I'm probably on an island here, but it makes me a little uncomfortable to see the phrase "hawks gone wild" in a WBB thread
Iowa WBB Class of 2026 Recruiting Thread
- Thread starter BraydonRoberts5
- Start date
Btw, thanks for that archive reference. No longer trust archiving to web.archive.org (wayback machine) since it was hijacked several months ago.
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As we consider the 2026 class, it's worth looking at how the 2024 and 2025 classes will likely impact Iowa's depth chart for the 2026/2027 season. That helps show what Iowa's needs are in the class and how some prospects might fit.
5) Heiden and Hays: This is probably Iowa's most set position. For the 2026-2027 season Heiden will presumably be the starter with Hays as her backup. Heiden has already shown flashes of having an impact on both ends of the floor. Iowa doesn't appear to be seriously pursuing a 5 in the 2026 class and that makes sense with this depth chart.
4) Mallegni and Houston: Is Mallegni a starting 4 on a top 10 team? Frankly, I’m not sure yet. McKenna Warnock was, and Mallegni’s game is similar. She does some things better than Warnock, but so far her three-point shooting has been bad. Warnock also benefited from Clark of course. I think this is why Iowa is pushing for Bjorn and Woliczko. If Iowa lands either, they could split minutes with Mallegni early and you’d feel really good about the position. This might also explain Iowa’s lack of interest in Koupal early on. If Iowa lands Bjorn or Woliczko there really isn’t room for her.
3) Stremlow, Deal, and Houston: Is Stremlow a starter on a Top 10 team? Right now I’d lean no. Or at least not ideally. I’m not sure she offers enough offensively. Her defense and aggressiveness would be really big off the bench, though. Deal will presumably be a starter by her Sophomore year (if not sooner) but at what position? If she settles in as the starting 3, Iowa would be fairly set at the 3 with Houston offering depth.
1) Guyton and...?: Point guard is a big need still. Guyton can play it, but I'd argue she's more ideally a 2. Stremlow can maybe contribute, though it's not ideal either. Kennise Johnson and Callie Levin haven't gotten much playing time at Iowa. Maybe Deal could play some PG in a pinch? This actually could be a big selling point to Harpring. With Iowa's current roster/commits, she could probably slot in as Iowa's starting PG from day 1. Teams like South Carolina have enough depth already that even highly ranked recruits rarely start as Freshman.
2) Deal, Guyton?: This is probably Iowa’s least set position. If Iowa lands a PG, then Guyton will probably play a lot here. Deal could also be an option, though that weakens the 3. Lewis or Kussow would at minimum add depth and could potentially be early starters if Deal and Guyton start elsewhere.
5) Heiden and Hays: This is probably Iowa's most set position. For the 2026-2027 season Heiden will presumably be the starter with Hays as her backup. Heiden has already shown flashes of having an impact on both ends of the floor. Iowa doesn't appear to be seriously pursuing a 5 in the 2026 class and that makes sense with this depth chart.
4) Mallegni and Houston: Is Mallegni a starting 4 on a top 10 team? Frankly, I’m not sure yet. McKenna Warnock was, and Mallegni’s game is similar. She does some things better than Warnock, but so far her three-point shooting has been bad. Warnock also benefited from Clark of course. I think this is why Iowa is pushing for Bjorn and Woliczko. If Iowa lands either, they could split minutes with Mallegni early and you’d feel really good about the position. This might also explain Iowa’s lack of interest in Koupal early on. If Iowa lands Bjorn or Woliczko there really isn’t room for her.
3) Stremlow, Deal, and Houston: Is Stremlow a starter on a Top 10 team? Right now I’d lean no. Or at least not ideally. I’m not sure she offers enough offensively. Her defense and aggressiveness would be really big off the bench, though. Deal will presumably be a starter by her Sophomore year (if not sooner) but at what position? If she settles in as the starting 3, Iowa would be fairly set at the 3 with Houston offering depth.
1) Guyton and...?: Point guard is a big need still. Guyton can play it, but I'd argue she's more ideally a 2. Stremlow can maybe contribute, though it's not ideal either. Kennise Johnson and Callie Levin haven't gotten much playing time at Iowa. Maybe Deal could play some PG in a pinch? This actually could be a big selling point to Harpring. With Iowa's current roster/commits, she could probably slot in as Iowa's starting PG from day 1. Teams like South Carolina have enough depth already that even highly ranked recruits rarely start as Freshman.
2) Deal, Guyton?: This is probably Iowa’s least set position. If Iowa lands a PG, then Guyton will probably play a lot here. Deal could also be an option, though that weakens the 3. Lewis or Kussow would at minimum add depth and could potentially be early starters if Deal and Guyton start elsewhere.
This is what kills me about Greenway not committing more than anything else. The roster need & difficulty getting great PG's to come to Iowa in men's or women's basketball. Like so many Fran teams that were just one-step-up in PG away from being elite - I wonder if we will say the same about the next 2-3 years regarding Jensen's squads.
What year would have one step up in PG have made Fran's team elite. I wouldn't worry too much about the women being at the men's level in the years ahead.
The Iowa WBB program has actually done very well recruiting pg’s. Caitlin, Samantha Logic, Kathleen Doyle, Tania Davis, Kamile Whalin.
Maybe the year that we had Luka Garza, Joe Wieskamp and Keegan Murray and finished 8th in the country? Maybe that year.
Is it Bjorn or Woliczko
Or
Could it be Bjorn and Woliczko?
Like could it be:
Heiden
Woliczko
Bjorn
Deal
Guyton(or Harpring 🙏🏼)
Edit: Forgot about Lewis if the Crystal Ball is true:
Heiden
Woliczko/Bjorn
Deal
Lewis
Guyton
Is probably what we’re looking at if we hit on Lewis plus one more..
Or
Could it be Bjorn and Woliczko?
Like could it be:
Heiden
Woliczko
Bjorn
Deal
Guyton(or Harpring 🙏🏼)
Edit: Forgot about Lewis if the Crystal Ball is true:
Heiden
Woliczko/Bjorn
Deal
Lewis
Guyton
Is probably what we’re looking at if we hit on Lewis plus one more..
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My ultimate point about our greatest weakness in recruiting is point guard - still stands. Tania Davis was honorable mention all big 10 her senior year. Whalin was third team twice and honorable mention once. That's good but is that level good enough for where we want to be? Regardless of the talent around them we all know guard play is the engine that drives success in the tournment. By the way, the best ever (complete outlier by orders of magnitude and we only got her when she changed her mind at the LAST possible second) and two very good point guards in the last 20 years isn't exactly disproving my point.
This year we're relying on a true freshman and a transfer to play PG. We've lost games because of freshman growing pains and waiting for the team chemistry to gel with the transfer. Perhaps Jen, et al can consistently use the transfer portal moving forward to sufficiently bolster this area. We'll find out.
Yes, it can be that lineup you have listed because Bjorn can handle a ball like a guard for that #3 spot and dunk it as well for the #4. However, Lewis has a crystal ball and that needs to be considered in this mix.
One problem that would most likely bring a conflict with your lineup is if Lewis commits prior to either Bjorn or Woliczko. Would think all these Top 20 recruits would want a starting spot so they'll gauge their likelihood of getting one based on how Jan pitches their role to them within her system, all current players and those who have already committed prior to them.
Now Lewis could be the odd person out if Bjorn AND Woliczko commit 1st or even Kussow (eg any another shooting guard) commits prior to her. A coach has to take those who commit 1st when they are working with these highly rated recruits.
If Harping doesn't commit, then it might be possible for Deal to slide to #1 and Lewis to #2. We'll have Deal for a year to see all the spots she can potentially fill. The portal is always a wildcard if needed to see what shakes out to cover for unexpected deficiencies of current players and the incoming class.
Think it's highly improbable to bring in Bjorn, Woliczko, Lewis and Harpring along with having Deal and Heiden as they will almost certainly start. That's 6 players for 5 starting spots. If you're UConn or SC you could most likely pull it off, but IA doesn't have that luxury just yet, imho. Would love all 4 to commit but someone is SOL (sh*t outta luck) for a starting spot and major playing time.
The new NIL/Rev Share happens to be another wildcard on how it gets divvied up between the IA sports programs. That changes in a few months also. Who knows maybe we have a higher than normal payouts and someone might be willing be take a backseat (not starting) for a nice compensation package they can't get elsewhere. It just might be the catalyst for us to become another SC or UConn where we have 4 to 5 stars sitting on the bench just as much as they do with having playing time.
These top players are involved with so many top level circuits and tournaments in the off seasons of their high school career that they talk to each other. Some of them will try to workout their own Dream Team along with other players needed from programs with established recognition so they have a better chance to make NATTY runs. Let's hope we're one of those programs they choose for it.
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Nah, you're wrong. This program has done a fine job of recruiting point guards.
Definitely need one for the next few, though.
Wow, there must be some manic in the air in the early morning hours! I would be very pleased if we could bring in just one or (amazingly) two of the players discussed in the immediately preceding messages!!! I am a pretty optimistic guy but we are trying to swim in pretty deep pools here! Although, I agree- you miss on every shot you don’t take!
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