Miss Indiana uses pageant to pay homage to Caitlin

Miss Indiana, Sydney Shrewsbury, honored WNBA and Fever famous person Caitlin Clark during the preliminary rounds of the Miss USA pageant.

In an early round of the pageant, recognized for its state-inspired costumes, 24-year-old Shrewsbury made a hanging entrance in an outfit devoted to Clark. Crowned Miss Indiana earlier this 12 months in April, Shrewsbury dazzled in a glowing shorts-and-jersey set prominently that includes Clark’s iconic quantity 22. It comes after Clark issued a press release after confirming her sporting return 

She accomplished the ensemble with a basketball-shaped purse and a gown embellished with a basketball internet draped over her shoulders, a nod to the Fever’s semifinal run in the 2025 WNBA playoffs, which Clark missed due to injury. On Nate Spangle’s podcast, Shrewsbury gave a sneak peek of the outfit.

“There’s a state costume portion of the competition,” Shrewsbury explained. “It’s something that Indiana has never worn on the Miss USA stage before.”

Shrewbury’s costume selection was met with overwhelming approval on social media. “Fit goes crazy, can I borrow it?” one consumer commented. “You are making Indiana proud!” another chimed in. “Let ’em know what Indy is all about, girl,” a 3rd responded.

Clark’s sophomore 12 months did not unfold as anticipated. The two-time WNBA All-Star appeared in 13 games during the 2025 WNBA season with the Fever, sitting out a complete of twenty-two games due to varied accidents, including a left quadriceps pressure, a left groin injury, and a proper groin injury.

Her season concluded early in September when she was sidelined for the remainder of the 12 months. She was absent for the Fever’s playoff push, which ended with a loss to the eventual WNBA champions, the Las Vegas Aces, in the semifinals. “So much to be proud. shoutout the fans for staying with us all year,” Clark responded to the Fever’s 2025 campaign.

Clark’s fame alone wields super energy. Whether it is in the WNBA, during collective bargaining discussions, or in promoting campaigns for different manufacturers, her identify alone can create extraordinary buzz. Fever coach Stephanie White compares Clark’s affect to that of another megastar-Taylor Swift.

“It actually is like Taylor Swift 2.0, and because of that, her name gets thrown into a lot of conversations that have absolutely nothing to do with her, or her interests, and or our team or sport, or whatever,” White told IndyStar on a Fever Insider Podcast episode.

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“And she is a 23 year-old kid who loves to play this game, who loves her teammates, who loves to compete, you know, at a high level.

“Her identify grabs consideration,” White added. “Her identify is clickbait. Her identify is utilized in a method that very few people and athletes are. It’s in the same sphere as LeBron (James), as Serena Williams, as Tiger Woods, as Taylor Swift.

“I wish that Caitlin was able to just live her life however, but with the things that she’s accomplished, there’s a lot of responsibility and a lot of attention that comes, because she’s elite at what she does.”