Three Iowa Women's Basketball players that could have a breakout 2025-26 season

Although the 2025-26 Iowa Women’s Basketball team is still 150 days or so away from taking the court for game number one, the season begins months before, starting with summer workouts. The incoming freshman class and transfers are set to arrive on campus next week, with practices getting underway soon after.

Jan Jensen’s first season had its challenges, including the program’s longest losing streak since 2013, but the Hawkeyes rebounded to win 10 of their last 13 games, highlighted by a landmark victory over No. 4 USC. Their NCAA Tournament run ended in the Norman Regional against Oklahoma, however, they still finished with a strong 23-11 record. The roster departures were not light, with Lucy Olsen, Syd Affolter and Addi O’Grady graduating, while freshman guard Aaliyah Guyton transferred to Illinois.

The Hawkeyes strengthened their roster, via the transfer portal, adding Big 12 All-Freshman forward Emely Rodriguez from UCF and point guard Chazadi ‘Chit-Chat’ Wright from Georgia Tech. Veterans Hannah Stuelke, Kylie Feuerbach and Taylor McCabe return, while there is plenty of young talent around them, including the #22 overall recruiting class, led by four-star Addie Deal. With a mix of experienced players and emerging talent, ESPN considers Iowa as a team to watch, placing them at No. 22 in their Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings.

Looking at the roster going into year two under Jan Jensen, the Hawkeyes have plenty of talent. However, a good portion of that is young talent and the coaching staff will be looking for a couple of players to have breakout years to help improve on last season’s 23-11 record.

HawkeyeReport takes a look at three players who could be poised for a standout 2025-26 season.

1. C Ava Heiden – 5.0 ppg, 2.6 reb, 9.7 mpg in 2024-25

Stepping up and making an impact at the right time last season, sophomore center Ava Heiden’s contributions in five postseason games generated more excitement for this year than anyone else on the roster. She’s going to be a popular choice by many to have a breakout season, but it’s more than just a trendy pick—Heiden has the tools to become Iowa’s next great post player. With a year under her belt to adjust to DI level post play, her late season emergence seems like more of a sign of things to come, rather than a brief spark.

It was an interesting freshman season for Heiden, as she entered the year as the backup center to Addi O’Grady but never was able to get truly consistent minutes in that role, with Hannah Stuelke garnering minutes on the block as well. She averaged just 9.7 minutes per game, tallying 5.0 points and 2.6 rebounds per contest, but those numbers stand out when put into a larger context. It’s not a huge sample, as Ava totaled just 272 minutes on the season, but she averaged an impressive 20.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per 40 minutes. She shot 56.1% from the floor and rarely turned it over, averaging just 2.06 turnovers per 40 minutes. Those numbers match or exceed what former Hawkeyes Morgan Johnson, Megan Gustafson, and Monika Czinano posted as freshmen, though Johnson and Gustafson both played over 20 minutes per game in their first season.

What stands out about Heiden, even in her limited stints last season, is the athleticism that she possesses as a 6-foot-4 center. She can use it on both ends of the floor, as a shot blocker, rebounder and she runs the floor in transition exceptionally well for a post player. Ava got her chance to shine in the postseason and did not disappoint, averaging 9.2 points and 3.6 rebounds over five games, including a season-high 15 points in 17 minutes against Murray State and 11 points in 11 minutes against Michigan State. Over the last nine games of the season, Heiden shot 68.3% (28/41) from the floor.

Two areas stand out as keys towards having a breakout year. Ava shot 61.6% on shots in the paint, which is above average, but shot just 16.7% (2/12) on midrange jumpers, which is where Addi O’Grady flourished last season (56.8%). She also needs to cut down on fouling a considerable amount, as she averaged 6.47 fouls per 40 minutes. If Ava can become a 62-63% shooter and cut down on her fouls, I believe she can be someone that averaged 12-13 points per game and 6-7 rebounds per contest.

2. G Chit-Chat Wright – 7.2 ppg, 2.6 ast, 2.2 reb in 2024-25

A transfer from Georgia Tech, 5-foot-4 guard Chazadi ‘Chit-Chat’ Wright finished her true freshman season playing the point position for a Yellow Jackets team that finished 22-11 and made the NCAA Tournament. Despite being the fifth or sixth offensive option for the Jackets, Wright still posted solid numbers in her first year. Now, after following assistant coach LaSondra Barrett from Atlanta to Iowa City, Chit-Chat has an opportunity to step right into the starting lineup and make a larger impact as a sophomore this coming season.

At Georgia Tech last season, Wright averaged 11.4 points per 40 minutes—a number that doesn’t immediately stand out. However, she ranked sixth on the team in shot attempts per 40 minutes (10.6) and seventh in usage rate (15.8%). It’s very likely that she will surpass both numbers this season at Iowa, which means more opportunities for her to showcase her scoring abilities. Standing at just 5-foot-4, Wright isn’t going to finish at the rim a whole lot, but she was an above average midrange scorer (42.9%) and was third on the Jackets in made threes (43). If Wright can improve her efficiency in year two to have a 40-43% field goal percentage and a 34-36% three-point percentage, a higher usage rate will lead to her being a double-digit per game scorer for the Hawkeyes.

Wright will also make a strong impact as a distributor, having totaled 86 assists for Georgia Tech last season—the most of anyone on the current Iowa roster. Lucy Olsen (162) and Syd Affolter (89) led the team in assists last season. Chit-Chat owned a 16.5% assist rate last season, while 23.8% of her used possessions resulted in her dishing out an assist, which shows her willingness to distribute. Meanwhile, her 2.21 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked second-best amongst 169 true freshmen that played at least 600 minutes last season.

CBB Analytics compares her to 5-foot-7 UNC guard Reniya Kelly. Both undersized guards at the Power 4 level and Wright had equal or better numbers during her true freshman season. This past year, as a sophomore, Kelly earned Second Team All-ACC honors, averaging 9.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists, while knocking down 40 three-pointers. I think Chit-Chat can and will surpass those numbers for the Hawkeyes this season.

3. G Kylie Feuerbach – 6.7 ppg, 2.3 ast, 1.3 stl in 2024-25

Last season, I chose senior center Addi O’Grady as the #3 player to watch for a breakout year, and it paid off—she averaged a career-high 9.3 points per game and ranked 14th in the country in field goal percentage. Continuing with the veteran player approach at this spot, sixth-year senior guard Kylie Feuerbach is someone that could be primed to have the best season of her career.

The Hawkeyes got an immediate upgrade to their defense when Feuerbach announced her decision to return for her final year of eligibility, while she will also serve as a veteran voice for a team that will have plenty of young players. She hangs her hat on the defensive end of the floor and her contributions were instrumental in the Hawkeyes’ significant leap from 211th to 131st in points per possession allowed. Kylie averaged 1.57 charges drawn per 40 minutes and ranked in the 99th percentile with a 2.3% charge drawn rate. Despite ranking 32nd in the Big Ten in steals (43), she ranked top ten in the conference in steal+charge taken rate (4.2%).

If Kylie is going to have a ‘breakout’ season, it will be because of what she does on the offensive end of the floor to complement what she already does on the defensive end. Feuerbach averaged a career-high 6.7 points per game last season and made a career-best 38 threes but shot just 29.9% from behind the arc. Down the stretch last season, Kylie showed that she can be a consistent threat to score, averaging 7.7 points, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals over the Hawkeyes last 15 games. She scored 8+ points in eight of those games and shot 38.6% (17/44) from three-point range. A consistent and confident shooting Kylie Feuerbach adds another dimension to the offense, plus she has the ability to, on occasion, get downhill for baskets at the rim.

While I don’t think Kylie will have the type of ‘breakout’ season where she scores in double figures per game, she enters her sixth year averaging 4.4 points and 0.67 made threes per game for her career and is a 29.3% career three-point shooter. If she can sustain the level of play she showed in the second half of last season for a full year, I believe she can average 8-9 points per game while pushing for 85-90 assists (78 LY) and 45-50 made threes (38 LY). Additionally, with the Hawkeyes unlikely to have a player with a usage rate as high as Lucy Olsen’s 28.8% last season, there could be more shots to go around for everyone—including Kylie.