Sophie Cunningham has admitted she feels a bit awkward after unexpectedly overtaking Caitlin Clark in one notable metric, despite the achievement putting her firmly in the spotlight.
When Clark entered the WNBA in 2024, she transformed the league’s profile almost overnight. The Indiana Fever rookie didn’t just impress on the court she drove television ratings higher, filled arenas across the country, and attracted a massive new audience to women’s basketball.
What no one anticipated was what happened the following year. In 2025, Clark’s teammate Sophie Cunningham surpassed her in a surprising category, and rather than celebrating, Cunningham confessed the moment left her feeling uneasy.
The area in question was online popularity. Clark was one of the most searched athletes in the United States in 2024, ranking seventh overall on Google Trends thanks to her historic college run at Iowa and her seamless jump to the pros. But in 2025, Clark fell outside the top 10 entirely. Instead, Cunningham claimed the No. 7 spot ahead of Clark.
Speaking on her Show Me Something podcast, Cunningham acknowledged her mixed emotions about the ranking. She said she wasn’t quite sure how to process it, adding that while being the only woman on the list was “pretty cool,” she didn’t feel a strong sense of pride or ownership over the moment. She also emphasized that search rankings fluctuate year to year and credited Clark’s explosive college career for much of the attention she previously received.
Cunningham’s rise in online visibility has been dramatic. Her popularity surged in mid-2025 after a tense game against the Connecticut Sun, where she confronted Jacy Sheldon following an incident that involved Clark being poked in the eye. The exchange went viral almost instantly.
As a result, Cunningham’s social media presence exploded. She gained more than 300,000 followers on Instagram, while her TikTok account jumped from roughly 300,000 followers to more than 1.2 million. Almost overnight, she shifted from being seen as a supporting player to one of the WNBA’s most recognizable personalities.
Beyond her on-court edge, Cunningham’s appeal has been fueled by her engaging and authentic online content from photos and videos to her podcast appearances. Together, Cunningham and Clark have turned the Indiana Fever into both a competitive team and a cultural force, positioning the franchise for a promising future on and off the court heading into 2026.
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