Even in her third season in the WNBA, Caitlin Clark remains deeply connected to her former Iowa Hawkeyes teammates, as her recent enthusiastic reaction on social media shows. Clark’s four years in Iowa were not just significant in her basketball journey, but also left her with lasting friendships. She has kept these friendships alive, as the Indiana Fever guard shared her joyous response to a teammate’s personal update on Instagram.
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Caitlin Clark’s former Iowa teammate, Sydney Affolter, announced her engagement to Brennen Dorighi in an Instagram post. Clark could not contain her excitement, as she commented under the post.
“Yyayayayayayaya loveeeee congrats!!!,” wrote Clark in the comments.
Caitlin Clark’s comments followed Affolter’s own heartfelt caption regarding the important life update.
“Thank you Jesus for this love❤️Feeling so beyond blessed and lucky that I get to marry my best friend and the man of my dreams! I can not wait for this next chapter of life with you! I love you more than you’ll ever know, Brennen🥰.”
Affolter is currently serving as a Graduate Assistant with the Iowa Hawkeyes, while Dorighi last played as the first baseman for the Milwaukee Milkmen in 2024 in the American Association.
Clark was joined by her former Iowa teammates, who echoed the sentiment.
“Shut uppppp, congrats😍,” wrote Kate Martin, who currently plays for the Chicago Sky in the WNBA.
“YES YES YES!!! IM SO HAPPY FOR YOU❤️,” wrote Gabbie Marshall.
“Congratulations 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 so excited for you guys!!!!!,” Taylor McCabe chipped in.
“Awwww Syd Syd!!! Congratulations 🥹🥹🥹🥹🤍🤍,” wrote Jada Gyamfi.
Sydney Affolter and Caitlin Clark spent a considerable time together on the Iowa Hawkeyes, reaching the finals of the national championships in 2023 and 2024. The team comprising Martin, Marshall, and Affolter helped Clark record a phenomenal 2024 season with the Hawkeyes. Clark cemented her place at the summit of college basketball history by amassing 3,951 career points, establishing an all-time NCAA Division I record across both men’s and women’s play. In doing so, she eclipsed the longstanding national mark of 3,667 points set by Pete Maravich.
Even after being selected as the number one pick in the 2024 draft, Clark has remained in close touch with Affolter and her other Iowa teammates.
Last year, after Affolter garnered All-Big Ten honorable mention recognition from the media and was named Iowa’s recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, the Hawkeyes decided to hire Affolter as a graduate assistant. Clark showed her support by reposting the news on her social media.
Affolter, on her part, has always remained a Caitlin Clark fan.
“She’s a generational player,” Affolter said. “She’s truly once in a lifetime, and I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to play with her for three years. She made me a better player.”
“She’s a great player, but she’s also a great friend,” she added.
Clark has also never shied away from expressing her deep bond with her former Iowa teammates and staff. In July, after a game against the Golden State Valkyries, Clark shared a one-word response to a pic shared by Iowa that included her former coaches Lisa Bluder, Jan Jenkins and Jenni Fitzgerald.
“Family,” wrote Clark.
And in turn, the Iowa fraternity has remained one of Clark’s biggest supporters as she continues her WNBA journey with the Indiana Fever.
Iowa will be especially cheering for Clark this season as she makes the push for the elusive WNBA title. Clark’s numbers certainly show her intent, as she is averaging 22.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 8.5 assists per game this season and leads the league in assists per game. She is third when it comes to scoring as well, trailing only the Aces’ A’ja Wilson and her teammate Kelsey Mitchell.
Clark and Co. will look to finish the 2026 regular season on a high after their loss against the Mystics on Sunday. They now face their toughest challenge yet: the league leaders, the Minnesota Lynx, in two back-to-back games.
Winning these games would be crucial to securing a top-four seeding for the Fever, as they look to end their title drought that stretches back to 2012.