Caitlin Clark to forgo last yr at Iowa, enter WNBA draft

Iowa girls’s basketball star Caitlin Clark introduced on social media on Thursday that she shall be ending her school profession this yr and never coming again for a fifth season through the COVID-19 waiver.

Clark, who’s projected because the WNBA’s No. 1 decide by the Indiana Fever, simply broke the ladies’s main school scoring document on Wednesday with a 33-point efficiency at Minnesota. She now has 3,650 factors and is 17 from passing LSU’s Pete Maravich, who holds the Division I total document between males’s and ladies’s basketball with 3,667 factors.

“Whereas this season is much from over and now we have much more objectives to realize, it will likely be my final one at Iowa,” Clark wrote. “I’m excited to be getting into the 2024 WNBA Draft.

“It’s unimaginable for me to completely categorical my gratitude to everybody who has supported me throughout my time at Iowa – my teammates, who made the final 4 years the very best; my coaches, trainers and employees who all the time let me be me; Hawkeye followers who stuffed Carver each evening; and everybody who got here out to help us throughout the nation, particularly younger children.”

Clark, who turned 22 in January, might have opted to remain one other season in school due to the COVID waiver for the 2020-2021 season, her freshman yr. As a substitute, she’s going to transfer on to the professional sport the place she is anticipated to hitch Aliyah Boston, final yr’s No. 1 select of South Carolina, with the Fever. Indiana has not made the WNBA playoffs since 2016.

Clark, anticipated to repeat as nationwide participant of the yr this season, has 17 triple-doubles in her profession, second solely to 2020 No. 1 draft decide Sabrina Ionescu, who had 26 for the Oregon Geese from 2016-2020. Clark led Iowa to the Last 4 final season for the second time in program historical past, and the Hawkeyes made the nationwide championship sport for the primary time, falling to LSU.

Clark is at the moment main Division I in scoring and assists, and can play her last regular-season residence sport at Carver-Hawkeye Enviornment on Sunday in opposition to Large Ten-leading Ohio State. The Hawkeyes additionally undertaking to among the many prime 16 seeds within the NCAA event, so she might have a further two video games at residence within the postseason.