It took less than two hours for Caitlin Clark’s first signature Nike shoe to nearly disappear from shelves. Yet, while fans rushed to get their hands on the Caitlin 1, Clark had already made sure some of the people closest to her basketball journey had their own pairs.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Caitlin Clark celebrated the global launch of her highly anticipated first signature sneaker, the Nike Caitlin 1, by gifting special pairs to her former team, the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team. Following Clark’s gesture for her college basketball team, the Hawkeyes shared a video on X showing players unboxing the shoes, revealing the bright yellow colorway and posing with their new pairs.
“Caitlin 1s for the crew 👟 Thank you, @nikebasketball & @CaitlinClark22 !,” they captioned the video.
The Nike Caitlin 1 officially launched worldwide on October 1, 2026, retailing at $140, with the debut colorways being the vibrant “Caitlin Blue” and the yellow “Warning Code.” Regardless of the colorway, the Caitlin 1 features a Nike Opticast upper, a forefoot Air Zoom Turbo unit and Cushlon foam, along with 22 and CC motifs molded into the upper. The outsole features the messages “Shoot More Threes,” “From Anywhere,” and “It Was Never a Long Shot.”
CEO Elliott Hill said Nike had activated the largest women’s signature shoe launch in its history, in 5,000 doors, twice the average for a Nike basketball signature shoe. He added that the launch had “our largest Nike product campaign for the holiday season” behind it.
Proving the immense demand for Clark’s first signature sneaker, nothing below size 15 remained merely an hour into the launch, according to CNBC, and the shoe also nearly sold out at Foot Locker, Champs Sports and Hibbett. Resale listings on eBay reached $200 and above. Both colorways later sold out in every size on Nike’s platforms, up to men’s 18 and women’s 19.5, per Sports Illustrated.
Meanwhile, Nike Keystone in Indianapolis hosted a launch activation, while Nike and Dick’s Sporting Goods staged a separate three-day event in Iowa City from Thursday through Saturday. Fans lined up downtown, and many in line told a local station they began following Clark during her Iowa years. Nike’s campaign also included a drive-in watch party near Rockport, Indiana, along with a separate playoff watch party in Iowa City.
Gifting pairs of Caitlin 1s to the current Iowa team was far from Clark’s only gesture tied to the launch. She had already kicked off the promotional rollout by gifting unreleased early pairs to the Indiana Fever roster. High-profile athletes from outside basketball also received exclusive pairs.
For instance, NFL star Travis Kelce revealed on his podcast that he had been sent an unreleased, Chiefs-inspired red-and-yellow gradient colorway.
Fans have also been part of Clark’s Caitlin 1 giveaways. During WNBA All-Star weekend in Chicago, Clark announced that she would give away five pairs of her unreleased signature shoes, with some distributed in person and others placed at hidden drop-off locations that fans could track through her social media. Right before the shoes officially hit retail shelves, she also handed out her own game-worn Caitlin 1s directly to lucky fans at the Indiana Fever’s arena.
But Clark’s history of gifting teammates and communities she has been part of long predates this latest Caitlin 1 giveaway.
In December 2023, after a win over Loyola, she gave her “Reverse Grinch” Nike Kobe 6s to a young girl who had asked for an autograph. In January 2024, after a 96-50 win over Wisconsin, she handed her game-worn Sabrina 1s to a girl from Dubuque who had been copying the Hawkeyes’ warm-up routine. “That girl had my jersey on, it was cute,” Clark said afterward. That same month, she gave Nike shoes to her teammates for her birthday, which fell on Jan. 22. Guard Kate Martin unboxed a green-and-white pair in a video her teammate Kylie Feuerbach posted to TikTok.
Then came one of the bigger gestures, after she had left for the WNBA. In July 2025, she gifted exclusive player-edition Nike Kobe 5 Protro sneakers to both the Iowa men’s and women’s basketball teams.
The Nike Caitlin 1 marks Caitlin Clark’s first official signature sneaker with Nike. And apart from the sold-out opening release, Nike still has a massive rollout planned, with several more colourways scheduled through the end of 2026, followed by additional releases in early 2027.
The “Midnight Fever,” a vivid Hot Punch/Neo Pink colorway, is scheduled to release on October 14. The “Cave Stone,” a more neutral, earth-toned option, will follow on November 3. There is also the “Ice Cold,” a crisp white-and-blue winter-themed colorway, scheduled for November 24, followed by the vibrant “Purple Venom” on December 12.
Several additional Caitlin 1 colorways are also reportedly planned for 2027. The “3x Black,” previously seen on Travis Scott and later previewed by Clark, is currently expected to arrive in 2027. The “Teal Fade” is also expected to reach retail in 2027, while the “Berry Fade,” which Clark wore during the playoffs, is expected to be out in Spring 2027. However, no retail dates have been confirmed as of now.