While it’s roughly six months until the 2026 WNBA season kicks off, Caitlin Clark doesn’t plan on waiting that long before playing meaningful games of basketball.
Since the Indiana Fever’s season concluded in September with a 3-2 loss in the semifinals of the league’s playoffs against the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces, all eyes have been set on the return of Clark, who played in just 13 games in 2025 due to a variety of lower-body injuries.
So what are Clark’s offseason plans? Does the former Iowa standout plan on joining other WNBA players in playing in alternative leagues like Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited? Here’s what we know.
What did Fever Coach Stephanie White say about Caitlin Clark’s injuries?
The Indiana Fever has gradually increased Clark’s workload in practice from doing 5-on-0 drills to some 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 situations, head coach Stephanie White told the IndyStar during a taping of a Fever Insider podcast episode that premieres on Wednesday, Oct. 22.
“We’re not jumping into anything that’s too much,” White said. “Her being able to play in game-like situations is going to be important. It’s been a long time building back into that, but it is October, and she needs to be able to slowly build back so, from an endurance standpoint, she’s laying a really good foundation [and] she’s not having any setbacks or any regression.”
When is Caitlin Clark playing again?
During her exit interviews with the media on Oct. 2, Clark mentioned playing for the USA Basketball women’s national team during their run at the 2026 FIBA World Cup.
“There is some USA Basketball stuff that is probably my top priority right now that I need to prepare for, and I think that will help me prepare for next season, too,” Clark said.
Training camp is expected to be in early March, as the qualifying tournament for the 2026 FIBA World Cup runs from March 11-17, 2026. Although the U.S. qualified as one of the top 6 teams at the Americup tournament, they may still play in the qualifiers. The 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup runs from Sept. 4-13, 2026, and is played in Berlin.
Clark was notably left off the 2024 U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team that won gold at the Paris Olympics. In the immediate aftermath of not making the team, Clark said publicly that she wasn’t disappointed and that the exclusion “just gives me something to work for.”
“I know it’s the most competitive team in the world and I know it could have gone either way — me being on the team or me not being on the team,” Clark told reporters in June 2024. “I think it’s just a little more motivation. You remember that, [and] hopefully when four years comes back around, I can be there.”
Is Caitlin Clark playing in Unrivaled, Athletes Unlimited?
Clark hasn’t been confirmed, nor has she verified, if she plans on playing in Unrivaled or Athletes Unlimited before the 2026 WNBA season. She said during her exit interview that she will “explore every opportunity” but hadn’t made any decision.
Front Office Sports reported in November 2024 that Clark was offered a seven-figure deal, plus equity and revenue-sharing options in Unrivaled’s inaugural season, but declined. The league, co-founded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, paid players an average of $222,222 last season, which is up from the WNBA’s average of $119,590.
Former University of Iowa teammate Kate Martin is returning to the league for the second season.
Athletes Unlimited, which plays 5-on-5 over four weeks in February and March in Nashville, does not list Clark on its roster of players. A handful of her Fever teammates are slated to play for Athletes Unlimited, including Sydney Colson, Odyssey Sims, Bree Hall and Brianna Turner.
IndyStar staff Aaron Ferguson and Chloe Peterson contributed to this report.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
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