Connor McCaffrey, Caitlin Clark's boyfriend, sent an uplifting message to the Iowa star after the Hawkeyes against . didn't achieve the dream ending to her collegiate career on Sunday, as took an 87-75 loss against the Gamecocks who became the 10th team in women's history to remain undefeated during a season. Clark was emotional when leaving the court and closing the chapter on her Iowa career, but McCaffrey posted a photo of her heading for the exit with the caption: "My GOAT." McCaffrey was also a
basketball player for the Hawkeyes as he was on the men's program, and left as their all-time leader in assist-to-turnover ratio. Unlike Clark, who expected to go first overall at the 2024 Draft on April 15, McCaffrey didn't move on to play professionally. Fran McCaffrey, Connor's father, was his coach at Iowa and spent 13 seasons with the program before leaving in 2023. Connor has followed his father into a coaching role and now works for team , a welcome coincidence as WNBA team Indiana Fever holds the No. 1 pick to select Clark. Clark and McCaffrey announced their relationship on
Instagram in August 2023, and he's since been supporting her every step of the way through her final season. It didn't have the fairytale ending that millions were hoping to see after Clark's record NCAA season, a year where she became the leading points scorer in college history across both men's and women's competitions. But the projected No. 1 pick gained even more fans after the national championship defeat, as she reflected on the positives that this season has brought. "There's so much to be proud of, I think people didn't love us for our wins but they loved us for how we carried ourselves every single day," Clark said. "For the way we played for one another, the joy we played with, the passion, the competitive spirit we had. The way we high-fived and celebrated our teammate's success, that's the reason people loved turning on Iowa women's basketball." Regardless of trophies, Clark's legacy will live on forever in college basketball, and although Iowa has still never won a national championship, they'd never reached the final before Caitlin was on the roster. Clark is now expected to dominate in the WNBA, but in a farewell message to the university, she admitted that her dreams have only come true because of the Hawkeyes program. "Words cannot express my love for my teammates, coaches, fans, and our university - Thanks for making my dreams come true," Clark wrote on X. "Wearing Iowa across my chest the last four years has been an honor. This place will always be home." Clark has helped shine a new light on women's sports, and the national championship game averaged 18.7 million viewers. It instantly became the most watched basketball game - men's or women's, college or professional - in the last five years.