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Iowa's Caitlin Clark declares for WNBA Draft, will skip final season of college eligilbility

Fans pack Williams Arena to see Caitlin Clark make history
Fans pack Williams Arena to see Caitlin Clark make history 02:08

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa's Caitlin Clark announced Thursday that she will leave the Hawkeyes after this season and enter the WNBA Draft.

Clark made the announcement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"It is impossible 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 the young kids," Clark wrote in her announcement.

Michigan v Iowa
Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates after breaking the NCAA women's all-time scoring record during the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on February 15, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. Getty Images

The news comes a day after she became the all-time leading women's scorer in major college basketball when the Hawkeyes took on the Gophers on Tuesday. The game was sold out — the second time the Gopher women's basketball team has played with a full stadium at home.

Clark scored 15 points in the first three minutes and 18 seconds of the game, scoring a three-pointer just 13 seconds in. She now has a total of 3,650 career points, beating Lynette Woodard's 3,649 points for Kansas from 1977-81.

Earlier this month, Clark broke the NCAA women's basketball career scoring record two minutes into a game against the Michigan Wolverines. She has a good chance of breaking the all-time Division I scoring record of 3,667 points, set by LSU's Pete Maravich, who played from 1967 to 1970.

Additionally, this season, Clark became the sixth woman ever to have 1,000 career assists, and is the only player in NCAA Division I history to score more than 3,000 points and have 1,000 assists, according to CBS Sports.

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