3 Iowa women's college basketball players to watch out for in the 2024 season ft. Hannah Stuelke

The Iowa Hawkeyes have had unprecedented success in the past two years led by irrepressible star Caitlin Clark, who departed for the WNBA via the draft in April. They lost a lot of experience with the departure of Clark and Kate Martin to the WNBA, heralding the start of a new era.

Not only did they lose players, but they also lost longtime coach Lisa Bluder, who announced her retirement a few weeks ago, paving the way for associate head coach Jan Jensen to get promoted to the top job.

So, which are the three Iowa players whom Jensen will look to to help tip off her Hawkeyes tenure?

#3, Jada Gyamfi

Junior forward Jada Gyamfi has been the glue of the new era of the Iowa Hawkeyes, constantly shuttling between supporting her former teammates and welcoming new recruits, and will be a key member of coach Jan Jensen's dressing room.

Gyamfi did not play much last season, averaging 4.1 minutes and registering 1.4 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.2 assists in 20 games. With the mass departure of experienced players, Gyamfi is bound to get more minutes, which should see an uptick in her production.

#2, Hannah Stuelke

Junior forward Hannah Stuelke is possibly the only Iowa player who occasionally upstaged Caitlin Clark during her remarkable three-year run. Most notably, there was a career-high 47 points against the Penn State Nittany Lions when she introduced herself to the world in February.

After she scored 23 points in the Hawkeyes' narrow 71-69 win against the UConn Huskies in the 2024 Final Four, Stuelke got the stamp of approval from Clark during her postgame news conference.

"I think Hannah's tremendous. I think it's just the confidence and belief," Clark said. "She played with an energy about herself of she really could go in there and dominate. She goes toe to toe with Aaliyah Edwards, who in my mind is one of the best players in the country. I'm just super happy for Hannah. She's worked so hard to be in this moment."

Stuelke averaged 14.0 ppg on 62.7% shooting (50.0% from beyond the arc), 6.6 rpg and 1.2 apg last season.

#1, Lucy Olsen is the Iowa player to keep an eye on

Lucy Olsen is a transfer from the Villanova Wildcats who was the No. 3 scorer in the country behind only USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins and Caitlin Clark. She was even dubbed the "new Clark" in some quarters.

Olsen summarized her position on the comparisons with the Indiana Fever rookie during an interview with the Des Moines Register.

“Caitlin Clark is Caitlin Clark. I’m not going to try to be her,” Olsen said. “But they need a point guard, and it’s a perfect opportunity to try to make something happen.”

Olsen averaged 23.3 ppg on 43.3% shooting (29.4% from beyond the arc), 4.8 rpg and 3.8 apg.

Iowa Hawkeyes coach Jan Jensen seems to have a strong and experienced core to rely on as she attempts to sustain the highs of the past few years with new faces on the roster amid the personnel losses suffered by the program.