Top Players to Watch in the Iowa City Regional

The field of 68 has been revealed. The regionals have been announced and every team knows their path. Every team in the tournament has the same goal in mind. Survive and advance to the next round. The final destination is Cleveland for the Final Four.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena will host its fifth regional in ten seasons, as the Iowa Hawkeyes earned a one seed in the Albany 2 region. They will face off against the winner of the First Four game between 16 seed UT-Martin and 16 seed Holy Cross. The other matchup is 8 seed West Virginia taking on 9 seed Princeton.

Every single team that makes the NCAA Tournament has talent on their roster, otherwise, how else would they have made it to this point? HawkeyeReport takes a look at some of the top players that will compete in the Iowa City Regional.

1. Iowa PG Caitlin Clark

Surprise, surprise, the NCAA all-time leading scorer is the top player in the Iowa City Regional. Caitlin won Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Tournament MVP for the third straight season. Her 30-point second half in the tournament championship helped lead the Hawkeyes back from an 11-point halftime deficit against Nebraska.

On the year, Clark is averaging 31.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists per game this season. She leads the country in points (1054), assists (294), three-pointers (173) and triple-doubles (6). Caitlin has scored 30+ points in 19 games, while she has scored 20+ points in all 33 games. She also became the only player in NCAA D1 men’s or women’s basketball history to lead her conference in scoring and assists in four consecutive seasons. There is doubt that Caitlin is the top player to watch this week.

2. West Virginia G JJ Quinerly

For the Mountaineers, JJ Quinerly is a player that can make an impact on both ends of the floor. She won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and is now a two-time First Team All-Big 12 selection. Quinerly helps spearhead a WVU defense that ranks third in the country in defensive rating. She ranks second in the Big 12 in steals (91), which second to her teammate Jordan Harrison (92).

On the offensive end of the floor, Quinerly averages 19.6 points per game, which is good for third in the Big 12. She is shooting 51.5% from two-point range and has knocked down 51 three-pointers. Quinerly has scored 20+ in 15 games, including a season-high 33 points against Baylor in February.

3. Princeton PG Kaitlyn Chen

One of the best mid-major points guards in the country, Kaitlyn Chen is the top player on a Tigers team that was ranked in the AP Poll at one point this season. Chen is a two-time First Team All-Ivy selection, a three-time Ivy League Tournament MVP and won Ivy League Player of the Year in 2023. She was also the point guard for the 2022 Princeton team that upset 6 seed Kentucky and nearly defeated 3 seed Indiana.

This season, Chen is averaging 15.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. She ranks first in the Ivy League in FG% (49.1%), second in points (457) and second in assists (145). Chen has scored 20+ points in six games this season, including a season-high 31 points against Villanova. In three career tournament games, Kaitlyn is averaging 15.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

4. Iowa F Hannah Stuelke

The second Hawkeye on the list, Hannah Stuelke earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors, after winning Big Ten 6th Player of the Year as a freshman. ESPN named the duo of Stuelke-Clark as one of the top ten duos in the NCAA Tournament.

Stuelke is averaging 14.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 64.3% from the floor. That ranks second in the Big Ten behind Mackenzie Holmes. Hannah has scored 20+ points in seven games, including a career-high 47 point outburst against Penn State. In the Big Ten Championship game against Nebraska, Stuelke put up 25 points and nine rebounds.

5. West Virginia G Jordan Harrison

The second West Virginia player on the list, Jordan Harrison earned Second Team All-Big 12 honors after transferring in from Stephen F Austin. Much like her counterpart, JJ Quinerly, who appeared at #2, Harrison makes an impact on both ends of the floor.

On the defensive end, Jordan is tied for 12th in the country and first in the Big 12 in steals (92). She has recorded 3+ steals in 18 games this year. That was enough to land her a spot on the Big 12 All-Defensive Team. Offensively, Harrison is averaging 13.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. She has been very consistent, scoring in double figures in 27 of 31 games, including a season-high 22 points against Oklahoma State.

6. Holy Cross G Bronagh Power-Cassidy

Taking a look at the First Four matchup between Holy Cross and UT-Martin, Crusaders guard Bronagh Power-Cassidy has been a big reason why her team is in the tournament. She is has earned All-Patriot League honors in back-to-back seasons, including First Team honors this season.

Power-Cassidy is averaging 16.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. She ranks first in the Patriot League in made three-pointers (73) and third in total points (503). Bronagh has scored 20+ points in 11 games and has knocked down 3+ threes in 13 games. Over the last eight games, Power-Cassidy has scored 176 points (22.0 ppg).

7. UT-Martin G Kenley McCarn

For UT-Martin, guard Kenley McCarn helped the Skyhawks to their fifth NCAA Tournament apperance in program history. She played in just four games as a freshman in 2023, but put together a First Team All-OVC campaign this season.

McCarn is averaging 16.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. She ranks third in the OVC in points (529) and made three-pointers (69). McCarn has scored 20+ points in 10 games, including a season-high 31 points against Tennesse Tech and South Dakota. She has been consistent from behind the arc, knocking 3+ threes in 15 games.