Getty Caitlin Clark
Ahead of the Indiana Fever’s 2024 home opener against the New York Liberty on May 16, Caitlin Clark shared a few candid moments with teammate Katie Lou Samuelson‘s baby, Aliya.
Amazon’s “Sports on Prime” account shared the interaction in a 38-second video posted to X (formerly Twitter).
“You’re so fun, you’re so fun,” Clark can be heard saying to baby Aliya. “You’re crazy. You’re crazy.”
Baby (Indiana)Fever!
Caitlin Clark spending time with Katie Lou Samuelson’s baby 🥹
📺: @PrimeVideo, 7pm ET
On the court, Clark’s second career WNBA game was spoiled as the Fever were blown out by the Liberty, 102-66. The No. 1 overall pick finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists on 2-of-8 shooting across 30 minutes of action.
Katie Samuelson: ‘Becoming a Mom is the Best Thing I’ve Ever Done’
In 2020, the WNBA implemented fully paid maternity leave for its players, as part of the league’s updated collective bargaining agreement.
Samuelson, who sat out the 2023 season during her pregnancy, called her decision to start a family “the best thing” in her life. She and her husband, Devin Cannady, who plays in the NBA G-League, have been married since April 2023.
“Becoming a mom is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Samuelson said via the Indy Star on May 12. “Seeing [Aliya] grow, and being responsible for taking care of her every single day, and helping her mold her into the human she’s going to be has been just such a blessing in my life.”
Mama Lou 😍
Katie Lou Samuelson brought her daughter, Aliya, along for media day.
“And it really puts things in perspective — things that might have bothered me before, might have been worried about, seem so small now,” Samuelson added.
Samuelson, 26, played with four different WNBA teams between 2019 and 2023 before she joined the Fever as a free agent. A California native, Samuelson’s career took off in college with UConn before the Chicago Sky selected her as the No. 4 pick in the 2019 WNBA draft.
Katie Samuelson Adjusting Amid Return to Court With New Routine
Samuelson has been successful amid a career average of 6.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game in four seasons. In her return to the court, Samuelson has averaged 7.5 points, 1.5 assists and 1.0 rebound per contest with the Fever.
“Your body changes,” Samuelson said. “I’ve gotten injured before, and I’ve always been able to train and all that, but coming back from this, I was starting from ground zero, you know, a couple months after having her.”
“It was just really, really a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication to make sure my body felt good,” she added.
Samuelson has also embraced a different routine off the court.
“Before it was like practice, OK, go home, sleep and then get ready again,” Samuelson said. “Now, I’m going home to hang out with my baby girl and like — when we had two-a-days, I’d go home for a couple hours, hang out with her and then get back.”
“My time is very valuable now, so I’ve got to make sure I get everything I need to get done here. I gotta be really professional, really get everything taken care of — my body, my mind, basketball, and then I gotta get home and I gotta be mom,” she added.