Iowa women's basketball star Caitlin Clark announced on social media Thursday that she will end her college career this year and will not return for a fifth season via COVID-19 waiver.
Clark, who is projected as the WNBA's No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever, broke the women's college scoring record on Wednesday with a 33-point performance at Minnesota. She has 3,650 points and is 17 away from surpassing LSU's Pete Maravich, who holds the overall Division I record between men's and women's basketball with 3,667 points.
“Although this season is far from over and we have many more goals to achieve, it will be our last in Iowa,” Clark wrote. “I am excited to enter the 2024 WNBA Draft.
“It is impossible for me to fully express my gratitude to everyone who supported me during my time at Iowa: my teammates, who made the last four years the best; my coaches, trainers and staff who always let me be me; Hawkeye .fans who filled Carver every night; and everyone who came out to support us across the country, especially the little kids.”
Clark, who turned 22 in January, could have opted to stay in college one more season due to the COVID waiver for the 2020-2021 season, his freshman year. Instead, he will move on to the professional game where he is expected to join Aliyah Boston, last year's No. 1 pick out of South Carolina, with the Fever. Indiana has not made the WNBA playoffs since 2016.
Clark, who is expected to repeat as national player of the year this season, has 17 career triple-doubles, second only to 2020 No. 1 draft pick Sabrina Ionescu, who had 26 for the Oregon Ducks from 2016 to 2020. Clark led Iowa to the Final Four last season for the second time in program history, and the Hawkeyes reached the national championship game for the first time, falling to LSU.
Clark leads Division I in scoring (32.2 points per game) and assists (8.7 points per game) and will play its final home game of the regular season at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday against top-ranked Ohio State. Big Ten. The Hawkeyes also project to be in the top 16 in the NCAA tournament, so they could have two additional home games in the postseason.
“None of this would have been possible without my family and friends who have been by my side through it all,” Clark wrote on social media. “Thanks to you, my dreams came true.”
The 6-foot guard set the NCAA women's scoring record, previously held by 2017 No. 1 draft pick Kelsey Plum, on Feb. 15 in Iowa City. She broke Lynette Woodard's women's record of 3,649, set by the Kansas star between 1977 and 1981, during the AIAW era, before the NCAA assumed governance of women's sports.
Clark said in October that he hoped to wait until the end of this season to decide if he wanted to return to college. Instead, he opted to make the announcement before Senior Day at Iowa on Sunday. Tickets for the game were already projected to be among the most expensive on the secondary market for a women's game, with prices ranging from $408 to $5,199, according to Vivid Seat on Wednesday.
Clark, originally from West Des Moines, Iowa, opted to stay in her home state for college and that has paid off for her and the Hawkeyes. Iowa held a preseason game at Kinnick Stadium, home of the Hawkeyes football, which attracted 55,646 fans. Every game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena was sold out, as were many of Iowa's road games. Clark has also capitalized on NIL deals that will continue as she turns pro, including companies like Nike, Gatorade and State Farm.
Clark this season became the first Division I player to have at least 3,000 points and 1,000 assists. She is on pace to lead Division I in scoring for the third consecutive season. Of her 17 triple-doubles, six of them have been with 30 points or more, the most in Division I history.
