Caitlin Clark is leaving Iowa for the WNBA on her own terms.
The Iowa star helped define what it means to be a star in today’s college basketball landscape, and he will now pursue new heights as a professional.
Caitlin Clark spoke with Sports Illustrated in an empty Carver-Hawkeye Arena over the summer about the decision that would determine her upcoming basketball season. The Iowa Hawkeyes star’s senior year could be her last in Iowa City. Or she could extend her already historic, one-of-a-kind college career with a fifth and final season in 2024-25, becoming part of the last class to have such a choice under the NCAA’s pandemic policy.
“Either I’m going to be coming back to something that I’ve really loved, or I could start my pro career, which has been my dream since I was a little kid,” Clark said back in August, describing the decision as a “really, really hard one.”
She maintained that stance in public for several months afterward. However, as the season progressed, it became increasingly difficult to imagine Clark staying at Iowa for another year. What else did she have to prove in college? As she completed another year of leading the nation in scoring and breaking records,
Selling out gyms appeared to be a minor issue. That concept was not entirely new to her. Clark stood out from the start of her freshman season, scoring more than any other player in the country at the time. But she commanded a different kind of attention now, a star with a unique, powerful gravitational pull. The outcome felt obvious. It was time for the Caitlin Clark Show to explore new venues.
On Thursday, she made it official. Clark announced that she will forego her fifth year of eligibility and instead enter the WNBA draft in April.
“While this season is far from over and we still have a lot of goals to achieve, it will be my last at Iowa,” Clark said in a social media post. “I’m thrilled to be entering the 2024 WNBA Draft.”
She is the presumptive No. 1 pick in the draft, in a way that makes the term “presumptive” feel gratuitous. The Indiana Fever has the pick, which means Clark will remain in the Midwest, where she has lived her entire life and where her devoted fan base is concentrated. The transition from college to the pros is significant, and even for a player as talented as Clark, there are no guarantees. But the opportunity
1 pick, Aliyah. Boston, and the two of them should make an excellent pairing. With Clark in the backcourt and Boston in the post, they could form an elite offensive duo, and it is not unreasonable to expect Indiana to make its first playoff appearance since 2016. On-court success is just one of the advantages the franchise should anticipate from drafting a player like Clark, who has demonstrated an exceptional ability to generate buzz, spark conversation, and captivate audiences.
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