Jennie Baranczyk on Lisa Bluder: 'I'm sad to see her retire'

Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk was one of the many players who played for Lisa Bluder throughout her 24-year career at Iowa. Baranczyk was part of the very first team Hawkeyes that Bluder coached in 2000-01, going on to play four seasons in Iowa City.

A native of Urbandale, Iowa, the Sooners coach recalled even attending camps coached by Bluder, who was then the coach at Drake, while she was in high school. Bluder announced her retirement on Monday after leading Iowa to back-to-back appearances in the national championship.

Baranczyk opened up on her feelings about the move in a press conference on Tuesday, commending Bluder for the impact she had on her and countless others.

“I saw her not even a week ago,” she said. “We went back. There was a funeral of a longtime Drake person that we knew for a while. It was nice to be able to see her there. I’ve known both her and Jan for a long time. Obviously, I played for them, but I even grew up going to camps at Drake when she was there. So she has been pivotal in my playing and my coaching philosophies. How she’s held herself to a really high standard. How she’s made it about her players.

“She works hard. She’s blue collar, humble. I’m sad to see her retire. To be honest, I thought she would go for a long time.”

Bluder finished her career at Iowa with a 528-253 overall record. She directed the Hawkeyes to five Big Ten Tournament championships, four of which have come since 2019, and 18 NCAA Tournament appearances.

Longtime Hawkeyes assistant Jan Jensen is set to take over the reigns from Bluder as the program’s next head coach. She is a former player under Bluder at Drake and has been an assistant on her staff for the past 33 seasons.

So while one of Baranczyk’s former coaches is stepping down, the other one is getting a promotion to take her place. As sad as she is to see Bluder go, she equally as happy to watch Jensen get her opportunity.

“I couldn’t be more excited for Jan,” she said. “I’ve known Jan just as long and this is awesome for her. As an alum, I’m really proud that they were in a position where they could do that because that’s every coach’s dream is to be able to pass it on to somebody that’s in the family. The game lost a good one, but also gained another great one.”

Iowa loses star guard Caitlin Clark, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, and two other players who ranked among their top five scorers in 2023-24. The Hawkeyes have added Villanova transfer guard Lucy Olsen, who trailed only Clark and USC star Juju Watkins this past season with 23.3 points per game.

Jensen revealed in her introductory press conference Wednesday that Bluder will serve as an adviser to the team in 2024-25.

As for Baranczyk, she just wrapped up her third season in Norman, having led the Sooners to the second round of the NCAA Tournament each year. She’ll aim to continue to make her former coach proud as she looks to continue that success next season.