Caitlin Clark's departure has left Iowa's coach stating that the team is currently lacking in leadership.

Since 2019, Iowa University's women's basketball team and head coach Jan Jensen are experiencing their first season without star player Caitlin Clark.

Despite a strong start to the season, the Hawkeyes have struggled with conference play in the first year of the expanded Big 10, with a record of 2-3.

Jensen discussed the team's "lack of senior leadership" with reporters following a loss to Illinois on Thursday, as the Hawkeyes had lost two consecutive conference games for the first time since Clark's freshman year, due to the youth of the current roster.

Jensen stated that he cannot compare past events because the current group is providing a lot and they are still young, and he must develop some senior leadership or upperclassman leadership since that is what is lacking.

In four seasons at Iowa, Clark set the NCAA's all-time scoring record for both men's and women's players, leading the team to the NCAA championship game twice. She was named a consensus National Player of the Year in her junior and senior years.

In the previous year's WNBA Draft, the Indiana Fever chose Clark with the first overall pick, following her successful college career at Iowa.

In 2024, Clark became the first rookie to record a triple-double and set records for the most points and 3-pointers by a rookie in league history. She also had the most assists by a rookie, with 337, which was also a record for the most assists in a single season.

On February 2nd, the Iowa women's basketball team will hold a ceremony to retire Clark's jersey.

The most accomplished player of the Iowa Hawkeyes program's No. 22, which is worn by Clark, will be honored with a ceremony at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, where the jersey will be hung from the rafters.

The event will be broadcast on FOX, and it is anticipated that Clark will be present.

The retirement of Clark's jersey will occur two months after she was named Time magazine's Athlete of the Year. While many praised the decision, some, including Washington Mystics owner Sheila Johnson, questioned the choice and suggested it was due to Clark's race.

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