{"id":7846,"date":"2025-07-14T00:32:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T00:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/7846\/"},"modified":"2025-07-14T00:32:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T00:32:05","slug":"life-after-caitlyn-future-still-bright-for-iowa-after-legends-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/7846\/","title":{"rendered":"Life After Caitlyn: Future Still Bright for Iowa After Legend\u2019s Exit"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Iowa\u2019s new head coach Jan Jensen heard the results of the 2024-25 season ticket campaign last fall, she was emotional. The nearly 15,000-seat Carver-Hawkeye Arena had sold out for the second straight season \u2014 with no Caitlin Clark or Lisa Bluder to bolster sales.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty big shoes to fill,\u201d Jensen told Hoops HQ. \u201cWhen I look back on it, one of my friends said, \u2018that was kind of one of the most unique takeovers following two GOATS \u2014 Lisa Bluder and then Caitlin.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s not surprising that Jensen\u2019s expectations were a little tempered. Clark, who took the women\u2019s basketball and sports world by storm with her pinpoint passes and logo three-pointers, graduated and was taken No. 1 overall in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever. Shortly after, Bluder surprisingly retired after 24 seasons as the head Hawk. Jensen, Bluder\u2019s top assistant at both Iowa and Drake, was named her mentor\u2019s successor the same day Bluder\u2019s retirement was announced.<\/p>\n

\"Jen<\/p>\n

THE CAITLIN CLARK HYPE MIGHT BE GONE, BUT IOWA REMAINS A HOOPS POWER WITH JEN JENSEN NOW RUNNING THE SHOW.<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Hawkeyes not only lost their top player and coach, they also said goodbye to the senior class, which included Kate Martin, Gabbie Marshall and Molly Davis, who all were instrumental in Iowa\u2019s two consecutive appearances in the Final Four and National Championship game.<\/p>\n

In her first season as head coach, Jensen led Iowa to a 23-11 overall record, including a berth in the NCAA Tournament where the Hawkeyes lost to Oklahoma in the second round. The Hawkeye faithful stood behind their team through a five-game losing skid in January, including three at home against Big Ten rivals Maryland, Indiana and Nebraska.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In one of the biggest wins in program history, the Hawkeyes defeated then No. 4 USC and their own transformational talent JuJu Watkins, 76-69, on Feb. 2, the same day Clark\u2019s No. 22 jersey was retired and hoisted to the rafters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The electric atmosphere most likely made an impression on the top prospects in the crowd, including highly-touted 2026 recruits Kate Harpring, Addison Bjorn and Jenica Lewis. Two of Iowa\u2019s 2025 commits, Addie Deal and Journey Houston, were also on hand, taking in Carver\u2019s full Caitlin Clark Effect.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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THE NEXT CHAPTER IN IOWA HOOPS WILL BE WRITTEN BY FIVE-STAR PROSPECT ADDIE DEAL AND OTHER TOP RECRUITS.<\/p>\n

Getty Images for McDonald\u2019s<\/p>\n

Five-star prospect Deal, a 6-foot guard from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., committed to the Hawkeyes in March 2024 after receiving offers from top-tier basketball programs such as Stanford, LSU, USC and UCLA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Houston, a 5-foot-11 guard from Davenport North (Davenport, Iowa), was rated as highly as 19th nationally and was a five-star prospect before her season-ending injury as a junior.<\/p>\n

They are joined by fellow freshman Layla Hayes, a 6-foot-5 center from Wasilla, Alaska, who was Jensen\u2019s first commit as head coach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cEvery year is a different race, but I would say this particular year is a much, much different race than it was last year, because that was just like \u2018whoa\u2019 with all the history that graduated. Now it\u2019s a little bit more normal, but I have a lot of new faces,\u201d Jensen said of her 2025-26 squad after a recent summer practice.<\/p>\n

After guard Lucy Olsen graduated and was drafted by the Washington Mystics, Jensen turned to the transfer portal to help fill the gap.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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UCF TRANSFER EMELY RODRIGUEZ AVERAGED 11.9 POINTS A GAME LAST YEAR TO EARN BIG-12 ALL-FRESHMAN HONORS.<\/p>\n

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

She landed two young players with three years of remaining eligibility \u2013 Emely Rodriguez from University of Central Florida and guard Chazadi \u2018Chit-Chat\u2019 Wright from Georgia Tech.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez, a 6-foot forward, was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team, and the 5-foot-4 Wright played in all 33 games with 12 starts as a freshman on a Yellow Jackets team that made the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n

Wright, who followed former Georgia Tech assistant coach LaSondra Barrett to Iowa, knew right away that Iowa was the perfect fit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe transfer portal is very frustrating with a lot going on,\u201d Wright told Hoops HQ. \u201cWhen I took my visit here, it just felt like home. I don\u2019t think anywhere else is where I would fit. This just felt like the perfect place for me \u2014 the team and the coaches, it just felt right.\u201d<\/p>\n

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IN JENSEN\u2019S FIRST SEASON AT THE HELM, IOWA WENT 23-11 AND ADVANCED TO THE 2ND ROUND OF THE TOURNEY.<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

Along with the new faces on the team, Jensen is also breaking in several new coaches on her staff.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In April assistant coach Raina Harmon was named head coach at Florida Gulf Coast University after eight seasons at Iowa. Later that month Jensen hired Barrett, who spent the past three seasons as assistant coach at Georgia Tech, to fill the open spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After Georgia Tech head coach Nell Fortner announced her retirement in March, Barrett was weighing her career options when Jensen reached out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was kind of one of the most unique takeovers following two GOATS \u2013 Lisa Bluder and then Caitlin.<\/p>\n

JAN JENSEN, IOWA HEAD COACH<\/p>\n

\u201cJan was one of my first calls. In just talking to her, I came to campus to be able to really see it, meet everybody. I think we just hit it off,\u201d Barrett told Hoops HQ. \u201cI think the winning tradition here, the culture, the standard here is something that definitely drew me. I can\u2019t say enough about the community and the people \u2014 everywhere I go, everybody\u2019s super nice and just super friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jasmyn Walker, who was an assistant coach at George Washington last season, joined the Iowa staff after the departure of former Hawkeye Tania Davis, who joined the coaching staff in 2023.<\/p>\n

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IOWA TURNED THE PAGE ON THE CAITLIN CLARK ERA AFTER HER NO. 22 JERSEY WAS RAISED TO THE RAFTERS IN FEBRUARY.<\/p>\n

NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Season ticket renewals recently went on sale for the upcoming 2025-26 campaign. While Jensen said she doesn\u2019t know if they will sell out for a third straight season, odds are high that they will, given Iowa\u2019s reputation and top recruits the program is now attracting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Five-star class of 2026 wing McKenna Woliczko from Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif., recently included Iowa in her final top four schools, including Ohio State, South Carolina and USC.<\/p>\n

Iowa is also in the running for top 2027 prospects Kaleena Smith, a five-star guard from Ontario, Calif.; and guard and small forward Madi Mignery from Sarasota, Fla.<\/p>\n

While Jensen acknowledges what the Caitlin Clark Effect has had on recruiting, she said Iowa has long had a solid reputation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe core that\u2019s been there since we got hired in 2000, we\u2019ve added a lot since then, but that core has just magnified, and I hope that we can continue, because it\u2019s putting us in conversations with these top kids,\u201d she added. \u201cI think that was definitely Caitlin, but I do think it\u2019s never just an overnight sensation. It\u2019s kind of your reputation over the long haul.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Iowa\u2019s new head coach Jan Jensen heard the results of the 2024-25 season ticket campaign last fall,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7847,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[402,398,400,401,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-7846","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-basketball","11":"tag-ncaabasketball","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}