Caitlin Clark has shown that her bond with her former Iowa Hawkeyes teammates remains strong even during her WNBA career. The Indiana Fever star recently celebrated a major personal moment for Sydney Affolter, who announced her engagement to Brennen Dorighi on Instagram. Clark reacted with excitement to the news, leaving a warm message for her former teammate. Several other Iowa players also joined Clark in congratulating Affolter.Affolter shared a heartfelt post about her engagement, saying she felt blessed to marry her best friend. Clark quickly responded in the comments with an enthusiastic message.
Caitlin Clark maintains close bond with her former Iowa teammates amid WNBA success
Sydney Affolter announced her engagement to Brennen Dorighi through an Instagram post. She shared her happiness about the next chapter of her life and described Dorighi as her best friend and the man of her dreams.
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“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”, she wrote.Caitlin Clark was among the first former teammates to celebrate the news. Her message showed the excitement she still has for the people she shared the court with at Iowa.“Yyayayayayayaya loveeeee congrats!!!,” she wrote.Kate Martin, who now plays for the Chicago Sky, also reacted to the announcement.“Shut uppppp, congrats,” wrote Martin.Gabbie Marshall added, “YES YES YES!!! IM SO HAPPY FOR YOU”.Taylor McCabe wrote, “Congratulations so excited for you guys!!!!!”.Jada Gyamfi also joined in, writing, “Awwww Syd Syd!!! Congratulations”.Notably, Affolter and Clark were teammates during an important period in Iowa basketball history. The Hawkeyes reached the NCAA championship game in both 2023 and 2024. Affolter became an important part of the team, particularly during Iowa’s 2024 postseason run.She joined the starting lineup during the 2024 postseason after Molly Davis suffered an injury. Affolter scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Iowa’s Big Ten championship victory. She also scored 16 points with five rebounds in the NCAA Regional Final as Iowa reached the Final Four.Clark finished her Iowa career with 3,951 points. That mark became the all-time NCAA Division I scoring record across men’s and women’s basketball, surpassing Pete Maravich’s previous record of 3,667 points.After Clark entered the WNBA, the friendship continued. When Iowa announced that Affolter had become a graduate assistant, Clark supported the news by reposting it on social media.Clark has described her former Iowa teammates and coaches as family. In July, she reacted to a picture featuring former Iowa coaches Lisa Bluder, Jan Jenkins and Jenni Fitzgerald with one simple word, “Family”.The former Hawkeyes continue to support Clark as she builds her WNBA career with the Indiana Fever.