Remaining Needs for the Iowa Hawkeyes Class of 2025

The Iowa Women’s Basketball team picked up their first commitment for the class of 2025 last night and it was a good one. Five-star G/F Journey Houston out of Davenport North announced her verbal commitment to Iowa. With that, Lisa Bluder and her staff are on the board with one commit for 2025. We take a look at what the roster could look like, where the Hawkeyes need to add in the 2025 class and who the main targets are.

GUARD

Projected 2025-26 Roster: Taylor McCabe, Kennise Johnson-Etienne, Taylor Stremlow, Callie Levin

There is still a lot to work out when it comes to the guard class for 2025. Looking at what the roster could look like, Johnson-Etienne, Stremlow and Levin all have the ability to play point guard. The one thing missing in this group is off ball guards, with Taylor McCabe being the only true off ball guard.

6’1 Jordan Speiser out of Lutheran St Charles in Missouri appears to be a top target for the Hawkeyes in this class. She has attended the Iowa Elite Camp, made an unofficial visit in September of 2021 and was at the soldout season finale against Indiana last season. Speiser plays for All Iowa Attack and is a five-star recruit by ESPN (#17). She is a player to watch.

5’9 Bella Hines out of Albuquerque, NM received an offer from Iowa in July and told the Albuquerque Journal that the Hawkeyes, along with Alabama are amongst her top schools. Hines has seen her recruitment blossom this summer and she now holds offers from big schools like Utah, Arizona, Florida State, Georgia, Kansas State, West Virginia and Alabama. She is a four-star recruit by ESPN and says she plans to visit Iowa this fall.

6’0 Addison Deal out of Mater Dei High School in California is another five-star recruit that the Hawkeyes have had on campus. She visited Iowa back in July of 2022. Deal has kept her offer list quiet, but it’s hard to imagine that it’s not very impressive. It is interesting to note that her brother Tanner Deal is set to be an incoming freshman at Grinnell College.

The coaching staff gave out three other offers to guards this summer, starting with 5’9 shooting guard Isis Musah-Johnson out of Detroit, MI. She received an offer in April and has other offers from Michigan, Ohio State, Georgia, Ole Miss, Arizona and Illinois. Musah-Johnson is rated as the #1 player in Michigan by Prep Girls Hoops.

6’0 Taliyah Henderson out of Tucson, AZ received an offer from the Hawkeyes in early July after the coaches had reportedly watched her play a few times. She is a four-star recruit by ESPN and is rated as the #1 player in Arizona by Prep Girls Hoops. She has other notable offers from Florida State, Michigan, Ole Miss, Utah, Illinois, Arizona and Louisville.

5’7 Caliyah DeVillasee received an offer from Iowa in late July. DeVillasee is rated as the #1 player in Maryland by Prep Girls Hoops and has other big offers from Virginia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, West Virginia and Michigan State.

Wrapping up the guards, Destiny Jackson out of Chicago, IL has had an Iowa offer for a while, but has not yet been on a visit to Iowa City. She is rated as a four-star by ESPN, but the homestate Illini appear to be in the lead for her. Kendall McGee out of Benilde-St Margaret in Minnesota also has an offer from Iowa and has visited. She missed all of last season with an injury, which has put her recruitment on a bit of a hold. McGee has offers from Louisville, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

FORWARD

Projected 2025-26 Roster: Hannah Stuelke, Jada Gyamfi, Ava Jones, Teagan Mallegni, Journey Houston

At forward, the Hawkeyes are looking at a few options, but it’s not out of the question that one of the guards ends up growing into a forward over the next couple of years. With Stuelke set to be a senior in ’25 and Ava Jones health still a question mark, forward should be a position of high importance.

The most recent offer went to 6’3 Brynn McGaughy out of Colfax, Washington. She is the #15 player in the country and a five-star recruit by ESPN, while rating as the #1 player in Washington by Prep Girls Hoops. McGaughy has 25 Power 5 offers, including Indiana, Michigan, Louisville, Stanford, Utah and Colorado. She is planning to make a visit to Iowa on October 15th for the ‘Crossover at Kinnick’.

Springsboro High School (Ohio) teammates Aniya Trent and Bryn Martin both received offers from Iowa on their visit back in June of 2022. Trent has a better offer list with offers from Maryland, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan State, Penn State and Illinois, while Martin has notable offers from Washington, West Virginia, Illinois, Michigan State and Penn State. Neither of them are ranked in the ESPN Top 60.

CENTER

Projected 2025-26 Roster: Ava Heiden

The Hawkeyes already have their center of the future committed for the class of 24. Ava Heiden is a four-star recruit and is rated as the #32 player in the country by ESPN, but as of now, she is the only center set to be on the roster in 2025.

The coaching staff currently has three offers out to centers for 2025, starting with 6’5 four-star Avery Gordon out of Brownsburg, IN. She is rated as the #44 player in the country and has taken two visits to Iowa so far.

Then comes the two players that the coaching staff offered this summer. 6’2 four-star Jaliya Davis out of Overland Park, KS received an offer from the Hawkeyes back in April. She has since received offers from South Carolina, Georgia and Texas Tech.

The most recent offer at the center position went to 6’5 Layla Hays out of Wasilla, Alaska. She is currently unranked by ESPN, but her recruitment has blown up with offers from Utah, Maryland, Indiana, Nebraska, Iowa State, Kansas State, Tennessee, Colorado and North Carolina.