INDIANAPOLIS — For Caitlin Clark, the wait is finally over.
Her signature shoe, the Caitlin 1, is expected to release on Oct. 1, 2026. The first colorway available will be “Racer Blue,” and it will cost $140 for adults, $115 for big kids, and $105 for youth sizes, according to KicksFinder, which tracks sneaker releases.
“I was probably a kid that grew up thinking that this was never going to be in the cards for me,” Clark said. “I loved wearing whatever Nike shoe it was growing up. I remember my first pair of Jordans, pink Jordans that I had, and I remember my very first pink pair of Nike basketball shoes … for myself to be able to have a signature shoe, for young boys and girls to be able to hopefully want to wear it and be able to put it on and dream, you don’t have to be a basketball players, but dream to achieve whatever you want, that’s what I hope people feel when they put the shoe on.”
Clark has been dropping a bevy of Easter eggs throughout the last week promoting her shoe. She changed her Instagram username to “caitlin1,” then updated her profile picture throughout the week to various close-up photos of the shoe, including what looked to be small 22s on the outside of the shoe, then her signature logo small Cs on another side.
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Clark showed up to Tuesday’s win over the Tempo in a vintage Alexander McQueen pantsuit along with some “very important” friendship bracelets, she said in a video with the Fever, that read “Caitlin 1” and “10-01-26.”
Wednesday morning, Clark posted “a very, very, very, very, very normal photo dump” on Instagram that included her wearing the shoes during a practice session and the shoes on two Master’s gnomes.
Clark’s shoe has been a long time in the making — she was announced in 2024 as a signature athlete in line to get her own shoe when she re-signed with Nike ahead of her rookie season in the WNBA. Since then, Clark and Nike have spent the last two years working on her shoe, with Clark making multiple trips to Nike HQ in Portland.
And Clark, a perfectionist at heart, wouldn’t stop until she thought the shoe was immaculate.
“It’s been amazing,” Clark said of working with Nike. “It’s been really fun. I think there’s been a lot of innovation and ideas, and you go back and forth, and I think for myself, when I saw the final product, it was one of those moments where you have those moments in life, and you’re like, ‘Dang, that’s the one,’ and you just know in the moment that it’s going to be something special. That’s what I truly feel. I feel like I really challenged Nike to make it something that I’m going to be super, super proud of, and I think the world will really love it and want to chase after.”
With this drop, Clark will join a short list of active players that have signature shoes with Nike, including A’ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. More and more WNBA players have been dropping signature shoes, too, including Breanna Stewart with Puma and Angel Reese with Reebok.
“To see how many women have these shoes, the crossover is crazy,” Fever coach Stephanie White said. “I mean, you see the Sabrinas on the NBA side all the time, and I’m sure Caitlin wants her shoe to do that as well … at the end of the day, it’s no longer men’s shoes or women’s shoes, it’s basketball shoes. I think that’s a pretty cool concept to be where we are in the world and to be able to just have a pair of sneakers, whether it’s a men’s or women’s (signature shoe).”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark shoe release, debut coming soon. Fever star gives first look at Nike Caitlin1s
Reporting by Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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By Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
