A year removed from the left quad sprain that unraveled her sophomore season before it began, Caitlin Clark walked into Indiana Fever training camp on Sunday, having learned a lot after an injury-impacted season that caused her to miss 31 regular games and all of the playoffs.
“I feel great. Super excited to be back here,” Clark said. “I think I have a great perspective on camp and not taking anything for granted. Obviously, this time last year, I was going through some things.”
Across 13 games, Clark averaged 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 8.8 assists, and 1.6 steals in 2025. She missed the All-Star festivities Indianapolis hosted, watched the Fever’s run to the WNBA semifinals largely from the bench, and spent months in a role she had never occupied at any level of basketball. She is fully cleared to enter this camp, with no restrictions, and she said the work to get there was deliberate.
“I feel really healthy and feel like I’ve put myself in a position to be as healthy as I can be to start the season,” Clark said. “Just staying on top of that and having a lot of fun.”
Clark Returns to Camp Healthy
Clark, now in her third season, emphasized the importance of restraint rather than pushing herself too hard to her own detriment.
“I’m the person that doesn’t want to sit out a single rep. I want to be in there every single time,” Clark said. “I love competing, and I love playing, and none of that has changed. But it’s about being smarter with my body and understanding what it takes.”
Stephanie White, back for her second season as head coach, said she will pull Clark out of drills at points during camp. The reasoning is less about what Clark can handle right now than about what a 44-game schedule will ask of her by August.
“We have to be mindful of reps. She doesn’t need every rep in camp,” White said. “It’s about managing her workload while integrating others. Depth will help us keep everyone fresh.”
Clark stated she and White have already had those conversations. She also said she has come to understand them differently than she might have a year ago.
“Camp days are really long, you’re on the court two and a half to three hours, so taking care of my body at this point in the season is probably the most important thing,” Clark said. “Whether that’s recovery or pre-court treatment, it’s those types of things. I’ve never really sat on the sidelines before, so it was a humbling experience and gave me a good perspective on how to be a great teammate and leader.”
Lessons Learned
The physical work that brought her to Sunday began long before camp opened. Clark described targeted muscle-activation training and an expanded partnership with the Fever’s athletic training staff, and acknowledged the mental component of returning from injury as its own obstacle.
“I’ve been very intentional,” Clark said. “When you’re young, you just lace up and play, but that’s not sustainable. There’s been a lot of targeted work for muscle activation. I’ve built a great relationship with our athletic trainer. She’s been incredible through this process. There’s still a mental side to coming back from injury, but I know I’ve done everything I can to be healthy.”
Clark also used 2025 as a course in something she had never been asked to do. She said the experience of rehabbing while remaining present for teammates reshaped how she views her role, particularly on days she is not on the floor.
“It’s very isolating to go through rehab and then still show up as the best teammate you can be,” Clark said. “It taught me how to impact the team in different ways. I got to be their biggest fan. That was a great experience because I’ve always been on the court playing heavy minutes. When you’re not, you have to find other ways to contribute.”
Fever Retains Core
The runway back began in March at USA Basketball’s FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico, where Clark shared a backcourt with Fever forward Aliyah Boston and worked under White. Clark called it the ideal setting to recover her rhythm. Boston called it a relief.
“Honestly, she looked like herself,” Boston said. “Seeing her back healthy and playing at that level made me really happy.”
White zeroed in on something more specific.
“Her pace and decision-making,” White said. “She didn’t force anything and let the game come to her. Her timing looked really good, which is hard after time away.”
Clark returns to a roster that looks a lot like the one she left, and that is by design. Kelsey Mitchell signed the WNBA’s first supermax contract, a $1.4 million deal; Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham re-signed; free agent Monique Billings joined the frontcourt; and the Fever drafted point guard Raven Johnson. Boston, meanwhile, signed a four-year extension worth $6.3 million, the highest total value in WNBA history, after a lower-leg injury cut short her Unrivaled season.
“I was super blessed. God is great,” Boston said of the extension. “Just to be here and get that extension, I’m excited. The staff was excited, and I feel like this is where I’m meant to be.”
Boston said the reason to stay was not complicated.
“Indy is a fun place to be,” she said. “The basketball we’re playing is great, the people are amazing, and I love playing with them. That’s enticing, so why not stay?”
Clark gave credit to the front office for working through a condensed free agency, and said the players who returned did something that told her what she already suspected about last year’s room.
“I think it went great. You have to give our front office credit, it was a very condensed timeline,” Clark said. “I’m really thankful for the people that wanted to come here and for the ones that came back. That speaks to what they experienced last year and how great our locker room was.”
A Long Way to Go
White was not interested in softening anything. A team that came one win short of the WNBA Finals, she said, has to demand more of itself in 2026.
“We’ve taken another step,” White said. “We have to understand what it takes daily. Put the team first, prioritize chemistry, and expect more of ourselves. It’s about consistency and putting ourselves in position for success.”
White also sketched out a sharper identity on both ends of the floor.
“We have more size and can do more defensively,” White said. “We should be a better rebounding team, which allows us to play faster. We want to be top three in defense and increase our pace.”
For Boston, the contrast with last year is its own advantage.
“It gives us a lot of confidence,” Boston said of entering camp healthy. “Last year was chaotic, so having everyone healthy and ready gives us a fresh start.”
Clark was careful Sunday not to frame 2026 in championship-or-bust terms, though she said in a February NBC appearance that she believed the Fever would be the favorite to win it all, and she did not walk any of it back. What she offered instead was a longer view of her own arc, and a reminder that the résumé she is chasing has barely started.
“I’ve only played about 60 WNBA games, so I’ve got a ways to go,” Clark said. “Just maintaining my health is key. USA Basketball was really good for me to get back out there and get my feet under me. You’re playing with the best players in the world, so there’s no better setting. It brings out the best in you.”
She paused, then returned to the theme that framed everything else she said.
“I have a long ways to go,” Clark said. “And that’s the exciting part.”
Indiana opens preseason play Saturday, April 25, at the New York Liberty, and begins the regular season at home on May 9 against the Dallas Wings.
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