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Iowa WBB Class of 2026 Recruiting Thread

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BraydonRoberts5

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This is overdue, but in an effort to make recruiting information easier to find I'm starting a separate thread for the class of 2026. Here are some of Iowa's top targets in the class:

Maddyn Greenway
Basic Information: 5'8" point guard from Plymouth, Minnesota
Ranking: #17 in ESPN's Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Iowa, UCLA, Stanford, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Michigan, Iowa State, Minnesota, Creighton, TCU
Iowa Visits: Many, including Iowa's recent game against Ohio State

Jenica Lewis
Basic Information: 5'10" guard from Johnston, Iowa
Ranking: #23 in ESPN's Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Iowa, UCLA, USC, Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Indiana, Louisville, Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa State, Miami, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Michigan, Michigan State, Kansas, TCU, Kansas State, Baylor, Nebraska
Iowa Visits: Several, including the Crossover at Kinnick and Iowa's game against Ohio State

Addison Bjorn
Basic Information: 6'2" guard/forward from Kansas City, Missouri
Ranking: #8 in ESPN's Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Iowa, UConn, Stanford, Notre Dame, Texas, Maryland, Ohio State, UCLA, Indiana, Virginia Tech, Baylor, Oregon, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Michigan, Iowa State, Arizona, North Carolina, Colorado, TCU, Kansas State, Oklahoma
Iowa Visits: At least three, including vs. Ohio State

Trinity Jones
Basic Information: 6'2' guard/forward from Bolingbrook, Illinois
Ranking: #7 in ESPN's Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Iowa, South Carolina, LSU, UCLA, Louisville, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Baylor, TCU, Illinois, Michigan State, Tennessee, North Carolina, Michigan
Iowa Visits: October 21, 2023

Other Targets

Ava Miles
Basic Information: 6'0' guard from Kansas City, Missouri
Ranking: Not Ranked in ESPN's Top 25 for the Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Iowa, Colorado, Kansas State, Nebraska, Creighton, Oklahoma State, Kansas, West Virginia, Auburn, Pittsburgh
Iowa Visits: Multiple, last known February 27, 2023

Ashlyn Koupal (no Iowa offer Yet)
Basic Information: 6'3" guard/forward from Wagner, South Dakota
Ranking: Not ranked amongst ESPN's Top 25 in the Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Indiana, Nebraska, Minnesota, Kansas, Iowa State, Creighton
Iowa Visits: March 3, 2024 -- Iowa's game vs. Ohio State

Natalie Kussow
Basic Information: 5'11' guard from Wisconsin
Ranking: Ranked #22 by ESPN
Iowa Visits: October 2022
Info: Kussow keeps her recruitment quieter than most top recruits. I haven't seen info of her taking a more recent visit than October 2022.

Top Targets With Offers But No Visits (Rankings are from ESPN)

Olivia Vukosa (New York)- #2
Brihanna Crittendon (Colorado)- #10
Sanai Green (Virginia)- #15
Amari Byles (Texas)- #16
 
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BraydonRoberts5 said:
This is overdue, but in an effort to make recruiting information easier to find I'm starting a separate thread for the class of 2026. Here are some of Iowa's top targets in the class:

Maddyn Greenway
Basic Information: 5'8" point guard from Plymouth, Minnesota
Ranking: #17 in ESPN's Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Iowa, UCLA, Stanford, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Michigan, Iowa State, Minnesota, Creighton, TCU
Iowa Visits: Many, including Iowa's recent game against Ohio State

Jenica Lewis
Basic Information: 5'10" guard from Johnston, Iowa
Ranking: #23 in ESPN's Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Iowa, UCLA, USC, Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Indiana, Louisville, Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa State, Miami, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Michigan, Michigan State, Kansas, TCU, Kansas State, Baylor, Nebraska
Iowa Visits: Several, including the Crossover at Kinnick and Iowa's game against Ohio State

Addison Bjorn
Basic Information: 6'2" guard/forward from Kansas City, Missouri
Ranking: #8 in ESPN's Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Iowa, UConn, Stanford, Notre Dame, Texas, Maryland, Ohio State, UCLA, Indiana, Virginia Tech, Baylor, Oregon, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Michigan, Iowa State, Arizona, North Carolina, Colorado, TCU, Kansas State, Oklahoma
Iowa Visits: At least three, including vs. Ohio State

Trinity Jones
Basic Information: 6'2' guard/forward from Bolingbrook, Illinois
Ranking: #7 in ESPN's Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Iowa, South Carolina, LSU, UCLA, Louisville, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Baylor, TCU, Illinois, Michigan State, Tennessee, North Carolina, Michigan
Iowa Visits: October 21, 2023

Other Targets

Ava Miles
Basic Information: 6'0' guard from Kansas City, Missouri
Ranking: Not Ranked in ESPN's Top 25 for the Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Iowa, Colorado, Kansas State, Nebraska, Creighton, Oklahoma State, Kansas, West Virginia, Auburn, Pittsburgh
Iowa Visits: Multiple, last known February 27, 2023

Ashlyn Koupal (no Iowa offer Yet)
Basic Information: 6'3" guard/forward from Wagner, South Dakota
Ranking: Not ranked amongst ESPN's Top 25 in the Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Indiana, Nebraska, Minnesota, Kansas, Iowa State, Creighton
Iowa Visits: March 3, 2024 -- Iowa's game vs. Ohio State

Natalie Kussow
Basic Information: 5'11' guard from Wisconsin
Ranking: Ranked #22 by ESPN
Iowa Visits: October 2022
Info: Kussow keeps her recruitment quieter than most top recruits. I haven't seen info of her taking a more recent visit than October 2022.

Top Targets With Offers But No Visits (Rankings are from ESPN)

Olivia Vukosa (New York)- #2
Brihanna Crittendon (Colorado)- #10
Sanai Green (Virginia)- #15
Amari Byles (Texas)- #16
Click to expand...
Thanks BR. What school does Miles play for in KC? May be making some visits to see her and Bjorn play this coming season Park Hill South, (Bjorn) is a team in our Suburban conference and about a 45 minute drive, but can probably catch her closer to home on a road game.
 
How many open ‘26 schollys? 4?

My wish list…
PG Greenway
SG Bjorn
SG/F Koupal
plus F/C TBD

The future looks bright.
 
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Thanks Braydon!!! Good stuff. I never realized Bjorn was a Wing/F. For some reason I thought she was a true Guard. Actually just makes her profile/fit even better since the other top 2 targets are true guards. FYI to all -- I think Texas is a very strong contender for her. She is also a fan of Iowa State, and (assuming they don't lose half their team to the portal again) they promise to be a tough team the next couple years.
nu2u said:
How many open ‘26 schollys? 4?
Click to expand...
Largely depends on how many we get for 2025. Stuelke, Gyamfi, McCabe will all be leaving, so at least 3. But it could be as many as 7 if Bluder stood pat with the 2025 class as is. That's unlikely, but not out of the realm of possibility considering there were 5 recruits in the 2024 class. Ava Jones will continue to be a question mark as well.
 
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kceasthawk said:
Thanks BR. What school does Miles play for in KC? May be making some visits to see her and Bjorn play this coming season Park Hill South, (Bjorn) is a team in our Suburban conference and about a 45 minute drive, but can probably catch her closer to home on a road game.
Click to expand...
Staley High School. For what its worth, I think Bjorn is more likely than Miles at this point. Miles has visited plenty of other schools since her last Iowa visit
 
shikreto said:
Thanks Braydon!!! Good stuff. I never realized Bjorn was a Wing/F. For some reason I thought she was a Guard. Actually pretty great since the other top 2 recruits are true guards. FYI to all -- I think Texas is a very strong contender for her. She is also a fan of Iowa State, and (assuming they don't lose half their team to the portal again) they promise to be a tough team the next couple years.

Largely depends on how many we get for 2025. Stuelke, Gyamfi, McCabe will all be leaving, so at least 3. But it could be as many as 7 if:
  • Bluder stood pat with the 2025 class as is (unlikely, but not out of the realm of possibility considering there were 5 recruits in the 2024 class)
  • Ava Jones takes the medical hardship
Click to expand...
One thing Iowa has going for it in Bjorn's recruitment is that she seems to get along really well with Lewis and Greenway. All three are clearly priority targets for Iowa, and if they want to play together they could form a super class of sorts at Iowa that's relatively close to home.
 
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Gonzo Bloor said:
Any good bigs that might be part of this class?
Click to expand...
Honestly the answer at this stage appears to be no. Olivia Vukosa is a post, but she's also one of the most desirable players in the class and hasn't visited yet.

Otherwise most of Iowa's targets are guards. In fact, that's largely true of the 2025 class too. Layla Hays is the only priority target I'm seeing that's a post. If they land Hays they arguably don't need a post in the 2026 class, though, so that could make sense.

It seems pretty clear that Iowa's four guard lineup is here to stay for the foreseeable future.
 
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BraydonRoberts5 said:
Honestly the answer at this stage appears to be no. Olivia Vukosa is a post, but she's also one of the most desirable players in the class and hasn't visited yet.

Otherwise most of Iowa's targets are guards. In fact, that's largely true of the 2025 class too. Layla Hays is the only priority target I'm seeing that's a post. If they land Hays they arguably don't need a post in the 2026 class, though, so that could make sense.

It seems pretty clear that Iowa's four guard lineup is here to stay for the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...
At least we'll have Heiden in there.
 
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Kyle reported we offered (P) Emilia Krstevski from California (I believe she’s from the same HS as Juju, but might be wrong). She visited for the cross-over.

We also offers (P) Lilly Williams from Michigan but she signed with MSU.
 
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BraydonRoberts5 said:
This is overdue, but in an effort to make recruiting information easier to find I'm starting a separate thread for the class of 2026. Here are some of Iowa's top targets in the class:

Maddyn Greenway
Basic Information: 5'8" point guard from Plymouth, Minnesota
Ranking: #17 in ESPN's Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Iowa, UCLA, Stanford, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Michigan, Iowa State, Minnesota, Creighton, TCU
Iowa Visits: Many, including Iowa's recent game against Ohio State

Jenica Lewis
Basic Information: 5'10" guard from Johnston, Iowa
Ranking: #23 in ESPN's Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Iowa, UCLA, USC, Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Indiana, Louisville, Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa State, Miami, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Michigan, Michigan State, Kansas, TCU, Kansas State, Baylor, Nebraska
Iowa Visits: Several, including the Crossover at Kinnick and Iowa's game against Ohio State

Addison Bjorn
Basic Information: 6'2" guard/forward from Kansas City, Missouri
Ranking: #8 in ESPN's Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Iowa, UConn, Stanford, Notre Dame, Texas, Maryland, Ohio State, UCLA, Indiana, Virginia Tech, Baylor, Oregon, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Michigan, Iowa State, Arizona, North Carolina, Colorado, TCU, Kansas State, Oklahoma
Iowa Visits: At least three, including vs. Ohio State

Trinity Jones
Basic Information: 6'2' guard/forward from Bolingbrook, Illinois
Ranking: #7 in ESPN's Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Iowa, South Carolina, LSU, UCLA, Louisville, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Baylor, TCU, Illinois, Michigan State, Tennessee, North Carolina, Michigan
Iowa Visits: October 21, 2023

Other Targets

Ava Miles
Basic Information: 6'0' guard from Kansas City, Missouri
Ranking: Not Ranked in ESPN's Top 25 for the Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Iowa, Colorado, Kansas State, Nebraska, Creighton, Oklahoma State, Kansas, West Virginia, Auburn, Pittsburgh
Iowa Visits: Multiple, last known February 27, 2023

Ashlyn Koupal (no Iowa offer Yet)
Basic Information: 6'3" guard/forward from Wagner, South Dakota
Ranking: Not ranked amongst ESPN's Top 25 in the Class of 2026
Notable Offer List: Indiana, Nebraska, Minnesota, Kansas, Iowa State, Creighton
Iowa Visits: March 3, 2024 -- Iowa's game vs. Ohio State

Natalie Kussow
Basic Information: 5'11' guard from Wisconsin
Ranking: Ranked #22 by ESPN
Iowa Visits: October 2022
Info: Kussow keeps her recruitment quieter than most top recruits. I haven't seen info of her taking a more recent visit than October 2022.

Top Targets With Offers But No Visits (Rankings are from ESPN)

Olivia Vukosa (New York)- #2
Brihanna Crittendon (Colorado)- #10
Sanai Green (Virginia)- #15
Amari Byles (Texas)- #16
Click to expand...
Greenway was also at the Big10 tournament.
 
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Gonzo Bloor said:
At least we'll have Heiden in there.
Click to expand...
Bluder rly doesn’t have use for more than 3 true bigs on a 15 person roster. She values speed and ball handling for transition ball, so we should expect her lineups to be very guard heavy (as they’ve always been). She doesn’t like to play two posts on the floor at once. Warnock for example was recruited as a G/W. Hannah is similar in that she really a true F and shouldn’t be playing the 5. I’d say if she had a professional career the 3 might be a better position than the 5.

This is all to say that Heiden being our only big in the class of 2024 is by design. The 2024 class in itself is a complete team under Bluders system actually. And it makes sense to distribute those 3 (maybe 4) bigs across multiple classes rather than recruit 2 at once in the same class. Ogrady and Edigar are an exception of course but my guess is she knew one of them would overtake the other in the depth chart (Edigar was much more highly ranked, but Ogrady has the height/more upside).
 
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shikreto said:
Bluder rly doesn’t have use for more than 3 true bigs on a 15 person roster. She values speed and ball handling for transition ball, so we should expect her lineups to be very guard heavy (as they’ve always been). She doesn’t like to play two posts on the floor at once. Warnock for example was recruited as a G/W. Hannah is similar in that she really a true F and shouldn’t be playing the 5. I’d say if she had a professional career the 3 might be a better position than the 5.

This is all to say that Heiden being our only big in the class of 2024 is by design. The 2024 class in itself is a complete team under Bluders system actually. And it makes sense to distribute those 3 (maybe 4) bigs across multiple classes rather than recruit 2 at once in the same class. Ogrady and Edigar are an exception of course but my guess is she knew one of them would overtake the other in the depth chart (Edigar was much more highly ranked, but Ogrady has the height/more upside).
Click to expand...
From a roster-construction and recruiting perspective Iowa's situation at the 5 is interesting. I agree that having 3 players capable of playing that role on roster is ideal. Here are those players by class:

2021: O'Grady and Ediger
2022: Stuelke
2023:
2024: Heiden
2025:
2026:

Just looking at this, it seems like a 5 in the class of 2025 is a no brainer. In Stuelke's senior year that player would be the third option at the 5 and would free up Stuelke to play at the 4.

Thing is, Iowa isn't casting a particularly wide net for 5s in 2025. Layla Hays seems like the only clear priority target. The only other name I'm aware of is Avery Cook, and her offer list isn't spectacular. So are they just really confident in landing Hays? Are they considering filling that need in the portal instead?

2026 is similar. Stuelke is gone by then, so ideally you'd have a 3rd post as an emergency backup at minimum. But again they don't seem to be casting a very wide net. The only known offers are Olivia Vukosa and Emilia Krstevski. Vukosa has an incredible offer list, so not sure Iowa's chances are great there. Krstevski is from California. Deal shows landing California recruits is possible, but is it likely enough to limit your targets that much?
 
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shikreto said:
Bluder rly doesn’t have use for more than 3 true bigs on a 15 person roster. She values speed and ball handling for transition ball, so we should expect her lineups to be very guard heavy (as they’ve always been). She doesn’t like to play two posts on the floor at once. Warnock for example was recruited as a G/W. Hannah is similar in that she really a true F and shouldn’t be playing the 5. I’d say if she had a professional career the 3 might be a better position than the 5.

This is all to say that Heiden being our only big in the class of 2024 is by design. The 2024 class in itself is a complete team under Bluders system actually. And it makes sense to distribute those 3 (maybe 4) bigs across multiple classes rather than recruit 2 at once in the same class. Ogrady and Edigar are an exception of course but my guess is she knew one of them would overtake the other in the depth chart (Edigar was much more highly ranked, but Ogrady has the height/more upside).
Click to expand...
While I agree that Bluder seems to prefer four guards and a mobile center, I remember the year that Bethany Doolittle and Morgan Johnson played together.

It appears that Bethany Doolittle will play alongside Morgan Johnson this season instead of behind her.

The Iowa Hawkeyes' traditional four-out scheme is likely to be replaced at times by a three-guard, two-post set, creating a front line that stands 6-foot-5 and 6-4. [Cedar Rapids Gazette, October 17, 2012]
Click to expand...
www.thegazette.com

Johnson, Doolittle: A tall tandem -- together

IOWA CITY — It appears that Bethany Doolittle will play alongside Morgan Johnson this season instead of behind her. The …
www.thegazette.com www.thegazette.com

In 2013, we lost to #8 Penn State with Doolittle, Johnson, Sam Logic Theairra Taylor,and Jaime Printy with Melissa Dixon off the bench.
 
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conn53victor said:
While I agree that Bluder seems to prefer four guards and a mobile center, I remember the year that Bethany Doolittle and Morgan Johnson played together.


www.thegazette.com

Johnson, Doolittle: A tall tandem -- together

IOWA CITY — It appears that Bethany Doolittle will play alongside Morgan Johnson this season instead of behind her. The …
www.thegazette.com www.thegazette.com

In 2013, we lost to #8 Penn State with Doolittle, Johnson, Sam Logic Theairra Taylor,and Jaime Printy with Melissa Dixon off the bench.
Click to expand...
Bluder has definitely done this before. Look at the 2018-2019 year with Stewart and Gustafson on the floor at the same time. It happens. But she said in an interview since then that that was "not ideal" lol (hilarious considering the success of that team).
 
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shikreto said:
Bluder has definitely done this before. Look at the 2018-2019 year with Steward and Gustafson on the floor at the same time. It happens. But she said in an interview since then that that was "not ideal" lol (hilarious considering the success of that team).
Click to expand...
It's Stewart.
 
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iamahawki said:
Correct, they played together at Sierra Canyon (private school) last season.
Click to expand...
Sierra Canyon and Mater Dei are perhaps the most prestigious programs on the West Coast. We scored a major coup getting Addie Deal, so if we could land someone from Sierra Canyon as well, that would be quite a statement.
 
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I'm hoping OGrady has a Brad Lohaus type senior year, with Ava as the understudy and Hannah at the 4. Also I think we can expect to see productive minutes from Jada at the 4 as well.
 
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creslin_hawk said:
I'm hoping OGrady has a Brad Lohaus type senior year, with Ava as the understudy and Hannah at the 4. Also I think we can expect to see productive minutes from Jada at the 4 as well.
Click to expand...
I suspect we'll continue to see Hannah at the 5 until Ava works her way into the starting lineup. But this a conversation better suited for a different thread, perhaps?
 
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Kurt Johnson said:
Sierra Canyon and Mater Dei are perhaps the most prestigious programs on the West Coast. We scored a major coup getting Addie Deal, so if we could land someone from Sierra Canyon as well, that would be quite a statement.
Click to expand...
We havent ‘got’ anybody! In todays world NIL will inevitably invade wbb also. Deal ending up a Hawkeye is no done deal. Nor is any other coveted recruit. Transferring willy nilly will kill collegiate sports.
 
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Actually, Caitlins NIL deals are what it was designed for. If a company wants to use you name, image, or likeness - you get compensated. Much of the NIL money being distributed is pay-for-play. Iowa's swarm approach where the student athlete receives funds for community service is a great concept. Using you NIL to help others. Clark actually takes nothing from the swarm and has her own charitable organization.

Sad, I read where a college athlete just bought a $300K sports car. He'll ptobably end up wrapped around a light pole.
 
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Arbor1 said:
We havent ‘got’ anybody! In todays world NIL will inevitably invade wbb also. Deal ending up a Hawkeye is no done deal. Nor is any other coveted recruit. Transferring willy nilly will kill collegiate sports.
Click to expand...
We have a verbal commitment, which is the most that can be achieved at this point. I realize there are issues w/ NIL, transfer portal, etc. But at this point, I'd rather celebrate the good news; and discuss the larger framework of collegiate sports in a different format. I'm sure there's vivid banter happening today in an Iowa football thread!
 
Another name to possibly look for in 2026 is G Kate Harpring. Daughter of former Ga Tech player Matt Harpring. Would probably depend on how they finish out the 25 class & how they feel about other 2026 prospects. Georgia 6A player of the year. Like Addie Deal, she's worked with Brandon Clay. She may very well stay in the south but the coaches are aware of her.
 
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