Harlee Hiller brings elite athletic pedigree to Iowa recruiting class

On the second day of May, the Iowa women’s wrestling program added a fifth member to its 2025 recruiting class.

Meet your newest Hawkeye – Harlee Hiller – the eighth-best 115-pound prospect in America per USA Wrestling’s latest rankings.

Another hawk added to the room🐥

Welcome to Iowa, Harlee!#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/cGLTj0rsWV

— Iowa Women's Wrestling (@IowaW_Wrestling) May 2, 2025

Not only does the Illinois native bring her own considerable credentials to Iowa City, but she also comes from one of the more impressive athletic lineages that you’ll find.

We’ll get to more of that in a bit, though. Because in truth, it’s secondary to Hiller’s particular skills on the mat – many of which are unique as compared to her peers.

Those skills have allowed the Loyola Academy product to become a fixture on the podium at major tournaments.

Hiller has placed at three consecutive World Team Trials (2023-25). She reached the best-of-three U17 finals in 2023 and has improved her U20 placement each of the past two years – including a fourth-place finish at 53 kilograms a few weeks ago in Spokane, Washington.

She’s also a three-time Fargo All-American – finishing as a Junior (division) runner up in 2023 and third last summer.

All of that comes despite not having taken up wrestling until her freshman year of high school.

Hiller’s background extends far deeper in another combat sport, however.

The 18-year-old has trained in Judo for more than half of her life. And her success has taken her around both the country and the world.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, Hong Kong, Peru, Portugal.

Each of those locales has hosted competition(s) listed on Hiller’s International Judo Federation profile.

And now that she’s officially a Hawkeye we’ll get to see just how far a combination of those ingrained skills plus her burgeoning wrestling comprehension can take her over the next 4-5 years in an Iowa singlet.

What she brings

Not that I’m some Judo expert – in fact, far from it. But for those who may be even less familiar with the sport than myself, know this:

It places a heavy emphasis on throws, many of which can translate over to wrestling.

As a prime example, here is Hiller’s third-place match at Fargo last summer:

And lest one think that her opponent – Lorianna Piestewa – was some sort of pushover, consider this:

Piestewa finished third at NCWCCs (124 pounds) this past season as a freshman at Colorado Mesa. One month later, she continued to impress.

At U20 World Team Trials, Piestewa knocked off a pair of former World team members en route to a place on Team USA – including one via sweep in their best-of-three final. Then last weekend she placed fifth in the Senior division at the US Open.

Point being, a Judo background can be effective against even elite competition if used smartly/effectively.

In fact, Hiller was doing exactly that just a few days ago during the Girls National High School Recruiting Showcase.

Competing in Las Vegas, she pinned all four opponents on her way to the title at 115 pounds. Among them, fellow finalist Libby Roberts – a senior ranked #7 nationally at 110 pounds.

Thanks to several throws Hiller led 12-3 before securing the fall just before the final buzzer.

Funnily enough, she took a similar route to win her lone major international competition – the 2023 U17 Pan-American Championships. There, Hiller also stuck a quartet of foes to stand atop the podium.

And while wrestling as a whole may still be a bit of an unfamiliar frontier for Hiller, athletic excellence is very much in her blood.

Family ties

One of the perhaps lesser known, albeit undeniably qualified ‘dynasties’ of recent collegiate athletics history is the Northwestern women’s lacrosse program.

The architect of that dynasty is Kelly Amonte Hiller.

Since taking over what had been a dormant varsity program in 2002, Amonte has led the Wildcats to 15 Final Fours and eight NCAA titles – the latter mark second only to Maryland (14) in NCAA history.

Ironically, it was Amonte herself who played a major role in Maryland’s early dominance of the sport.

As an athlete, she helped lead the Terrapins to a pair of NCAA titles – finishing her career as a four-time All-American and twice taking home National Player of the Year honors. And as though she weren’t busy enough, Amonte also played on the soccer team at Maryland – where she’d earn All-American status as well.

The ‘other half’ of the Hiller parents is no slouch either.

Scott Hiller has coached men’s/women’s lacrosse at both the professional/collegiate level(s) for more than two decades. At present, he’s an assistant on his wife’s staff at Northwestern.

And before all of that, he too was a four-time college All-American as a player – plying his trade at UMass.

Then there’s (Harlee) Hiller’s uncle – Tony Amonte.

To date, Amonte has the 16^th-most points scored of any American player in the history of the National Hockey League.

A 15-year NHL veteran and five-time All-Star, he was also a member of two US Olympic teams.

As if those weren’t international accolades enough, he even scored the championship-winning goal against Canada in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

And just for kicks, (Harlee) Hiller has another relative with extensive NHL experience, too.

Colorado Avalanche center Charlie Coyle is currently competing in the playoffs for the 13^th time in as many seasons as a pro.

Future fit

With Hiller’s addition, what had previously been a shallow weight (117) for Iowa now has some serious depth.

Two-time All-American Brianna Gonzalez returns as the prohibitive favored for starting honors. But depending on how the NCAA legislates postseason spots for the coming season either Hiller or fellow incoming freshman Isabella Gonzales (ranked #1 nationally at 120 pounds) could also find their way into the lineup.

Hiller actually pinned Gonzales when the two met at U20 World Team Trials last month – snatching victory from the jaws of defeat with a last-second feet-to-back throw.

It’s also possible some redshirts could be in order as Iowa looks to balance its roster ahead of what will be mass graduations following the 2026-27 season.

Regardless, Hiller provides an exciting, different element for the Hawkeyes.

And if there’s any place that can best help her meld her Judo talents within her wrestling it’s Iowa. Head coach Clarissa Chun has her own substantial Judo background, as do several current athletes.

But that can all be sorted out once she arrives on campus. For now, welcome your newest Hawkeye, Iowa fans.

Her name is Harlee Hiller. And there’s a whole lot to like about her.