Caitlin Clark’s Continued Connection With Iowa Coach Jan Jensen Revealed
Caitlin Clark's rise to global superstardom began during her time spent playing at the University of Iowa. While No. 22 wasn't able to win a national championship during her four seasons spent with the Hawkeyes, she was a national runner-up twice, set the NCAA record for most points ever scored, and cemented herself as one of the best college athletes of all time.
But perhaps even more important than anything she accomplished on the court was the bonds she built off the court. Clark is still very close friends with several Hawkeyes teammates, and she appears to have a great relationship with her former coaches, specifically Lisa Bluder (who was Iowa's longtime head coach but retired after Clark's senior season) and Jan Jensen (who was Bluder's assistant and then became the Hawkeyes' head coach after Bluder retired).
Jan Jensen Speaks On Close Connection With Caitlin Clark
Jensen was recently interviewed by Isabel Gonzalez of CBS Sports. At one point, the Hawkeyes' head coach spoke about her current relationship with Clark.
“Caitlin and I text a lot. She hasn't been back this year for a game. Hopefully, we'll get her back for one at some point, but she’s got new adventures and new mountains to climb. But, she’ll text. Big games, win, lose, draw; that kid is, she’s with me, and I think she knows I’m with her," Jensen said, per an X post from Gonzalez.
"One time, Taylor Stremlow, this year, she got a technical during the game, and Caitlin tweeted really quickly about it. But we had a funny text exchange, because Caitlin, you know, is a little emotional too," Jensen added. "So that's always fun. Caitlin’s really fun-loving, so those kinds of things. But when we have a big win, or she really loves Chit-Chat [Wright's] play, she thinks she’s really fun. So she’s texting me about her sometimes. I think she likes a lot of our young kids. So it's just generals.
"And then just a lot about life, how’s she doing, how's it going, about my kids, or whatever. It's more of not all the time. But just like how it is with friends, you know who’s in your corner and who isn’t. And with her, I think that’s really important too, the reciprocation. Because she’s got a lot of people who are all for her, and so forth. But you can't let everybody in that. She's got a really close circle, but then she's got some of us that she knows will be there through it all," Jensen continued.
I asked Iowa coach Jan Jensen about her relationship with Caitlin Clark:
— Isabel Gonzalez (@cisabelg) December 19, 2025
"That kid, she's with me and I think she knows that I'm with her." 🫶
Also noteworthy… Chit-Chat has really impressed Clark this season. pic.twitter.com/9OVQlf1dJ7
It's heartwarming to hear that Clark and Jensen still speak, and that Clark is invested in how the Hawkeyes are doing. Perhaps she'll make her way to an Iowa game before the 2025-26 season ends.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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