After a sensational 2026 campaign with the Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark has been named the Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year, according to an announcement on Sunday, Sept. 27. Clark and teammate Kelsey Mitchell were also both named to the AP All-WNBA First Team.
After missing 31 of the team’s 44 regular-season games in 2025 and the entirety of the Fever’s playoff run due to a bevy of soft-tissue injuries, Clark returned to the court this season and set both career and league records in 2026.
This season, Clark averaged 22.3 points per game, the third-highest average in the league, and 8.3 assists per game, the second-most in the league, becoming the first player in league history to finish in the top three for both points and assists.
The former Hawkeye also set a WNBA record for points created with 41.2 points per game.
a comeback for the books 📖
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 27, 2026
Caitlin Clark, your @AP Comeback Player of the Year 👏 pic.twitter.com/NiXZxm9HD4
With 891 total points scored and 333 assists, Clark became the first player in league history to record 800 or more points and 300 or more assists in a single season. Clark’s five 30-plus-point, 10-plus-assist games this season are more than every other player in league history combined.
Additionally, Clark's 13 games this season with 20-plus points and 10-plus assists are more than double the amount that any other player has in their entire career. This season, Clark also became the first player in league history to record 40-plus points and 10-plus assists in a single game during the Fever's July 17 win over the Seattle Storm.
Clark’s 22.3 points-per-game average set a new career high and marked the second-highest points-per-game average in franchise history, behind only Kelsey Mitchell this year.
Clark becomes the first player in franchise history to be named AP Comeback Player of the Year since its inception in 2016.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Caitlin Clark named 2026 AP WNBA Comeback Player of the Year
