Caitlin Clark, record-breaking Iowa basketball star, declares for WNBA draft

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, who is on the verge of becoming the all-time NCAA scoring leader in college basketball, announced Thursday that she will leave the Hawkeyes after this season and enter the WNBA draft.

“Although this season is far from over and we still have many more goals to achieve, it will be my last in Iowa” Clark wrote in a post on the social media platform X. She thanked her teammates, coaches and the thousands of fans who filled arenas across the country to watch her and the sixth-ranked Hawkeyes.

Clark emerged as a focal point for women’s basketball, with her flashy play and three-point shot, often coming from the on-court logo. Many players would have been benched for shooting from so far away, but Clark got the green light from her coach and she made it happen while also finding her teammates and hitting the boards.

The guard, who had one year of eligibility remaining, became the all-time leading women’s scorer in major college basketball by scoring 33 points to pass Lynette Woodard and post her 17th career triple-double in a 108-60 win over Minnesota on Wednesday evening.

Clark also broke the NCAA single-season record by sinking eight 3-pointers for a total of 156 in 2023-2024. She now has 3,650 career points. Woodard had 3,649 points for Kansas from 1977 to 1981, before the NCAA sanctioned the sport. Earlier this month, Clark broke Kelsey Plum’s NCAA scoring record (3,527 points).

Next up is Pete Maravich’s overall NCAA scoring record, who is just 17 points ahead of her.