Caitlin Clark Bids Farewell to Iowa in Bittersweet Post After NCAA Championship Loss

Kristen Wong | Apr 7, 2024

Steph Chambers/GettyImages

Caitlin Clark’s first social media post after the NCAA tournament didn’t include any hardware as the Iowa Hawkeyes lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the national championship game on Sunday.

Instead, Clark bid a simple and bittersweet farewell to the program she’s called home for the last four years. In her Instagram story, the senior guard wrote, “I’ll miss ya,” and added a string of yellow hearts. Clark’s shoe and No. 22 jersey were ceremoniously laid out on the floor.

Screengrab on Instagram/ @caitlinclark22

Clark, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, will enter the 2024 WNBA draft on April 15 with a plethora of individual achievements but, notably, without a national title to her name. 

The Hawkeyes star went 10-for-28 from the field for 30 points in Sunday’s 87–75 defeat to the Gamecocks, which marked the second straight year Iowa finished as runners-up in the NCAA tournament.

Whether Clark’s legacy as one of the greatest players of all time will be hindered by her lack of national title glory is up for debate. Her legacy at Iowa, however, leaves little to be questioned as she will go down in history as the most prolific player to ever come out of the Hawkeyes’ women’s basketball program.

Her college career comes to a close as Clark prepares for the next stage of her basketball career, which will likely begin when the Indiana Fever select her with the No. 1 pick in the draft.