University of Iowa Hawkeyes basketball superstar Caitlin Clark announced Thursday via X/Twitter that she has decided to declare for the 2024 WNBA Draft. This all comes after Clark surpassed Lynette Woodward for the most points scored in major women’s college basketball history, setting Caitlin up to pass “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s mark for the NCAA scoring record among both men and women’s basketball.
Caitlin Clark Declares for 2024 WNBA Draft
There was much speculation on whether Caitlin Clark would forgo her fifth year of eligibility with the Iowa Hawkeyes to enter the draft. Many WNBA stars, past and present, such as Kelsey Plum and Sue Bird, pondered whether Clark should stay, with the NIL Era coming on the heels of the Covid extensions for college players, or start her professional career in the WNBA. Clark put all the speculation to rest with her post on Thursday.
— Caitlin Clark (@CaitlinClark22) February 29, 2024
The WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert recently announced that the annual draft will move to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where fans will be permitted to cheer on their teams as they make selections the night of April 15 for the first time in eight years. Cathy Engelbert discussed the new change and the growth over the past seasons for the WNBA, saying, “We are focused on creating elevated events that WNBA fans won’t want to miss, at a time when the energy for the WNBA has never been higher. Last season resulted in our most-watched-regular season in over two decades, our highest total attendance in 13 years, and set record figures across WNBA digital and social platforms.” The most excited among them are those from the Hoosier State as the Indiana Fever have the first overall selection in this year’s draft. In the most recent ESPN WNBA mock draft, Michael Voepel reports Caitlin Clark, the NCAA leader in scoring at 32.8 points per game along with 8.5 assists, is the consensus first-overall pick, stating Clark “is an offensive machine the Fever would love to have in Indianapolis.”
Caitlin Clark Continues Breaking Career Scoring Records
Throughout this season and the entirety of her collegiate career, Caitlin Clark has proven to be an offensive machine, as called by Michael Voepel, rewriting the Men’s and Women’s basketball history books. On Wednesday, Clark became the all-time leading scorer among female college basketball players. This record surrounds the time before and after the NCAA’s sponsor of women’s sports as Hawkeye’s star, Clark, passed Lynette Woodard’s 3,649 career points with the Kansas Jayhawks from 1977 to 1981. After the game, Caitlin Clark spoke on making more sports history, saying, “It was all the people in front of me that paved the way for women’s basketball players like myself. So, more than anything, I’m just grateful to have these opportunities to play in front of fans like this. It’s just really special.” Clark said regarding the growth of women’s basketball with another sold-out crowd and hundreds of girls in #22, “Honestly, it’s super special and something that I never take for granted. Before every game starts, I just look around and try to soak it all in because these are some of the best moments of my life. If I can inspire young girls to play basketball and dream to be whatever they wanna be, you know life is pretty good then.”
Caitlin Clark’s game is second to none.
See for yourself.pic.twitter.com/dMSwEfVYSx— Dinn Mann (@mooseoutfront) February 29, 2024
This comes after Caitlin Clark broke the NCAA women’s basketball scoring record two weeks ago, surpassing a mark set by Kelsey Plum, who scored 3,527 in her collegiate career with the Washington Huskies from 2013 to 2017. Clark is well on pace to break Pete Maravich’s 3,667 mark for the NCAA scoring record among both men and women in her next game. With an average of more than 30 points per game and only 18 points shy of the record, Clark will most likely stand atop the college scoring mountain after Iowa’s final regular-season matchup against the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday.
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