Ranking the top 15 players Iowa will face during the 2024-25 season

We are just over a month away from the Iowa Women’s Basketball season opener, which means it’s almost time for preseason coverage to start ramping up. With four new Big Ten teams, plus a tough non-conference schedule, the Hawkeyes will be facing plenty of talented players throughout the season. HawkeyeReport takes a look at some of those names, including a ranking of the top 15 players Jan Jensen and Co. will go up against this year.

Others Considered: Addy Brown (Iowa State), Deja Kelly (Oregon), Chloe Moore-McNeil (Indiana), Sydney Parrish (Indiana), Ajae Petty (Ohio State), Saylor Poffenbarger (Maryland), Shyanne Sellers (Maryland), Jewel Spear (Tennessee), Grace VanSlooten (Michigan State), Talia von Oelhoffen (USC)

15. Michigan State SF Julia Ayrault

There are a lot of players that you could slot in at this 15th spot, but the breakout First Team All-Big Ten year Julia Ayrault had last season for the Spartans is the reason why they made the NCAA Tournament. Ayrault averaged 15.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.09 blocks per game, while she ranked fifth in the Big Ten with a 50.8% shooting percentage. She scored in double figures in 26 of 31 games, including a career-high 32 points against Coastal Carolina. Now, Ayrault is back for her fifth year, looking to help the Spartans to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since they made it in ’16 and ’17.

14. UCLA F Janiah Barker

An offseason transfer addition for the Bruins, Janiah Barker comes over after spending two seasons at Texas A&M. The former five-star, #3 overall player in the ’22 recruiting class, Barker averaged 12.2 points and 7.6 rebounds for the Aggies last season. She scored in double figures in 21 games, including a season-high 21 points against LSU. ESPN rated Barker as the 12th-best player in the transfer portal and playing for a team like UCLA, I think she will get closer to her full potential.

13. Minnesota PG Mara Braun

Had Mara Braun been healthy for the entirety of the season last year, the Gophers would have made the NCAA Tournament. She suffered a foot injury in late January and Minnesota went just 2-10 down the stretch. In 22 total games, Braun averaged 17.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists, while she ranked third in the Big Ten in three-pointers per game (2.9). She’s one of the top scorers in the Big Ten, totaling 17 games with 20+ points and seven games with 5+ made threes through two seasons. If Mara is healthy for the full season, Minnesota will make the NCAA Tournament this year.

12. Drake PG Katie Dinnebier

The Hawkeyes trip to the Knapp Center early in the season will be a dangerous one and part of the reason is because of the outstanding point guard play of Katie Dinnebier. The senior from Waukee was named the Jackie Stiles Missouri Valley Player of the Year last season, while she was also a First Team All-MVC and MVC All-Defensive Team selection. Dinnebier averaged 18.2 points and 6.9 assists per game, while she shot 54.3% from the floor. She shot 41.8% from behind the arc and was third in the MVC in made threes (69). Katie scored 20+ points in 13 of 37 games, including 32 points against Murray State. Some may remember her putting up 24 points, five rebounds and four assists in ’22 when the Bulldogs took Iowa to OT in Des Moines.

11. Kansas G S’Mya Nichols

Just a couple of days after facing Kate Dinnebier, the Hawkeyes will travel to the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, where they will face Kansas and guard S’Mya Nichols. The four-star, #34 player in the ’23 recruiting class was one of the top freshman in the country last season for the Jayhawks. A First Team All-Big 12 and a unanimous Big 12 All-Freshman Team selection, Nicholas averaged 15.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, while shooting 46.0% from the floor. She scored in double figures in 28 of 33 games, including a season-high 29 points in a win over Oklahoma.

10. Illinois PG Makira Cook

Illinois has quickly become a relevant program in just a couple of seasons under Shauna Green and a big contributor to their success is point guard Makira Cook. She began her collegiate career at Dayton, but made a big splash for the Illini from the day she arrived. Cook was an honorable mention All-American as a junior and a Second Team All-Big Ten selection as a senior last season. She averaged 16.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists for an Illinois team that turned it on late in the season to win the WBIT Championship. Cook won WBIT Most Outstanding Player, while she scored in double figures in 27 of 31 games, including 27 points against Villanova in the WBIT Championship Game. She has had success against Iowa, putting up 20 points, five assists in their upset win over the Hawkeyes in ’23 and 26 points last season in Iowa City.

9. UCLA G Charlisse Leger-Walker

Whether it was Washington State or UCLA, the Hawkeyes were going to face off against Charlisse Leger-Walker one way or another. After spending four years with the Cougars, Leger-Walker opted to enter the portal and ESPN’s #4 rated player in the portal will play her fifth year with the Bruins. A four-time All-Pac 12 selection and a three-time honorable mention All-American, Charlisse has totaled 1,743 points (16.6 ppg), 585 rebounds and 389 assists over 105 career games. She scored in double figures in 16 of 21 games last season before missing the rest of the season with a knee injury, but she had a season-high 26 points against Gonzaga.

8. Wisconsin C Serah Williams

One of the most underrated players in the entire Big Ten, Serah Williams is the star player for a Wisconsin program that hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament 2010. Right, or wrong, that is why she hasn’t gotten more publicity on the national stage. As a sophomore last season, Williams was a First Team All-Big Ten selection and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

Williams was fifth in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 17.4 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. She ranked fourth in the conference in shooting percentage (51.9%) and led the conference in blocked shots (84). Helping the Badgers to a WNIT appearance, Williams scored 20+ points in nine games, including 31 points against Penn State and Rutgers.

7. Nebraska F Alexis Markowski

A double-double machine, Alexis Markowski has totaled 40 of them during her Nebraska career, including 19 last season. Coming off of a season where she was a First Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Tournament Team selection, she could have a shot at being an All-American this year. Markowski averaged 15.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and shot 46.7% from the floor, including 20 games with 15+ points last season. She combined for 53 points and 35 rebounds in three games against the Hawkeyes. Markowski has led the Big Ten in rebounds each of the past two seasons and needs just one double-double to set the Nebraska program record for most in a career.

6. UCLA G Kiki Rice

It started with Markowski at #7 and continues with Kiki Rice at #6, we are into the group of players that could be All-Americans this season. An All-Pac 12 and honorable mention All-American selection last season, Rice averaged 12.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists for the Bruins. She scored in double figures in 27 of 34 games, including putting up 25 points against Washington State and 24 points against UConn. Rice recorded her first career triple-double and just the tenth in UCLA program history against Cal St Northridge last season (14 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast).

5. Iowa State C Audi Crooks

If it wasn’t for JuJu Watkins, we would have been talking about Audi Crooks as the best freshman in the country last season. A four-star, #57 player in the ’23 recruiting class, Crooks averaged 19.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while ranking 21st in the country in shooting percentage (57.7%). She was a First Team All-Big 12 and honorable mention All-American selection, while she earned Big 12 All-Tournament Team honors. Crooks scored 20+ points in 17 of 33 games, including a season-high 40 points against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament. She put up 15 points and ten rebounds in the ‘Clones near upset of Iowa.

4. UCLA C Lauren Betts

The third UCLA player on the list, Lauren Betts rounds out a trio of Bruins that has them thinking that 2024-25 can be the year they make their first ever Final Four appearance. As a sophomore last season, Betts averaged 13.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, while her 64.7% field goal percentage ranked fourth in the country. She scored 20+ points in nine games, including 24 points against Oregon State and 22 points against Florida State. Betts was an All-Pac 12 and honorable mention All-American, as well as a Pac 12 All-Defensive team selection.

3. USC F Kiki Iriafen

There was no bigger transfer portal move over the offseason than the move by forward Kiki Iriafen from Stanford to USC. Rated as the #1 player in the transfer portal by ESPN, Iriafen will team up with JuJu Watkins after winning Pac 12 Most Improved Player last season. She averaged 19.4 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, while ranking fifth in the conference in field goal percentage (54.6%). Iriafen won the Katrina McClain Power Foward of the Year Award and was an honorable mention All-American selection. She scored 20+ points in 16 games, including an incredible 41-point performance against Iowa State to send the Cardinal to the Sweet 16.

2. Ohio State PF Cotie McMahon

Ohio State is going to have a different look this season, with several new players, but Cotie McMahon returns to lead the Buckeyes, and she is one of the best players in the country. A finalist for the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award, McMahon averaged 14.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for the Buckeyes. She scored in double figures in 26 games, including seven 20+ point games. Her best game of the season was a 33-point, 12-rebound game in an upset win over Iowa in Columbus. McMahon was a First Team All-Big Ten and an honorable mention All-American selection. She’s a matchup nightmare for other small forwards in the conference because of her size and strength.

1. USC PG JuJu Watkins

With the addition of USC, it will be the third consecutive year that the favorite to win National Player of the Year will be from the Big Ten Conference. Last season, JuJu Watkins put up one of the best seasons you’ll ever see from a freshman. She set an all-time record for points scored by a freshman (920), while averaging 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Watkins scored 30+ points in 14 games, including 51 against Arizona State and 42 against Colorado. She is one of just five Pac-12 players ever to tally at least 750 points, 150 rebounds and 50 steals in a season. JuJu was a First Team All-American, Pac 12 Player of the Year, Tamika Catchings Award Winner and a Naismith Award Finalist. She is easily the best player in the country and the reason why the Trojans have legitimate national title hopes this season.