Projected No. 1 pick Clark to enter WNBA draft

Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark announced on social media Thursday that she will be finishing her college career this year and won’t be coming back for a fifth season via the COVID-19 waiver.

Clark, who is projected as the WNBA’s No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever, just broke the women’s major college scoring record Wednesday with a 33-point performance at Minnesota. She now has 3,650 points and is 17 from passing LSU’s Pete Maravich, who holds the Division I overall record between men’s and women’s basketball with 3,667 points.

“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. “I am excited to be entering the 2024 WNBA Draft.

“It is impossible for me 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 every night; and everyone who came out to support us across the country, especially young kids.”

Clark, who turned 22 in January, could have opted to stay in college another season because of the COVID waiver for the 2020-2021 season, her freshman year. Instead, she will move on to the pro game where she 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, expected to repeat as national player of the year this season, has 17 triple-doubles in her career, second only to 2020 No. 1 draft pick Sabrina Ionescu, who had 26 for the Oregon Ducks from 2016-2020. Clark led Iowa to the Final Four last season for the second time in program history, and the Hawkeyes made the national championship game for the first time, falling to LSU.

Clark is currently leading Division I in scoring and assists and will play her final regular-season home game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday against Big Ten-leading Ohio State. The Hawkeyes also project to a top 16 seed in the NCAA tournament, so she could have an additional two games at home in the postseason.