Caitlin Clark Ends Her Collegiate Career Without a Title — But Her Story Isn’t Over
Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, OH (PSF) — Although Caitlin Clark left the floor of the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on the losing end of the National Title Game, fresh off a 30-point, 8-rebound, 5-assist performance, she was still a talking point amongst the National Champion Gamecocks. The buzz she created, the performances she had; simply everything was awe-inspiring. The impact she made on Women’s College Basketball, NCAA Basketball, and Iowa Athletics is monumental.
Opposing (Legendary) Coach Dawn Staley took a moment in the celebration interview to thank Clark specifically for all she has done for the sport — showing just how impactful of a legacy Clark leaves behind as she makes the jump to the WNBA.
Whether it was ridiculous shot-making from behind-the-arc, highlight reel finishes at the rim or passes, or leading Iowa to the top of the Big Ten in 3 straight seasons, Caitlin Clark shined in the spotlight.
The sky-high expectations were always on her shoulders, and in return, she made Women’s College Basketball as relevant as it has ever been.
There were many highs, such as her dominant season this year:
and there were some low lows on the way as well. Not every player is perfect. All great players have discourses around them, debates about their true greatness, and circulation of low moments that are used to discredit them. Yes, her waving off South Carolina’s Raven Johnson last year casually came off as disrespectful — and then Clark lost to them in the title game this year. It’s all relative. The number of compilations of athletes celebrating too early, even at the highest level, taunting a player, and then being on the wrong end of a highlight, that’s all just sports. It happens, and Clark had her fair share of those moments.
However, even when people criticized her fiery competitiveness on the court, isolated moments of intense leadership that were portrayed in a negative light, and circulated low moments from her career (Ohio State court storming), the product on the court never wavered. Her leadership and play got Iowa to the highest levels, regardless of what was happening on and off the court.
While performing at the level she did, Clark did it with grace, passion, and a winning attitude. She became a role model for young women and young basketball players and acknowledged that responsibility with how she carried herself.
Strictly considering basketball, she put Women’s Basketball on the map, in a way nobody has seen since arguably Breanna Stewart’s legendary UConn career. Some may argue that Clark even transcends that. It’s not hard to see why.
2x AP POY
4x AP All American
3x NCAA All-Region
1x Wooden Award Winner (outstanding collegiate basketball player of the year)
2x Naismith Award Winner (women’s and men’s college basketball players of the year)
3x Big Ten POY
2x All-Big Ten
2x All-Big Ten Tourney
Big Ten All-Freshman
2020-2021 Big Ten ROY
3x Most Outstanding Player of Big Ten Tournament
All-Time NCAA Leader in Points (3,951)
All-Time Big Ten Leader in Points
Highest Big Ten PPG average of all time (28.4)
First in the nation in WNCAAB PPG 2020-2024
2nd All-Time in NCAA Assists (1,139)
All-time NCAA Leader in 3-point Field Goals (543)
Look at how long that list is.
These were not empty accolades either. Iowa made the Big 10 Championship all four years she suited up for the Hawkeyes. They fell short in 2021, but 3-peated in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Before that stretch, Iowa hadn’t won a Big 10 Championship for Women’s basketball since 2001. She even outscored the Iowa Football Team throughout her four-year career.
What all of those accolades, Big Ten Titles, and idolization culminate to is a career 28.4 ppg / 7.1 rpg / 8.3 apg / 1.5 spg statline with 46.3/37.7/85.8 shooting splits. The 3,951 career points Clark scored is well above second-place Kelsey Plum; 424 points above to be exact. Not only did she elevate Iowa basketball to new heights, she elevated the standard as well.
Her next chapter will most likely be suiting up for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, who have the #1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She will form a #1 overall pick tandem with South Carolina alumni Aliyah Boston, and there will likely be some competitive fire between the two after the result of this year’s national championship. Boston, 22, has already expressed her excitement about potentially playing with Clark, expressing how complete her game is.
Clark’s transition to the WNBA may not be perfectly seamless — as talented as she is and as good of a leader she has been, the professional level is always a step above collegiate sports in terms of competitiveness, commitment, and level of play. It may be a tough adjustment culturally for Clark, who has consistently won at Iowa, to go to a rebuilding team like the Fever, who have not finished above .500 since 2015, when they went 20-14.
Ultimately, how the Clark and Fever union unfolds remains to be seen, with the draft next week, on April 15th. Even a generational player like Clark might not elevate the Fever to the playoffs and break their multiyear long rebuild.
Caitlin Clark also might elevate this team to heights never seen before. She’s that special. Either outcome could be entirely possible.
What we do know at this moment though, is that future Women’s basketball players will idolize Caitlin Clark. Players will try to emulate her game. Her impact. Her leadership. Her grace and thoughtfulness during adversity and in the face of pressure. Her ability to be a role model to young women and girls everywhere.
However, there will likely never be another Caitlin Clark. At least not the complete package of sheer dominance, excitement, and exceptional play game-in and game-out.
