With Caitlin Clark having declared for the WNBA draft, Iowa Haykeyes’ next in line star is their remarkable guard Sydney Affolter, whose dynamic powerplay complements Clark’s sensational moves. Together, Clark and Affolter have enhanced the team dynamics and given it a competitive edge.

Affolter’s persistent hustle impacts the court from both ends. Her versatility is prominent in her dives for loose balls, always crashing boards, creating second-chance opportunities. As a result, she scores, facilitates and pose an effective defense for the team. Moreover, her court vision has always enhanced team chemistry.

The Quiet Rise of Sydney Affolter

From Chicago to the University of Iowa, Affolter’s journey has been nothing short of talent, hard work, and dedication to get better at the game. Her achievements had already started enriching her resume in high school itself. During her time at Marist High School, she played under coach Mary Pat Conolly. Hence, her hard work led to 3x All-State, all region, and East Suburban All-Conference first team honoree. Moreover, she became the State qualifier (twice) for Queen of the Hill 3-point shootout.

As a freshman, she averaged 12.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.6 steals per game. Then, as a sophomore, she averaged 17 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. As a result, she was named to the Montini Christmas All-Tournament first team. Then as a junior, she was named to the State Farm Holiday Classic and Gorw the Game all-tournament teams. She also scored her 1000th point and grabed her 500th rebound in her junior year. Moreover, she averaged 14.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.6 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game.

In 2018 and 2020, she led two regional championships and helped her team secure #2 rank consecutively three times in the East Suburban Catholic Conference Championship. During the 2020 season, she played for All Iowa Attack (Dickson Jensen) and finished with a record of 48-0. She also played for the Nike Championship, and recieved USJN Pool All Stars recognition.

Thereafter, during the 2021-22 season, she played 19 games including 8 games with double-digit minutes on the court. She made her collegiate debut against New Hampshire, contributing 4 rebounds and a block. Notably, her first NCAA tournament appearence was against Illinois State, where she scored 5 points and a rebound. She scored a career-high 8 points against Southern University, pulled a career-high 8 rebounds against Wisconsin, and a career-high 4 offensive rebounds againts Michigan.

Growing her dominant prowess last season, she accoladed a career-high 3 steals against Minnesota, along with a career-high 14 points and 8 rebounds against No. 7 Maryland. She scored a season-high 12 points agianst Penn State. Similarly, she dished out a career-high 6 assists against Rutgers, hence became a letter winner.

This year’s regular season, she recorded her first career start against Kansas State. Also, she grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in a matchup against Virginia Tech, and tallied a season-high with 3 made shots beyond the arc against Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU).

Affolter tied her career-high in scoring with 14 points against Bowling Green and Purdue. Significantly, she registered her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Rutgers. Undoubtedly, Sydney has been growing her game with time and becoming a hustle queen in action by nature.

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With her growing prowess, let’s see what the coaches have to say about her.

Coaches’ best bet

Starting with her high school coach Mary Pat Conolly, a Hall of Famer who started the girls program at Marist High School in Chicago in 2002. She spoke very highly of Affolter as a player when she said, “Syd has always been an over-achiever, with an inner urge to always compete at a high level. Her first overall goal is that her team wins, all while achieving her own personal goals. She’s a highly intelligent young lady and knows she can’t help her team win by sitting on the bench, so she had to find another avenue to get on the floor. That’s what drives her energy and hustle,” defining her selfless nature and dedication towards the success of the team.

“Her teammates loved Syd. Syd was our best player and hardest worker, a great combo. Her energy was contagious. She never took a ‘day off’ when it came to playing or practicing hard. Put a time and score on any competition, and she raised her play to another level,” added Coach Conolly, recalling Affolter’s high school performance.

Undoubtedly, Affolter’s progress have been growing at Iowa and is becoming a versatile contributor on the Hawkeyes roster. “If Sydney has difficulty getting minutes that would be crazy. Just because of her hustle. Syd does a lot of things: offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding. She’s the first one to the floor nine times out of 10, and so kids like that have to play, in my opinion, and they will play just because they have the ability to shift the momentum within in the game,” said Iowa’s Taniya Davis on Affolter’s flexible gameplay.

Acknowledging her winning traits, Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said, “We liked that about Syd. I mean Syd was just somebody that she’s not afraid to be physical. She’ll do the dirty work when it needs to be done. But she’s also a skilled basketball player.”

Clearly, with her pace and versatility, Affolter is by definition the next Iowa Star after Clark.