She broke every record in the book, rewrote the history of women’s basketball, and turned the WNBA into must-watch television. But long before Caitlin Clark was draining impossible threes in front of sold-out arenas, she was just the middle kid in a sports-mad family in West Des Moines, Iowa, getting into basement battles with her brothers and losing track of how many games were on TV.
The story of how Caitlin Clark became who she is cannot be told without talking about Blake and Colin Clark. One split his head open during a backyard one-on-one gone wrong. The other is best friends with an NFL quarterback.
Together, the three Clark siblings represent something rare in sports: a family where athletic greatness was not just inherited, it was built, one competitive moment at a time.
Who Are Caitlin Clark Brothers?
Caitlin Clark is the middle child of three, born to parents Brent Clark and Anne Nizzi-Clark, with one older brother, Blake, and one younger brother, Colin. Growing up in West Des Moines, the Clark household was essentially a sports academy without the formal title.
The athletic roots run deep in this family. According to the University of Iowa, eleven of Clark’s family members have played collegiate sports, including her dad, Brent, who played both baseball and basketball at Simpson College.
That kind of environment does not produce one great athlete by accident. It produces three.
Blake Clark: The Iowa State Football Connection
Blake is the oldest of the Clark siblings, and his story is one of quiet determination and grit. At Dowling Catholic High School, Blake led the team to three consecutive state championships as a quarterback. That success followed him to college.
Blake Clark went on to play football for the Iowa State Cyclones, serving as a quarterback and later transitioning to the holder position on field goals. He studied industrial engineering and was recognized as an outstanding graduating senior in December 2022.
His time at Iowa State also gave him something arguably more valuable than playing time. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, speaking ahead of the Super Bowl, called Blake one of his closest friends. “He’s going to be at my wedding. He’s the man. Yeah, I love him. He was one of my best friends for four years at Iowa State,” Purdy said.
The Clark family’s reach extends far.
Beyond football, Blake has always been the steady, thoughtful voice in the family. Their mother, Anne, describes Blake as “the boss” among the three siblings, saying both Caitlin and Colin look up to him and defer to his judgment. “Blake has the answers to everything,” she said.
And when it comes to analyzing Caitlin’s game, Blake does not hold back either. “I think she’s just very outgoing and confident as a person,” Blake said of his sister. “There’s not a shot she doesn’t think she can take or make. She just plays with a swagger.”
Colin Clark: What We Know About Her Younger Brother
Colin is the youngest of the three, and if you thought being Caitlin Clark’s little brother came without bruises, think again.
During a childhood one-on-one game with a Nerf ball in their basement, Caitlin shoved Colin into a wall while going after a loose ball. He split his head open and needed four staples. Colin laughed, telling the story on ESPN’s College GameDay. Caitlin, presumably, did not apologize for winning.
Colin is a multi-sport athlete who competed in both basketball and track and field at Dowling Catholic High School, the same school his older siblings attended. In 2022, he won the Class 4A Track and Field State Championships.
On the basketball court, he was equally impressive. Caitlin was a vocal supporter of his games, regularly retweeting videos of his performances. After one strong game in 2023, she cheered him on publicly with a simple “BANGGGGG.”
The pride between the Clark siblings clearly runs both ways.
Playing Backyard Sports: How Her Brothers Shaped Her Game
There is a reason Caitlin Clark plays like someone who has never feared missing a shot. She spent her entire childhood competing against people who pushed her harder than any opponent on a court ever could.
Blake once reflected, “We were always involved in sports, and at home we were always around sports. We watched sports at night, whether we would go to Drake and watch basketball games, or watch our cousins play their basketball games. When you’re just around something that much, it’s what you do, too.”
Caitlin has been direct about what competing with Blake specifically taught her. “He was super athletic, but he wasn’t the most skilled, the most talented. He just really outworked people, and I think that’s kind of what I admire about him and what drove me when I was young,” she said.
That work ethic did not come from a training manual. It came from watching her older brother grind every single day.
The Clark Family’s Athletic Legacy Across Different Sports
What makes the Clark family genuinely fascinating is not just that they are athletic. It is that they are athletic across completely different sports, at a high level, all at the same time.
Caitlin’s dad, Brent, played basketball and baseball at Simpson College as a four-year letterwinner. Her mom, Anne, now leads strategic partnerships for CC22 Ventures, Caitlin’s NIL company. Even her extended family has a notable sports presence, with cousin Audrey Faber having played college basketball at Creighton University.
Blake brought football to the mix at Iowa State. Colin carried basketball and track. Caitlin rewrote women’s basketball history. Three kids, three sports, one relentless family culture.
Caitlin’s Bond with Her Family During Her WNBA Journey
As massive as Caitlin Clark’s career has become, the people closest to her have remained the same. Her brothers have not faded into the background. If anything, they have become a bigger part of the story.
Caitlin has spoken about how she leans on Blake even now, saying she talks to him practically every day. “He knows the game really, really well,” she said. “I think that’s always something I can lean on him whenever I have a tough game, or things aren’t going my way.”
And when the season ended, and she finally had a moment to breathe, Caitlin brought both brothers along to watch an NBA game and a Butler college basketball game over Thanksgiving weekend 2024, sitting between them in birth order. Fans online quickly noticed how protective Blake was, with one person writing, “Blake is probably the most protective brother ever.”
For all the records, the fame, and the global spotlight, Caitlin Clark still shows up to games flanked by her brothers. That is not a coincidence. That is just who this family is.
