Which Rising Stars Will Dominate Iowa Women’s Basketball Rotation in 2025-26?

Coming off a solid 23-11 record that included a 10-8 mark in the fiercely competitive Big Ten, the Iowa Hawkeyes are gearing up for the 2025-26 women’s college basketball season with the momentum of their seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance behind them. This isn’t just any tournament streak—it marks the ninth straight time the Hawkeyes have secured a No. 6 seed or higher, a testament to the program’s unwavering consistency and grit. Last season, they edged past Murray State but saw their journey cut short by the host and No. 3 seed Oklahoma. With key starters Lucy Olsen, Sydney Affolter, and center Addison O’Grady moving on—players whose contributions spanned countless games—the Hawkeyes responded by bolstering their roster through the transfer portal and an impressive 2025 signing class. The fresh faces promise to shake up the lineup and inject new energy. As the full puzzle pieces of next season’s squad fall into place, it’s time to dive into what the projected starting lineup and rotation could look like as Iowa aims to build on last year’s accomplishments and chase even greater heights. LEARN MORETaylor McCabe, 5-foot-9, GuardKylie Feuerbach, 6-foot, GuardIowa found some much-needed backcourt help with its first transfer portal addition. The Hawkeyes signed Georgia Tech transfer guard Chazadi “Chit-Chat” Wright.A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Wright will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Iowa women’s basketball projected starting lineup

Emely Rodriguez was an All-Big 12 Freshman Team member last season with UCF after averaging 11.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game on 40.9% shooting from the floor, 33.3% from the 3-point arc and 75.3% from the free-throw line.

Heiden scored in double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively, during the Hawkeyes’ Big Ten Tournament games against Michigan State and Ohio State. Then, in Iowa’s NCAA Tournament opener, Heiden scored 15 points and grabbed seven boards.The McFarland, Wisconsin, product scored a career-high 13 points against Drake in November of last year.

The 6-foot guard and forward can handle the basketball, drive to the bucket and step out and connect from deep. Rodriguez looks like a natural replacement for Affolter, though the Dominican Republic native will need to up her 3-point accuracy. But, the ability to get on the glass and be a three-level scorer is there.Taylor Stremlow, 5-foot-10, GuardAva Heiden, 6-foot-4, Center

The Sherwood, Oregon, product demonstrated plenty of reasons to be excited about her future during her freshman campaign, including a trio of breakout performances down the home stretch of last season.Iowa will enter the 2025-26 women’s college basketball season off a 23-11 (10-8 Big Ten) finish that saw the Hawkeyes advance to their seventh straight NCAA Tournament.According to ESPN, Wright was a four-star signee in the 2024 class and the nation’s No. 49 player overall. With both Olsen and Aaliyah Guyton moving on from the program, Iowa needed a steady hand at point guard and the Hawkeyes found that with Wright.

Addie Deal, 6-foot, GuardStuelke now has one season minus Clark under her belt and can hopefully find some of those easier bunnies with Deal and Wright directing traffic.Stuelke earned All-Big Ten second-team honors from the media last season after averaging 12.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game on 49.8% shooting and 67.5% foul marksmanship. The Cedar Rapids product has registered 61 double-figure games, 11 double-doubles and 10 20-point performances during her Hawkeye career.

If Feuerbach is willing to accept a different role, it could help Iowa rejoin that group at the top of the Big Ten. After combining to start 58 games over the past two seasons, it wouldn’t be surprising to see coach Jensen keep Feuerbach in Iowa’s starting five.A five-star signee and a member of the McDonald’s All-American Team, Addie Deal averaged 19.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 3.4 steals per game as a senior.

The sharpshooter started 19 games last season and has played in 85 over the course of her career. Taylor McCabe has 10 career games where she’s knocked down four or more 3-pointers and 17 in which she’s connected on three or more 3-pointers.But, if Feuerbach moves to the second five, her defense and scoring would help to build one of the Big Ten’s best bench units.Chances are that either Deal or Wright will spend some time with Iowa’s second unit, but finding another ball-handler that can give each of those two a breather at the same time would free Iowa up to comfortably start Deal and Wright together.

Stuelke’s field goal percentage figure from last season was down more than 10 percentage points as compared to her first two seasons on campus with Caitlin Clark helping create easy looks inside and in transition.In order to address those departures, Iowa added a pair out of the transfer portal to go along with its 2025 signing class. Now that next season’s roster has fully materialized, let’s take a look at a projected starting lineup and rotation.

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Iowa women’s basketball bench, rotation

A key cog for Iowa over each of the past three seasons, Hannah Stuelke will now be looked to for senior leadership and consistent production. The 6-foot-2 big needs to elevate her game in order for Iowa to be the best version of itself.

Iowa will need someone to handle the basketball that isn’t either Deal or Wright. Could Houston morph into that third ball-handler with the Hawkeyes’ second wave?Hannah Stuelke, 6-foot-2, Forward

Layla Hays was a four-star signee and the nation’s No. 71 player according to ESPN. Out of Wasilla, Alaska, Hays averaged 16.2 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game as a junior.Iowa is replacing a pair of starters in guards Lucy Olsen and Sydney Affolter and center Addison O’Grady who started 18 games last season and played in 136 during her Hawkeye career.

The 5-foot-4 guard started 12 games and played in all 33 with the Yellow Jackets last year as a freshman, averaging 7.2 points, 2.6 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game while shooting 37.1% from the field, 32.3% from 3-point range and 88.6% from the free-throw line.Taylor Stremlow started a pair of games and played in 32 during her freshman season in Iowa City. The Verona, Wisconsin, native registered a career-high 10 points and knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the Hawkeyes’ NCAA Tournament win over Murray State.Heiden played in 28 games last season, averaging 5.0 points and 2.6 rebounds per game on 56.1% field goal shooting and 70.5% from the free-throw line.Teagan Mallegni, 6-foot-1, Guard

Layla Hays, 6-foot-5, CenterThe Mater Dei High School product from California was ranked as ESPN’s No. 23 player nationally in the 2025 class. Though she could handle the point guard duties if called upon, Deal gets to play off ball to start thanks to the addition of Wright.Emely Rodriguez, 6-foot, Small Forward

Chazadi ‘Chit-Chat’ Wright, 5-foot-4, Point GuardThe 5-foot-9 guard averaged 6.7 points per game and shot 40.5% from beyond the arc last season.Can Journey Houston factor into the equation straight away? The 5-foot-11 guard from Davenport North was tracking to be one of the highest-rated players in the 2025 class before a knee injury ended the final half of her junior year and that AAU season.

Teagan Mallegni just capped her freshman season where she averaged 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game on 34.4% field goal shooting. The 6-foot-1 guard needs to up her 3-point percentage from 22.8%, but Mallegni did knock down at least a pair of 3-pointers in three contests.Kylie Feuerbach made the decision to return for the Hawkeyes and that’s huge for Jan Jensen and Iowa. A starter over the past two seasons, Feuerbach is one of Iowa’s defensive stoppers. The 6-foot guard led the Hawkeyes with 43 steals last season.Stremlow averaged 2.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 46.3% from the field and 30.8% from 3-point distance.

It was the ninth consecutive tournament in which Iowa earned a No. 6 seed or better. Iowa topped 11th-seeded Murray State before falling to host and No. 3 seed Oklahoma.Journey Houston, 5-foot-11, Guard