the first overall pick by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA draft Monday night, placing an exclamation point on her historic NCAA career.
While Clark's time with the Iowa Hawkeyes is over, her indelible impact on the world of sports, media, fandom and memorabilia continues in full swing.
According to eBay data provided to cllct, the phenom — whose March Madness run captivated the world — was one of the hottest trends for collectors.
Of the top five most-searched NCAA athletes from March 1 to April 3, Clark drew 11 times the search volume of second-place Bronny James.
On the day Clark set the NCAA scoring record (March 3), eBay reported a 130% day-over-day increase in Clark trading card sales.
The upward trend for female athletes was not exclusive to Clark, however.
Trading card sales increased by massive numbers in 2024 compared to all of 2023. Highlights include Cameron Brink (more than a 1,300% increase), Hailey Van Lith (almost 400% increase), Paige Bueckers (almost 350% increase), JuJu Watkins (over 140% increase), and Angel Reese (over 100% increase).
This incredible spike in interest is a reflection of what we already know: Interest in female sports, particularly basketball, has enjoyed an unprecedented rise.
The WNBA has already made it clear they intend to capitalize, producing physical tickets to Monday's WNBA draft with the express intent of providing fans a unique collectible.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct. You can follow him on X at @Will__Stern.