Indiana’s sweetheart, Caitlin Clark, returned home Sunday as Iowa retired her No. 22 jersey at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The recently crowned WNBA Rookie of the Year was honored as just the third Iowa player to have their jersey retired, joining Megan Gustafson (No. 10, retired in 2020) and Michelle Edwards (No. 30, retired in 1990).
“I feel like I already have those butterflies in your stomach when you walk in here,” Clark said during a pregame press conference. “Not so much for a basketball game now, but obviously just to be around everybody and to enjoy this environment. I don’t have to go and compete for 40 minutes, even though I wish maybe I could. I think it will definitely be a little bit more emotional that I don’t have to compete.”
Clark was at center court with her family as the No. 22 went up into the rafters. She was smiling throughout the ceremony.
The jersey retirement capped a historic career for Clark at Iowa. She became college basketball’s all-time leading scorer while leading the Hawkeyes to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA national championship game the last two seasons.
A sellout crowd of 14,998 included Lisa Bluder, Clark’s former coach at Iowa, and Stephanie White, Clark’s current coach with the WNBA’s Indiana Fever. The Fever will play an…
