I have seen some commitments to other programs on twitter, but it seems to be a trickle. It seems likely that with the overseas trip, the recruiting has been a sown period. We may see some more action in September and October.
Iowa WBB 2025 Recruiting Thread
- Thread starter BraydonRoberts5
- Start date
IDK how I haven't heard about it yet but today YouTube recommended me an episode of the "Watts Up?" podcast featuring Coach Bluder from earlier in the summer.
The host asked how recruiting is going and whether she has seen a boost since the Final Four, and Bluder said that though the Class of 2024 was largely complete before the season ended, she does feel that things are trending up since then (presumably, she is referring to younger classes).
She also mentioned that her son plays basketball for Grinnell...I'm sure others knew this but I somehow did not lol. I knew that Addi Deal's brother also played for Grinnell, but this tidbit kind of makes that connection a bit stronger, so that's something?
The host asked how recruiting is going and whether she has seen a boost since the Final Four, and Bluder said that though the Class of 2024 was largely complete before the season ended, she does feel that things are trending up since then (presumably, she is referring to younger classes).
She also mentioned that her son plays basketball for Grinnell...I'm sure others knew this but I somehow did not lol. I knew that Addi Deal's brother also played for Grinnell, but this tidbit kind of makes that connection a bit stronger, so that's something?
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I have a bad feeling that she is going to leave the state of iowa for college.
Same, but we were warned awhile ago so we shouldn’t get our hopes up.
I still would take Houston even though I love them both. I live 12 minutes from North high school. Been to a lot games throughout the conference just to watch them. I know a Bourrage family member and I’ll pick his brain when I see him.
I was just about to post this myself. Seems like some good news.
https://www.espn.com/high-school/girls-basketball/recruiting/rankings/_/class/2025
#19 player in the whole country.
Whoopie!!!
#19 player in the whole country.
Whoopie!!!
Really nice get for the program, Keep it rolling!
Tru dat! Has she been regarded as an Iowa lean? It seems like her teammate D. Bourrage has been racking up the offers this summer, but Houston not as much.
Journey has to keep working on her outside game. She’s spent so much time in the post during her life. Her shot is getting better. She’s got 2 more years to keep improving her handles and her shot.
I would be surprised if Divine ends up at Iowa…family seems to look for bigger and better, though I will defer to HIWILLIE if he knows a family member.
I would compare Houston with Sahara Williams from Waterloo. She may not be as refined on the perimeter yet as Williams since she has had to play more inside. But she has the talent. Anyone else?
Adding Guyton or Speiser -- both of which seem very warm to Iowa -- would really be something. Imagine the following starting line-ups:
- Guyton, Stremlow, Mallegni, Houston, Heiden
- Stremlow, Mallegni, Houston, Speiser, Heiden
Not a lot of size with those lineups.
Guyton (5' 6-7"), Stremlow (5' 8-9"); Mallegni (6' 0-1"); Houston (5' 10-11"); and Heiden (6' 4")
Speiser (6' 1")
We should focus on the post from Alaska…
I have no idea on when the "dead periods" occur, but if allowed Iowa needs to get these recruits to Kinnick on 10/15
Use the Covid year Caitlin!!
So not arguing as you are much closer to the situation but what’s bigger and better than NCAA runner up? Beside National champion?
That's not how the family looks at things. There's always rumors about them leaving North. They left Attack. A coach who won 2 state titles told me a few days ago she was leaving North. I know their staff - good friends with one -and that coach didn't say anything about her leaving.
She COULD pick Iowa, but if there's a school they think is more impressive they will go there. Notice I used the word "they". Again, if @HIWILLE has better info from a family member I would listen to that. I think within the family there's a lot of push/pull on Divine instead of just letting the kid do what she's really good at. Just let her enjoy being a kid and don't put pressure on her.
I know the head coach at North looks at big picture and what is best for those kids, trying to prepare them to play college basketball. He will do what he thinks is best for Journey to prepare her to be a great Hawkeye.
It could mean a lot of things:
- It's easy to forget that before 2019 (Gustafson), Bluder only had one Sweet Sixteen in her first ~15 years, one B1G tourney title and one B1G regular season title. Others think her lack of results (effort?) on the defensive end basically disqualify her as being worthy of elite talent.
- There are also people who just think of Iowa / the midwest / the B1G as being inferior to the coasts / the SEC / etc. Small pond vs big pond. There might also be something to the fact the recruits to UCLA/LSU/SC are getting six figure NIL deals.
- Finally, some kids just wanna see the wider world. I grew up 30 minutes from Iowa City and was the kind of kid who always wanted to leave the state for college. I didn't even intend to apply to Iowa. I still ended up there and wouldn't have done it any other way, but that sentiment resonates with me as a kid who always just wanted to see the world beyond Iowa -- and I didn't want to wait until after college.
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Just living in the now. We made the finals last year, top 4 preseason again this year with the hottest player in all of college basketball. And we play in front of larger crowds and as many big TV games as anyone in the game right now. A player is going to get as much exposure playing at Iowa right now as they are at UConn. Which has never happened before. While your points are legitimate we currently have as much to offer as anyone besides big NIL.
I've watched as much as I can of her game film. To me, she's the next Sydney Offolter. Physically strong, same size, good quickness, aggressive on the boards, good ball skills and defense. But like Sydney, she's not going to be a 4; she'll be a 2 or more likely a 3/W. Needs to develop an outside shot. It will do wonders for her game, and get her meaningful minutes in the Hawk lineup. Like so many of the players her height in HS, they won't dominate in college around bigger players. Question is whether they can adjust.
Big attendance numbers? They’ll still be big. We’re always up there in women’s bball attendance. And while Clark has taken us to new heights, we have been consistently good, just not great. We just landed a top 20 player. Who’s to say we can’t continue to be a really good team?
I've seen her referred to as a G/SF so that sounds right.
i don’t remember where, but pretty sure I saw Journey listed as a guard on a commit list.
Just did a quick Google search and it seems Kyle was the one to refer to her as such: "This past weekend the Iowa Women’s Basketball team hosted another group of recruits and among the visitors was class of 2025 SF Journey Houston out of Davenport, Iowa."
One topic I've been interested in recently is how far in advance of signing day recruits typically commit to Iowa WBB. To answer that question, I reviewed commitment dates for Iowa recruits from the class of 2015 through the latest commitment in the class of 2025.
The results of that information and what it might mean for the classes of 2024, 2025, and 2026 are here: https://iowa.rivals.com/news/when-do-recruits-commit-to-iowa-wbb
The results of that information and what it might mean for the classes of 2024, 2025, and 2026 are here: https://iowa.rivals.com/news/when-do-recruits-commit-to-iowa-wbb
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