When Head Women’s Basketball Coach Matt Dean recruited Becca Clarin out of high school in 2005, he knew the competition to enroll her was tough. Lucky for all of us, she became a Lynx. She was one of the finest goalkeepers in the entire Midwest and a tremendous three-point shooter that could stretch any defense. One of the major reasons she chose Rhodes was the ability to play both soccer and basketball at the collegiate level.
Becca made an immediate impact on both the women’s soccer and basketball programs. In 2006-07, she was first in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) with 101 saves and first in shutouts with seven. She was second in the SCAC in save percentage at .835 and third in the SCAC in saves per game at 5.32. She accomplished all of this on a 14-3-2 Lynx Women's Soccer team. Becca joined the basketball team at the completion of soccer and contributed to a 16-10 Lynx basketball team, scoring 126 points for the season; she was also second on the team with 28 three-point field goals made.
In 2007-08, Becca continued her dominance in the net, leading the SCAC in shutouts (7) and finishing third in goals allowed (0.93) and save percentage (.829), as the Lynx finished the year 11-6-2. On the basketball floor, she became a starter and led the Lynx with 40 three-point field goals made and finished 13th in the SCAC in three-point field goals made.
2008-09 was Becca's best year in goals for the Lynx on one of the best women's soccer teams in Lynx history. Led by Coach Bobby Lessentine, the Lynx finished with a 14-4-2 record, a national ranking of 12th, and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Becca was named to the NSCAA First Team All-Region team and became an All-American. She was also first in the SCAC in shutouts per game (0.44), and she tied for first in the SCAC with eight shutouts. Unfortunately, her junior year of basketball was cut short by an ACL injury in the fourth game of the season.
In 2009-10, Becca was again named First Team All-SCAC in soccer, recording 73 saves. Rebounding from her knee injury, she had her best season on the hardwood for Coach Dean. Becca achieved career-high statistics in three categories: 56 three-point field goals, 239 points, and 171 rebounds. She was instrumental when the Lynx upset top-seeded Austin College in the first round of the SCAC Tournament.
For her basketball career as a three-year starter in 82 games (with her junior year lost because of injury), Becca scored 573 points, had 464 rebounds, and made 127 three-point field goals. She is in the Lynx top five in school history in three-point field goals made. In her soccer career, Becca was an All-American goalkeeper, and in her junior year, the team participated in the NCAA Tournament.
According to Coach Dean, she is the most competitive two-sport athlete he has coached in his 34 years at the college. Rhodes is honored to induct Becca Clarin into the Rhodes Athletic Hall of Fame on this 2nd day of November, 2024.
