What a week for Iowa Hawkeyes sports already. Lisa Bluder announced her retirement, Jan Jensen is the new women's basketball coach and Caitlin Clark made her WNBA debut.
Yeah, women's basketball understandably dominated the headlines for the Hawkeyes, but men's basketball has been active too.
Plus Kirk Ferentz dipped his toe back in the Transfer Portal and cleared up his quarterback depth chart too.
Let's get you caught up on everything going on with the Hawkeyes.
Jan Jensen Introduced as Women's Basketball Head Coach
Jan Jensen was officially introduced as the Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball coach in a Wednesday afternoon press conference.
"I am beyond blessed. I am beyond excited. I'm just in awe that I get to stand here in this capacity today," Jensen said. "This city, this state, there's a lot of people that could take this job, but I promise you nobody loves this place as much as I do."
She also recognized Lisa Bluder, who she coached under at Iowa for the past 24 years.
"Thanks for everything you've done for women's basketball," Jensen said. "You've impacted it so, so incredibly. I want to thank you for how you have impacted me and for kind of being part of the plan all those years ago and for believing in me, preparing me, helping me fan this dream and now to make it a reality. Thank you, and I love you."
Jensen assured Hawkeye fans she'll work to ensure the standard will remain the same for Iowa women's basketball after the departure of two of its biggest legends.
"... The same vision that I had working with Lisa will be continuing," Jensen said. "You want to do it at a high very level. You want to do it with integrity, never compromising your values, and you want to put a product on the floor that's fun to watch and fun to cheer for and fun to play. That will remain the same."
Lucy Olsen is Sticking with Iowa
One concern for Iowa after Bluder's retirement would be whether Lucy Olsen would hold her commitment to transfer to Iowa for the 2024-25 season. According to a report from David Eickholt of Hawkeye Insider, the Villanova guard will be in the Black and Gold next season.
Villanova point guard Lucy Olsen is sticking with Iowa despite the head coaching change.
— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) May 15, 2024
Jan Jensen says that after the initial shock wore off, she understood that the culture remains.
She can't wait to get here.
Caitlin Clark has a Rough WNBA Debut
Caitlin Clark had a solid preseason with the Indiana Fever, but her regular season debut gave her doubters some ammunition. The number one overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft led her team with 20 points and set a record in her debut, but not one she's happy to have.
Clark turned the ball over 10 times, a WNBA record for a rookie in their debut. Despite Clark leading Indiana on the scoreboard, she didn't cash her first points until halfway through the second quarter. The Fever lost to the Sun in 92-71.
"I'm disappointed, and nobody likes to lose, but I don't think you can beat yourself up too much about one game," Clark said after the game. "I don't think that's going to help this team. Just learn from it and move on."
Clark and the Fever will host their first home game Thursday night against the New York Liberty streaming live on Amazon Prime at 7 p.m. CT.
Men's Basketball Adds a Strong Rebounder
The men's basketball team has been a bit quiet for a few weeks but added an interesting piece to its roster on Wednesday. Manhattan sophomore Seydou Traore announced his intention to join the Hawkeyes next season.
Traore fills out the roster and should provide the Hawkeyes with some much needed help on the glass. Last season Owen Freeman led Iowa in rebounds, averaging 6.6 per game. Traure led Manhattan with 8.2 rebounds to go along with his 11.8 points per game.
The 6-foot-7, 215lb sophomore can be a bit streaky as a shooter, but Traore should be a solid contributor for the Hawkeyes next season.
Ferentz Pulls Another from Northwestern
After landing Northwestern quarterback Brendan Sullivan in the Transfer Portal last week, head coach Kirk Ferentz went back to the well to bring in one more Wildcat on Tuesday.
Wide receiver Jacob Gill announced he'll be joining Iowa for the upcoming season on his Instagram.
Gill only has 16 receptions for 195 yards and two scores in 28 games over three seasons, though he only played in four last year. Still, he adds to a room that needed some help after losing freshman Jake Bostick to Texas A&M and Diante Vines to Old Dominion.
Kaleb Brown and Seth Anderson will still be the primary receivers in the offense, but with so little production from the unit in 2023, there is plenty of opportunity for Gill to contribute.
Iowa's Quarterback Depth Chart Updated
Even with the addition of Sullivan to the quarterback room, there wasn't much doubt that Cade McNamara would be the starter this coming season. However, Ferentz put to rest any doubts that may have crept into the minds of some Hawkeye fans on Tuesday.
“If he’s healthy, he’s our starter,” Ferentz said at the annual Polk County I-Club event referring to McNamara. “There’s no delusion there, no misconception about that. And there’s no reason to think he won’t be healthy in August."
Of course, in true coach speak fashion, he did add "Then if somebody beats him out, great.”
While Sullivan was a great addition for the Hawkeyes, this is McNamara's team.
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