What Records Can Caitlin Clark Break in 23-24?
We might get two more years of Clark at Iowa, but what can be broken this season?
Caitlin Clark has had three incredible years at Iowa, turning into a true superstar in the process.
Last year was her best in every form, with Clark earning a sweep of National Player of the Year honors and leading the Hawkeyes to the national championship game thanks to some of the best performances of her career. She has become the face of women’s college basketball and is the most entertaining collegiate player in the sort.
We now have at least one more season of Clark at Iowa. It’s fair to consider what can be done if she uses her COVID year to stay five seasons, but there are also some records on the line if she heads to the WNBA in 2024.
Here are some of the major records Clark can reach in 2023-24, as well as an outlook to see what’s on the horizon if she does indeed stay for a fifth year.
Total Points
Current Record: Kelsey Plum (Washington) - 3,527 points
Big Ten Record: Kelsey Mitchell (Ohio State) - 3,402 points (2nd all-time)
Clark’s Current Total: 2,717 points
This is the big one that will likely be watched all season long, and it is well within Clark’s reach.
Clark stands 811 points away from the all-time record, a total she has surpassed each of the last two seasons. Last year, she totaled 1,055 points, the third-most in a season since at least 2001-021 (Maddy Siegrist’s 1,081 points last season was second only to Plum’s 1,109 in 2016-17).
It is important to remember, though, that Clark had 38 games to reach that total, an unusually high amount that was only possible by reaching both the Big Ten Championship and national championship in the same season. That’s not to say Iowa won’t do that again, but for number projections, 35 games feels like a more reasonable number.
For Clark to break Mitchell’s Big Ten record, she would need to average 19.6 PPG over 35 games. That’s a no-brainer pending an unfortunate injury that I won’t say again because that’s obvious and not fun to consider. To break Plum’s record, she needs 23.2 PPG in that same game total. Clark’s lowest PPG since coming to Iowa is 26.6, so even with more attention on her from defenses, it’s hard to see Clark getting stopped on the way to the record.
There is another wrinkle, though: Clark is not the only active player in the running for the record. Syracuse’s Dyaisha Fair has 2,691 career points entering her final collegiate season. To be fair (I know I am SO funny), Fair’s points have came across four seasons and she has never averaged more than 23.4 PPG in a season, so it would take a big scoring burst in year five to beat Clark to the record.
Total Assists
Current Record: Suzie McConnell (Penn State) - 1,307 assists
Clark’s Current Total: 798 assists
Caitlin Clark has led the NCAA in total assists all three seasons she has played, and yet she still has absolutely no chance of breaking McConnell’s Big Ten and NCAA record total.
McConnell’s career 10.2 assists per game over 128 games played is, frankly, completely absurd. Clark would need 510 assists this season when her current season high is 327. I don’t see Clark upping her assists per game average to 14.6 per game.
This is one of those records that is absolutely in her wheelhouse with a fifth season at Iowa, but is not worth considering seriously in 23-24.
Total Threes Made
Current Record: Taylor Robertson (Oklahoma) - 537 threes
Big Ten Record: Kelsey Mitchell (Ohio State) - 497 threes (2nd all-time)
Clark’s Current Total: 347 threes
After a big of a down year from behind the arc as a sophomore, Clark fully rebounded to lead the NCAA with 140 three-pointers made in 22-23, the third-most threes made in a season.
To reach Mitchell this year, Clark will need 151 made threes. That’s well within her range, but it would also be the second-most ever made in a season behind Taylor Pierce’s 154 for Idaho in 2018-19. I would call this one possible, but not likely when again considering the 38 games Clark had to reach 140 last year.
What is even less likely is Clark reaching Robertson’s record that was just achieved last year. Robertson used her extra year of eligibility to etch her name in the record books, and it would take Clark doing the same to get 191 made threes and dethrone her.
Free Throws Made
Current Record: Kelsey Plum (Washington) - 912 free throws
Big Ten Record: Kelsey Mitchell (Ohio State) - 665 free throws
Clark’s Current Total: 590 free throws
I’m now realizing that this post is basically “How many Big Ten records can Caitlin Clark take from Kelsey Mitchell next season,” and I want to apologize directly to Mitchell for that.
This is another category that Clark has quietly dominated all throughout her career, finishing in the top 10 nationally each season. The 76 free throw makes needed for the Big Ten record could happen before we get to 2024, but will absolutely happen some time next season.
To reach Plum, though, Clark would need 323 made free throws, 84 more than her previous season high set last season. That seems unlikely, though I do expect Clark to use the extreme gravity of her shooting ability to get to the line more than ever as a senior. Still, 9.3 free throws made per game over a 35-game season would be unbelievable, so Plum’s record likely stays safe this season.
Total Turnovers
Current Record (Since 2001-02): Jamierra Faulkner (Southern Mississippi) - 681 turnovers
Big Ten Record: Samantha Logic (Iowa) - 542 turnovers
Clark’s Current Total: 454 turnovers
This one is for the Caitlin Clark haters that read my Hooplas. I know there are a not-insignificant amount of you, so here are some numbers to watch for.
Because Clark is a do-it-all guard for the Hawkeyes, she has been among the top of the country in turnovers each season. That has led to her currently ranking just outside the top 100 over the past century in the all-time list.
She is extremely likely to break the Big Ten, and program, record this season after turning it over 158 times in 2022-23, but it would take a record-setting 228 turnovers to pass Faulkner at the top. If Clark can average 6.5 turnovers per contest across 35 games, maybe her critics had a point.
Feature Photo Credit: Courtesy of Iowa Athletics
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Sports Reference’s career leaderboards only go back to 2001-02. The numbers in this post were gathered by a combination of their record books and the NCAA’s all-time record book that did not yet include the 2022-23 season.