Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham has taken over teammate Caitlin Clark in one popularity poll, as she came out as one of the most-searched athletes of the year.
Sophie Cunningham emerged as the most-searched women’s athlete in the United States this year, according to Google’s annual Year in Search, landing at No. 7 overall and standing as the only woman in the top 10. The data was curated by Boardroom and was looked into using only the United States audience.
“Shedeur Sanders was 2025’s most-searched athlete in the U.S. as he entered the league with massive attention,” the Boardroom post caption read. “His draft slide from a projected first-rounder to a fifth-round pick and a viral prank call during draft weekend helped fuel curiosity before he ever took an NFL snap.”
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While there has been no data to back it up yet, many fans point to Caitli Clark’s injury-plagued 2025 season as a contributing factor to why her online interest and reach declined.
While Clark remained a constant presence in the Fever, she only played less than half of the regular season games, and did not manage to make it to the playoffs, unlike what most fans hoped for.
More recently, Cunningham revealed that she decided to join Project B, a new women’s basketball league that plans to tip off late 2026, after the 2026 WNBA season.
Analysis Shows Sophie Cunningham’s Popularity Surge
As a result of a widely publicized incident during the WNBA’s 2025 season in which she defended her teammate, Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham’s standing has increased significantly.
According to data from Sportico, the Fever star gained almost a million followers across her social media accounts, with most of it coming from TikTok. This brought her an additional $1 million in personal brand value alone, not considering brand deals and promotions where she could earn more.
The market and media attention around Cunningham grew during the 2025 campaign, but that visibility has not translated into a widely reported, official multi‑year extension from the franchise.
Outside of brand deals, Cunningham also launched her own podcast, “Show Me Something,” where fans turned in for her reactions and topic discussions that often made sports news headlines.
During the 2025 season, Sophie Cunningham averaged 8.6 points per game, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists. She already finished her one-year contract with the Fever, and has yet to report any official confirmation of a new contract.
For more basketball content, click on Hardwood Heroics. Sabel Reyes can be reached through sabelreyes22@gmail.com. Other websites under the Sports Heroics umbrella are Gridiron Heroics and Wisconsin Heroics.
Sabel has been working as a field reporter for People’s Television Network (PTV), mainly about the Philippine Basketball Association since 2016 and has been elevated to Executive Producer for sports in 2022. Aside from being on top of the Philippine sports scene, she is also a running enthusiast. You can also follow her on X at @SabelReyes2 and Instagram at @msabelreyes.
