Iowa Women’s Basketball Reloads With Six Newcomers as Big Ten Arms Race Intensifies

IOWA CITY — The Hawkeyes enter the 2026-27 season ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press preseason poll, but the number obscures a more significant storyline: a near-total roster reconstruction built almost entirely through the transfer portal.

Six newcomers — four transfers and two freshmen — will join four returning players when Iowa opens practice this week. The overhaul comes after a 27-7 season that ended at No. 16 nationally and marked the program’s fourth NCAA Tournament hosting assignment in five years.

The incoming class includes fourth-year guards Amari Whiting and Bria Medina, third-year guard Dani Canegie, and second-year wing Jocelyn Faison. Freshmen Ella Strömdahl and McKenna Woliczko round out the group. Woliczko already appears on ESPN’s freshman impact rankings.

They join returnees Chit-Chat Wright, Ava Heiden, Taylor Stremlow, and Journey Houston — a core that helped Iowa climb from a No. 21 preseason ranking last October to a season-high No. 7 before finishing 15-3 in Big Ten play.

The roster churn reflects a conference-wide arms race. The Big Ten placed nine programs in the preseason top 25, led by No. 3 USC and No. 5 Michigan. UCLA sits at No. 11, Washington at No. 16, Minnesota at No. 17, Ohio State at No. 18, Maryland at No. 20, and Illinois at No. 23. Nebraska, Michigan State, and Oregon also received votes.

South Carolina (No. 1) and UConn (No. 2) remain the national standard, but the Big Ten’s depth creates a gauntlet unlike any other conference. Iowa’s 492 polling points place the Hawkeyes comfortably inside the top 10, yet just 50 points separate them from No. 11 UCLA.

Head coach Jan Jensen, entering her second full season, addressed reporters at media day Tuesday inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The program’s first preseason top-10 placement since the 2023-24 campaign — when Iowa opened at No. 3 — suggests the portal strategy has maintained continuity despite roster turnover.

The full preseason AP Top 25 features Duke at No. 4, Texas at No. 6, Louisville at No. 7, Vanderbilt at No. 8, and LSU at No. 9 rounding out the top 10 ahead of Iowa. North Carolina, Notre Dame, Kentucky, and TCU follow at Nos. 12-15.

Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and NC State complete the ranked portion. Nebraska leads the receiving-votes category with 47 points, followed by Arizona State (36), Baylor (31), and Virginia (30).