Iowa Women's Basketball is in full offseason mode before the 2025-2026 college basketball season. The Hawkeyes ended Jan Jensen's first season with a 23-11 (10-8 Big Ten) record and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The pressure is on Jensen and the Hawkeyes to replicate that success in year two. They must do it without one of their top players and three senior leaders from last season.
Former star guard Lucy Olsen led the team in points (17.9) and assists (5.1) last season, and is currently suiting up for the Washington Mystics in the WNBA. The Mystics selected Olsen with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft in April.
The Hawkeyes also must replace seniors Sydney Affolter, Addison O'Grady, and AJ Ediger after the trio graduated.
The Hawkeyes added one transfer guard and three talented freshmen to the roster for the 2025-2026 season, and on Monday, the program released the new numbers for their newcomers.
Newcomer Numbers 🤩⤵️#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/fZQBNzX4ef
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) May 12, 2025
2025 five-star recruit Addie Deal will wear No. 7, and four-star recruits Journey Houston and Layla Hays will wear No. 8 and No. 12. Transfer addition Chazadi "Chit-Chat" Wright will wear No. 11.
Deal is coming off a solid performance in the McDonald's All-American game, showcasing her versatility. Deal is projected to be a starter, and Houston and Hays are projected to compete for bench minutes.
After her freshman season at Georgia Tech, Wright is an interesting addition to the Iowa squad. She was a pass-first point guard in her first year in college hoops and averaged 2.6 assists per game in 12 starts last season.
Wright could be a solid first option off the bench, or push Taylor Stremlow and Taylor McCabe to the bench and be the starting point guard. As a pure point guard, she can also push Deal to the off-guard or forward position.
The Iowa Women's Basketball program has high expectations in year two under Jan Jensen, but they have all the right pieces to make a push in the Big Ten and nationally.