Iowa opens the 2026-2027 season with its highest preseason ranking of the Jan Jensen era, and that alone says plenty about where this group stands before a game has even tipped.
The Hawkeyes landed at No. 10 in the first AP Top 25 of the season, a sharp jump for a program that wasn’t ranked until week four of Jensen’s first year and entered last season at No. 21.
Iowa finished 27-7 a year ago, but the run ended with a second-round upset in the NCAA Tournament. Even after losing nine players from that roster, the preseason voters still gave the Hawkeyes a top-10 nod.
That confidence comes with a nearly rebuilt roster. Iowa had a veteran-heavy team last season, then watched four players graduate and five more head to the transfer portal, including former five-star prospect Addie Deal.
That left the program with only five players, forcing Jensen and her staff to attack the portal hard. The result: four transfer additions and two newcomers from the 2026 recruiting class.
The new faces are Amari Whiting from Oklahoma State, Bria Medina from Knox College, Dani Carnegie from Georgia, and Jocelyn Faison from Georgia. The recruiting class brings in five-star prospect McKenna Woliczko and Ella Stromdahl from Sweden.
Carnegie and Woliczko appear to be the headliners, and Iowa’s closed-door scrimmage against Oklahoma State backed that up. Carnegie reportedly posted 31 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists, while Woliczko added 19 points.
If those numbers carry over, Iowa has a lot to like.
There’s real firepower here. Carnegie, former Georgia Tech teammate Chit-Chat Wright, and Ava Heiden could give the Hawkeyes a dangerous trio.
Woliczko is expected to make an immediate impact, and Whiting, who has 97 career starts, is also in the mix to start. Iowa’s bench is less certain, though Taylor Stremlow brings leadership and three-point shooting if she comes off the bench, with Journey Houston, Layla Hays, and Bria Medina also part of the reserve picture.
Houston could even push for a starting forward role, but Woliczko looks like the likeliest fit because of her size, skill, and shooting.
The early schedule will quickly show whether the ranking is justified. Iowa is set for nonconference tests against No.
2 UConn and No. 8 Vanderbilt, then faces No.
23 Illinois in its second Big Ten game. Those matchups will tell the story fast, especially for a team with only one obvious concern: guard depth behind Whiting, Chit-Chat, and Stremlow.
Jensen has already shown she can squeeze plenty out of a roster by adjusting to what she has, and the four-out, one-in offense is built for exactly that kind of flexibility. Iowa putting up 96 points against preseason No.
22 Oklahoma State is a strong sign of what this group can do offensively. If the Hawkeyes tighten up defensively and find a way to replace Hannah Stuelke’s rebounding, they have the pieces to stay near the top of the Big Ten again.
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Offensive coordinator Tim Lester said both quarterbacks are healthy, but the coaching staff has not confirmed who will start. For a team still trying to find stability on offense, that leaves Iowa in a familiar waiting game, with the depth chart offering little clarity and the decision now looming over the next stretch of the season. [Read more 🡒]