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ESPN names Hannah Stuelke 'player with breakout potential'

On3 imageby: Kyle Huesmann08/02/25HuesmannKyle
ESPN named Hannah Stuelke as a player to watch in 2025-26.
ESPN named Hannah Stuelke as a player to watch in 2025-26.

There’s a lot of excitement surrounding the Iowa Women’s Basketball team heading into the 2025-26 campaign, with hopes that they can improve on their 23-11 record under first-year head coach Jan Jensen last season. With nine underclassmen on the roster, much of the excitement is centered around those talented youngsters, but the coaching staff will still need big contributions from the veterans, led by senior forward Hannah Stuelke.

ESPN believes that Stuelke could be primed for a breakout season, placing her on their “10 players with breakout potential” list. Others on the list include Jordan Lee (Texas), Kate Koval (Notre Dame), Nunu Agara (Stanford), Sahara Williams (Oklahoma), Sira Thienou (Ole Miss), S’Mya Nichols (Kansas), Syla Swords (Michigan), Tajianna Roberts (Louisville) and Tilda Trygger (NC State).

Here is what ESPN had to say about her prospects for the 2025-26 season…

“The senior has been a big part of the Hawkeyes since her freshman season, making two trips to the Final Four. She has averaged 10.9 points and 6.0 rebounds over her first three seasons, but this season could be her most successful yet individually. She is coming off winning a gold medal with Team USA in the AmeriCup competition in Chile.”

The plan last season was for Stuelke to move to the power forward position, but offseason knee surgery kept her sidelined for much of the summer. She lost out on critical development time after spending her first two seasons playing the center position. The offense struggled at times and during the Hawkeyes five-game losing streak, the coaching staff opted to slide her back to the center position. Hannah still had solid numbers, averaging 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, but her field goal percentage took a hit.

Now fully healthy, Stuelke and the coaching staff are hoping that she can successfully make the transition to power forward, as sophomore center Ava Heiden looks poised for a breakout season of her own.

“Just playing to the best of my abilities,” said Stuelke. “Enjoying it and having fun is really important to me. When I’m having fun, I’m playing my best.”

“I feel good…I can get into the gym so much more now. It’s so nice not having to sit out and it’s just been fun trying new stuff and seeing what I can do.”

Hannah was noticeably absent for several weeks during summer workouts, but this time, rather than sidelined due to injury, she was down in Santiago, Chile competing with Team USA at the FIBA AmeriCup. She appeared in all seven tournament games, averaging 5.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, helping Team USA to a gold medal. Jan Jensen says that she hopes the experience, going up against the best players in the country at the team trials and making big plays during the tournament will give Hannah boost of confidence.

“I can’t wait to get a feel for what her experience was like and what her mental space is,” said Jensen after the final open media practice. “What I’m hoping is that type of experience gave her something mentally and internally that can lead a relatively younger inexperienced group.”

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