Jan Jensen has put on a masterclass in her second year at the helm this season.
After finishing the 2024-2025 season with 23 total wins, Iowa has already surpassed that total with 24 wins heading into the postseason play.
Iowa currently owns a 24-5 (15-3 Big Ten) record and earned a two seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament, and they weren't even projected to finish in the top five before the season.
After all of Iowa's success, Jensen somehow did not win the Big Ten Coach of the Year award. While UCLA's Cori Close also deserved the award, Jensen has a strong case for why it should've been her.
Iowa has its youngest team in 15 years
Over the past few seasons, Iowa has had an upperclassmen-heavy roster, but this season, the Hawkeyes have primarily relied on underclassmen.
Iowa is led by sophomore Ava Heiden and has three freshmen (Addie Deal, Journey Houston, and Layla Hays) who all play significant minutes.
Iowa also lost senior leader Taylor McCabe at the end of January with season-ending ACL and meniscus injuries, forcing Deal and sophomore Taylor Stremlow into expanded roles.
What Jensen has done with such a young roster is nothing short of amazing.
UCLA was expected to be at the top of the Big Ten, Iowa was not
After winning their first Big Ten title in almost two decades last season, UCLA made it all the way to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament in 2025 before losing to eventual champion UConn in the Final Four.
Before the 2025-2026 season, the Bruins were projected to finish in the top five of the Big Ten once again, with all their best players coming back.
Iowa was projected as a top-25 team before the season began, but was expected to finish outside of the top five in the Big Ten after losing multiple talented players.
No one is saying a 28-1 finish for UCLA isn't deserving of recognition, but Jensen did more with less and should be the Big Ten's Coach of the Year.
With all due respect to Cori Close, Jensen deserved to be the Coach of the Year and was snubbed from her first piece of coaching hardware as Iowa's head coach.