Caitlin Clark said she’s not ready to host “Saturday Night Live” following her surprise cameo over the weekend, when she roasted Michael Che during the “Weekend Update” segment with Colin Jost.
Clark, the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft on Monday, felt her heart beating out of her chest right before she hit the stage at Studio 8H in New York — a moment she recalled Wednesday during her introductory press conference with the Fever.
“I don’t think I’m ready for all that,” a grinning Clark said when asked when she will host the award-winning comedy show. “That would be terrifying. I was terrified for a three-minute skit, so. But It was incredible.
“… I was so nervous when I was right behind the screen before they rolled me into the set and we went live, like my heart was about to explode out of my chest. It was a good little skit. It was fun to be a part of and hopefully I can go back and do it again sometime.”
The former Iowa All-American guard went on to explain how she was thrown “into the fire” when she arrived at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
“I actually flew from L.A. to New York and I went right to the set and I woke up at 7 a.m. in L.A., and I went right to set and obviously the show doesn’t start until 11:30 [p.m.] so I was just chugging Coke [Coca Cola] all night trying to stay awake, coffee soda,” she said. “But it was fun.
“They kind of just throw you right into the fire and I know I said that I ‘wrote the jokes,’ but obviously I didn’t write the jokes. I’m not that funny.
“It was a good platform for women’s sports. Everybody loves it and that was a great show — Emily Blunt, Ryan Gosling, Chris Stapleton, Kate McKinnon, so many amazing people came back and it was fun to be a part of.”
Clark’s comments come just days after she spoke on “Today” about taping the April 13 episode of “SNL.”
During her appearance Monday on the NBC morning show, the 22-year-old said she felt more nervous about “SNL” than getting ready for the national championship game against South Carolina on April 7, which was an 87-75 Iowa loss.
The championship contest set a women’s NCAA record for TV viewership at 18.7 million viewers, peaking at 24 million.
A record 2.45 million viewers tuned in to Monday’s 2024 WNBA Draft to watch Clark turn pro.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Clark received a warm welcome from Fever legend Tamika Catchings — who played her entire 15-year career with Indiana — and Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton upon her arrival at the team facility.
The athletes posed for photos alongside Catchings and Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, as seen in a social media video shared by the Fever.
This marks the second consecutive year that the Fever had the first pick.
They selected former South Carolina star forward Aliyah Boston with the No. 1 pick in 2023.
The Fever now have the seventh-best WNBA title odds at FanDuel at 35/1 with the addition of Clark — the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s all-time leader.
Clark also has the fourth-best MVP odds at 12/1.
The WNBA will begin training camps on April 28 and the season starts May 14.
The Indiana Fever open the season at Connecticut.
