Iowa guard Cailtin Clark announced Thursday that she will enter the 2024 WNBA Draft, making a foregone conclusion official and signaling the end of a historic college career.
Seen as the most electrifying player in college basketball, Clark became the all-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball history by passing Kelsey Plum for the NCAA Division I record and then Lynette Woodard for the major college scoring title. At 3,650 points, she is closing in on Pete Maravich’s career scoring mark for any college basketball player, man or woman (3,667).
Clark had the option to use a fifth year of NCAA eligibility granted to athletes who played during the COVID-19 pandemic, but she announced on social media Thursday that she’ll be going pro.
“While this season is far from over and we have a lot more goals to achieve, it will be my last one at Iowa,” Clark wrote.
“It is impossible to fully express my gratitude to everyone who has 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-Hawkeye Arena) every night; and everyone who came out to support us across the country, especially the young kids.
“Most importantly, none of this would have been possible without my family and friends who have been by my side through it all. Because of all of you, my dreams came true.”
Clark leads the nation in both scoring, at 32.2 points per game, and in assists, with 8.7 per contest. She also collects 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 39.5 percent from 3-point range and 46.9 percent overall. She is widely expected to sweep the national player of the year awards for a second consecutive season.
Iowa (25-4, 14-3 Big Ten) is ranked No. 6 in the country this week and hosts No. 2 Ohio State in Sunday’s regular-season finale. Clark and the Hawkeyes reached the national championship game last season, where they fell to LSU.
–Field Level Media
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