Iowa WBB Class of 2026 Recruiting Thread

[Scott559]

Outside of general NIL deals, Iowa's WBB players could possibly stand to get a larger percentage cut from revenue sharing than will be offered by most schools. I imagine most schools will divide similar numbers, but the Iowa program is considerably healthier than you might find in a lot of the top 25 women's basketball schools. Not sure when those numbers will be decided though, or how much more money that could be for WBB, so probably an arbitrary point.

Players do make money from NIL. I'd bank the women's basketball players are bigger names in Iowa than the men's players.

I believe Beth has alluded to Iowa giving a larger cut with revenue sharing to WBB than most schools.

 

[GunnerHawk]

Agree!
Wow, so far Harpring (26), Bjorn (26), Lewis (26), Chastain (27) and Guy (28) will join Deal (25) and Houston (25). Hope there's more to come.

I have Vukosa (6'5") as a UCONN lean. Plus, we already have Heiden and Hays.
Vukosa’s interview is last half of video below.
She says early on everyone is recruiting her hard. Although there's not much if any IA contact from what I can tell.
Her fav player is Breanna Stewart so I imagine she mimics her game after Stewart.
Mostly contact with OSU, TX, UCONN, UNC & LSU. She says this list twice. The boneyard forum is high on her.
I should also add her reply to what she looks for in a school fits how she interacted with Geno and staff.
All of this can be meaningless in the end. However, her Geno and Breanna references makes me lean towards UCONN.

View embedded media

No Koupal or Bell visiting. Are those you ladies heading somewhere else. Koupal maybe NE and Bell to Minny?

 

[citizenHawk]

You can't invite everyone. At some point there are logistics to think about, and not every player has the time to go to Iowa City. Doesn't mean you aren't still recruiting those players, and doesn't mean anything about their interest.

 

[chuck285]

Do all these recruits have to pay their own way plus food and lodging? Or can Bluder help out?

 

[HawksGoneWild1]

No Koupal or Bell visiting. Are those you ladies heading somewhere else. Koupal maybe NE and Bell to Minny?

You can't invite everyone. At some point there are logistics to think about, and not every player has the time to go to Iowa City. Doesn't mean you aren't still recruiting those players, and doesn't mean anything about their interest.

citizenHawk pretty much said it.


Maybe letsgosports can chime in again on any recent social media posts they have access for Koupal. Gave us this report back on Nov 20, 2024. That's probably where your NE reference came from or maybe you have more intel on NE than this?

(Not that this is everything) I have not seen her like any Iowa social media posts, but has liked multiple Nebraska recently (same with Leelee Bell) so I don’t know if she is that interested in Iowa.

Shikreto reported this back on May 15, 2024. Btw, her aunt (Mandy according to links below) went to SD kinda like Layla Hays situation at IA.

Ashlyn Koupal has Liked quite a few comments saying she should go to South Dakota. Looks like he sister went/goes there.

1: https://usdcoyotesports.proboards.com/thread/3227/class-2026-recruiting?page=4
2: https://www.yahoo.com/news/wagners-ashlyn-koupal-path-forging-234800630.html


Here's a paywall article I don't have access to that may shed some light on how she feels about IA or other programs?
"Top 2026 recruit Ashlyn Koupal talked to @On3sports about past visits she’s taken and what she’s looking for in a program."



Here we can get some insight on what she might have said in the On3 report if you don't have access to it.
Top Michigan State women's basketball target Ashlyn Koupal recently talked about her recruitment, as well as how her visit to Michigan State went.
"Koupal has taken visits to Michigan State, Nebraska, Creighton, Utah, Colorado, Colorado State, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota and Michigan, with planned visits to North Carolina and Duke in the future. Clearly, Koupal is one of the top players in the country and is sought after by many major programs."
"Coaching is a huge thing for me,” Koupal said. “Just getting to build a relationship with the coaches, because those are the people you’re going to be around for the next four years of your life. Also, seeing how the team interacts with each other and getting a feel for who you’re going to be around. Style of play is a big thing too. I’d like to play in a motion offense, just a team who plays fast and shoots lots of threes."

Top Michigan State Women's Basketball Target Talks Recruitment

Ashlyn Koupal is one of the top women's college basketball players in the country. ESPN has Koupal ranked 20th on their top 60 ranking. Koupal is a 6-foot-2 wi

www.si.com

I have a question. When Koupal sees our slow down offense for the many games it was implemented this year, do you think it's helping our case to land her? Especially since Jan is a post whisperer. It may change your perception of how Jan is going to run her offense from the way Bluder ran it. Granted the pace has picked up recently, but maybe she tuned out already? Hope she hasn't!


SD forum use to report on Koupal a lot until a bunch of P5 offers came rolling in. I still monitor it coz she's from that area and I'm sure fans there still would like her to commit to the home state.

https://usdcoyotesports.proboards.com/thread/3227/class-2026-recruiting?page=9

That's what I have on Ashlyn Koupal so far.


Don't have much on Leelee Bell except the same reference above regarding NE content likes by letsgosports.

Interesting you have a reference to Leelee and Minny. I have not come across that one. Where did you get that, if I may ask? I don't see anything on gopherhole forum's 1st 6 pages to suggest any ties they have with her as special leverage.

2026 Recruiting

now that would be a fun surprise! Her and Tori would be a nice combination. See we also offered Adaline Sheplee of Rice Lake WI.

gopherhole.com

 

[Matt1nb7]

It’s a risk but I like a lower number at that game. It’s kind of like, “hey, we really really want you.” 3 2026 recruits, 1 2027, 1 2028, and 2 already committed.

Guy and Lewis have already visited multiple times I believe. So the re-invite to Bjorn and Chastain is extra special along with the first visit of Harpring.

 

[hawkod]

It’s a risk but I like a lower number at that game. It’s kind of like, “hey, we really really want you.” 3 2026 recruits, 1 2027, 1 2028, and 2 already committed.

Guy and Lewis have already visited multiple times I believe. So the re-invite to Bjorn and Chastain is extra special along with the first visit of Harpring.

Regarding Guy, a number of posts on another site have mentioned her dad as being a bit of a problem. Also said she left a game early so she could get to a recruiting trip. Anyone from the Quad Cities heard anything similar, or is this all BS?