What year is Iowa's Caitlin Clark? Explaining Naismith winner's classification, eligibility & more

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Caitlin Clark had put together an impressive 2022-23 season before she reached the NCAA Division I Women's Tournament. Her performances during March Madness have placed her further into the national spotlight.

In four tournament games, Clark has averaged 30 points, 11 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals in helping lead Iowa to the program's second Final Four appearance. She pushed her team to that Final Four with a historic triple-double of 41 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Louisville in the Elite Eight.

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Clark is, without a doubt, one of the best players in the country. She was named the Naismith Women's Player of the Year, and she was named a First-Team All-American by both The Associated Press and the USBWA.

But how long has Clark been with the Hawkeyes, and how much more time is she expected to be in Iowa City? Here's what you need to know.

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What year is Caitlin Clark?

Clark is in her third year with the Hawkeyes. She arrived on campus in 2020 and immediately started.

She has been a star since coming to Iowa City, too. In her first year, she led the country in assists (214), field goals (266), points (799), points per game (26.6) and both 3-pointers made (116) and attempted (286). She was named co-freshman of the year by multiple outlets and earned several first-team All-America honors.

Clark didn't slow down as a sophomore. She improved her scoring average to 27.0 per game and became the first Division I player to lead the country in scoring average and assists per game (8.0). She also led the country in triple-doubles with five and 30-point games with 11. During the season, she became the fastest men's or women's basketball player in the past 20 years to reach 1,500 career points. She was named a finalist for the Naismith, WBCA Wade Trophy, John R. Wooden Award and Honda Sport Award.

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Her junior campaign has been her best to date. She tied Elena Delle Donne as the fastest Division I women's basketball player to reach 2,000 points, and she later reached 2,500 for her career. Clark became the only player in history to record both 900 points and 300 assists in the same campaign.

And her performance this season led to, among countless other awards, her joining Megan Gustafson as the only Hawkeyes to be named Naismith Women's Player of the Year.

When is Caitlin Clark WNBA draft-eligible?

A player has to check at least one of three boxes to be eligible for the WNBA Draft. The player must either be 22 the year of the draft, have graduated or graduate within three months of the draft from a four-year university, or have gone to a four-year university where her original class would have graduated or will graduate within three months of the draft.

That means Clark, a true junior, will not be draft-eligible until 2024 when she completes her senior year.

MORE: Caitlin Clark has perfect reaction to meeting WNBA legend Sue Bird

That doesn't necessarily mean she will be leaving Iowa for the WNBA that year. She has expressed interest in using her COVID fifth year of eligibility, granted to all athletes whose careers were affected by the pandemic, in 2024-25.

"That’s where I want to be [the WNBA], but I have another year here and possibly one more after that just because of COVID," Clark said on the Feb. 27 episode of "The Dan Patrick Show." "I probably will have to make a decision on that sometime next year. I really have no clue what I’m going to do, stay for an extra year or leave after next year.”

Caitlin Clark recruiting

The guard is a true Iowa standout. Clark went to high school at Dowling Catholic in West Des Moines and was a standout player there. She was regarded by ESPN as a five-star recruit and ranked fourth overall in the 2020 class.

Clark was the Gatorade Iowa Girls' Basketball Player of the Year as a junior, and she was a three-time Des Moines Register All-Star player. She holds Iowa state 5A high school records with 60 points in a game and 13 made 3-pointers in a game.

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Edward Sutelan Photo

Edward Sutelan is a content producer at The Sporting News.