2025-26 Team Preview: Iowa

The Atlanta Dream have made me sad, but the WNBA playoffs have been a delight so far. Nearly every first round series had excitement, and credit to the Indiana Fever for scrapping their way into the semifinals against all odds.

Hoopla did not exist during the Kelsey Mitchell era, but the Ohio State alum should be honored here all the same for her unbelievable play this season and in that first round. A true superstar and one of the very best guards in the league.

Last Week’s Preview (Michigan State)

Table of Contents

• 2024-25 Overview

• Departures

• Returnees

• Incoming Players

• Outlook

2024-25 Overview

Last year was an important one for Iowa to establish this new era as a launching point for the future.

Of course, the Hawkeyes were coming off back-to-back defeats in national title games to end the Caitlin Clark era, someone you may or may not have heard of. But it wasn’t just Clark gone from the 2023-24 roster, as Iowa also lost Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall, two core starters over the past four seasons, as well as long-time head coach Lisa Bluder who retired at the end of the season.

With plenty of key faces gone, head coach Jan Jensen’s team had lessened expectations, but really needed to prove that Iowa wasn’t simply going to go away with Clark’s exit.

Jensen’s team largely did that, earning 23 victories, including two in the Big Ten Tournament and one dominant victory over Murray State in the NCAA Tournament. Sure, Iowa ran into an Oklahoma buzzsaw in the Round of 32, but there was still a lot to like about how the Hawkeyes finished the 24-25 season.

Iowa won 11 of its final 15 games, earning crucial road wins over Michigan and Washington, a Big Ten tourney win over Michigan State and an impressive 76-69 victory over USC in the process. Jensen slowed down the pace dramatically for this offense, and it worked in keeping Iowa among the more efficient attacks in the country. The Hawkeyes also continued to be strong on the glass and with moving the ball around (18.1 APG, 10th in NCAA).

The Hawkeyes did have better defensive numbers than the prior season, but struggled at stopping teams on the perimeter: Opponents hit 33.3% of their threes and made 260 from deep on the season, numbers that rank 290th and 350th nationally.

Of course Iowa took a step back from the heights of the past few seasons, but remaining a NCAA Tournament team that wins a tourney game and can take down USC is huge proof that Jensen is capable of keeping the standard high and growing something exciting in the post-Clark years.

Here's last year’s Iowa roster, sorted by Her Hoop Stats win shares:

Departures

Five players exit from last year’s team, only one through the transfer portal. That one is Aaliyah Guyton, who is staying within the conference and showed some real exciting bursts of potential throughout the season.

Elsewhere, Lucy Olsen and Sydney Affolter are on two sides of the same coin if that coin is one you’d hate to lose. Olsen was only in Iowa one season, but was a fantastic point guard replacement for Clark and really was the superstar the team needed down the stretch. Affolter is a four-year Hawkeye who was an integral piece of the past two seasons for her tremendous rebounding and three-point shooting at guard. She was never a high-volume offensive weapon, but she was always in the right position and did a lot of the things Iowa needed to win against tougher opponents.

Addison O’Grady saw the most game action in her final season and remained remarkably efficient throughout with a field goal percentage north of 60. Her and AJ Ediger’s exits leaves a bit of a gap in experience at forward, but the Hawkeyes still possess a lot of talent at the position.

Returnees

With no high-scoring veteran point guard on the roster for the first time in her collegiate career, this feels like it should be the year for Hannah Stuelke to establish herself as the No. 1 option in this offense.

Last year was an interesting one for Stuelke. Her scoring took a slight dip (14.0 → 12.7 PPG) but her efficiency took a dramatic one, falling nearly 13 percentage points from 62.7 → 49.8%. Olsen was a great passer, but Caitlin Clark is one of the best the game has ever seen, and losing those entry passes may have had an impact.

On the other hand, Stuelke improved as a rebounder and passer, and found more success at a free throw line that had given her struggles in prior seasons. She continues to mold her game, and the potential she holds is still so clear if it can all come together in her senior season.

Kylie Feuerbach is the other most experienced returnee for the Hawkeyes, and is a pivotal guard defender for Iowa to utilize. She also added some complementary playmaking to the offense last season (0.8 → 2.3 APG) that should only keep going up without Olsen there.

Feuerbach is joined by another senior at guard, Taylor McCabe, who I will continue to point out as one of the very best shooters in the country. McCabe has shot north of 40 percent all three seasons at Iowa, and has made at least 20 threes each of those seasons. If McCabe were to do so a fourth time, she would become the sixth Division I player in the last 10 seasons to do it. She finished the 23-24 season with the top offensive rating of any player in the conference (159.3) and is a real difference-maker with her consistency.

After how the final stretch of the season went, all eyes are turning toward Ava Heiden. The then-freshman started her campaign slow in limited action, then fired off three-straight double digit performances against Michigan State, Ohio State and Murray State in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. The 36 combined points in 43 minutes of action was extremely impressive and gives Jensen an interesting option if Stuelke becomes more comfortable at power forward.

There’s a real opportunity coming up at point guard, and both Taylor Stremlow and Callie Levin are rising sophomores hoping to get a chance at larger roles. Stremlow saw more action last season and has the potential to be a real stat-stuffer who could give impactful minutes. Levin didn’t get an abundance of opportunities, but came to Iowa as a point guard option who thrived at the high school level, so I will be curious to see if she gets more run.

Teagan Mallegni is the final true sophomore to discuss, and really could be a larger scorer for the Hawkeyes if the shots start falling. She wasn’t afraid to shoot last season (14.5 FGA, 8.6 3PTA per 40 min) and also added some strong rebounding and shot blocking to the mix as well.

Incoming Players

It was a big Deal getting Addie to commit to the Hawkeyes amid the coaching change. She has been a prominent prospect name to watch for awhile now and should make an impact right away.

I would have said Deal would be the quick point guard fix, but Iowa also helped solve that with the addition of Chazadi “Chit-Chat” Wright, a high-energy 5-4 guard from Georgia Tech who showed a lot of composure in her first season. She’s a capable shooter and a more-than-capable passer who could really shine in Iowa’s system.

The Hawkeyes also got much stronger on the wing with Emely Rodriguez out of UCF. She was also very impressive in just one collegiate season and brings a nice rebounding boost in the absence of Affolter.

The Deal deal (OK NOW I am done) was the most notable, but Iowa did very well on the whole with this class. Layla Hays helps fill some forward depth concerns and should be the team’s backup big quickly thanks in part to her 6-5 frame. Journey Houston is also a name to remember. She was a five-star before a knee injury and should hold significant potential down the line. I’m sure Iowa will be patient, but her talent is clear enough to likely earn her a spot in the rotation.

Outlook

Projected Starters

• Chit-Chat Wright - G

• Addie Deal - G

• Emely Rodriguez - G

• Hannah Stuelke - F

• Ava Heiden - C

Big Ten Finish: 6th

Iowa is without a clear No. 1 scoring option for the first time in a long time, and yet I have very few doubts about the Hawkeyes’ ability to score the ball with the amount of talent up and down this roster.

The starting lineup Jensen chooses to roll with will be fascinating, and I expect it to be quite fluid in the early going. Stuelke is perhaps the only no-doubt starter, but I do anticipate that Wright and Rodriguez earn spots as well based on their respective first seasons. Heiden’s end to last year was so promising I do expect to see her starting as well, but only if her and Stuelke can mesh consistently in a way that didn’t really exist with O’Grady.

I was ready to pencil in Feuerbach at shooting guard after starting all last season, but that starting five felt like it was lacking for perimeter shooting. That should be one of Deal’s top traits, but I also could see McCabe winning the spot again for experience and reliability. I also think Stremlow could push Rodriguez for a starting spot with a promising offseason.

All of this is to say: Iowa has a wide spread of talent to work with, and the exciting part is how much of it has room to grow over the next few seasons. Some seniors will have big roles for their final season, but even with that core leaving, this roster feels like a great mix of a team that absolutely should win some games now, and that absolutely can be even better down the line.

This feels like the exact type of roster the Hawkeyes should have pursued in the post-Clark years and so far, I’m loving how it’s progressing. This group really only needs a rise from a few of its underclassmen, or maybe a boost from Stuelke, to see further improvement from Jansen’s strong debut season.

Photo Credit: Iowa Athletics

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