AP PHOTO BY SAVANNAH BLAKE/THE GAZETTE - Iowa freshman guard Addie Deal shoots the ball during basketball practice at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday in Iowa City. Deal is one of nine underclassmen on the Hawkeye roster and will be looked upon as a potential impact player this season.

IOWA CITY — The University of Iowa women’s basketball team went through a period of transition in 2024-25, with the first season of Jan Jensen as head coach. Now, Jensen is in charge of teaching a roster that includes nine underclassmen.

With new players comes a new gameplan.

“The whole inner workings of how we’re going to be operating are going to be pretty new,” said Jensen.

The head coach knows that the youth can be the start of something special.

“We’re young, but have a lot of potential,” she said. “If we can meld it, I think it’ll be a pretty fun team that can have success.”

Even sophomore Taylor Stremlow has recognized what the roster is capable of.

“It’s exciting to know that we’re already going to be really good, and our ceiling is really high,” she said.

Stremlow is an example of the respect the underclassmen have. Jensen mentioned that she’s grown into one of vocal leaders in the locker room.

“She could have a 104-degree fever, miss 17 shots in a row, and have broken up with her boyfriend, but you wouldn’t know because she’s so busy hyping you up, making sure you’ve gone to class and turned in your shot chart,” said Jensen.

There’s just one graduate student on the team, Kylie Feuerbach. She joked about potential teases from younger players.

“They probably call me ‘Great Grandma,’ but it’s fine,” Feuerbach said.

Jensen expects the freshman and sophomores to be able to pick up key minutes, and be a large part of the team’s success. They will compliment what players like seniors Hannah Stuelke and Taylor McCabe are able to produce.

All eyes will be on freshman Addie Deal, the No. 2 recruit out of California.