Iowa to retire Caitlin Clark’s No. 22, AD Beth Goetz announces

IOWA CITY — Caitlin Clark will be the last Iowa women’s basketball player to wear No. 22.

Iowa athletics director Beth Goetz announced the Hawkeyes’ plans to retire the back-to-back National Player of the Year’s number Wednesday evening at the team’s end-of-year celebration.

"We always knew your jersey would be hanging in the rafters,“ Goetz said at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. ”It is a privilege for me to now make that official. You will be the last to wear No. 22.“

Clark joins Megan Gustafson (No. 10) and Michelle Edwards (No. 30) as the only Iowa women’s basketball players to have their numbers retired.

Clark was quick to recognize Iowa has had “a lot of really good 22s” in this program, including Kathleen Doyle and Sam Logic.

“That number holds a lot of weight far beyond my name,” Clark said in front of a crowd of 8,000-plus. “I’m just really grateful, and it’ll be a special day when that happens for sure.”

Wednesday’s announcement had been hinted earlier, particularly when ex-Iowa AD Gary Barta was caught on a KGAN-TV camera ahead of last year’s Final Four saying “the next jersey that will go up in that rafter will be Caitlin when we’re ready, when she’s ready.”

Iowa has not released a date yet for when No. 22 will officially hang in the rafters. The upcoming honor follows an illustrious four-year career, which included becoming the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer with 3,951 points.

She also became the second player to record at least one triple-double in four consecutive seasons and the sixth player ever to record 1,000 career assists.

Clark led the Hawkeyes to three straight Big Ten tournament titles and back-to-back trips to the national championship game. Iowa was the first Big Ten team to ever accomplish the latter feat.

“I look up in the rafters, and I see that Final Four banner from last year,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. “And I’m going to look forward to seeing No. 22 hang up there as well.”

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