3 underdogs who committed to Jan Jensen's Iowa in 2024 ft. Teagan Mallegni

Despite Jan Jensen’s quest to continue a culture Lisa Bluder left behind, a new era is upon the Iowa Hawkeyes. The entire program is going through a learning curve under the new leadership. Part of those struggles also come through the fresh faces in the lineup as transfer guard Lucy Olsen grips the offensive load for the squad.

Additionally, five freshmen feature on Iowa’s 2024-25 roster. With that, let’s look at three players who could surprise by marking an unwarp graph through their time on the court.

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Three underdogs at Jan Jensen's Iowa Hawkeyes in 2024

#3 Aaliyah Guyton

A large chunk of Guyton’s presence has been marked by her injury. The guard suffered an ACL injury around last Christmas and has taken on the role of being an emotional and mental supporter of the crew in action. Moreover, she's also taking notes from the sidelines.

The talented five-foot-eight guard has a great upside to be Lucy Olsen’s backup point this season, that is when she recovers 100%. However, time's ticking, as her role could change next season with the incoming talent classes Jan Jensen expects for the coming years.

#2 Teagan Mallegni

Fomer coach Lisa Bluder liked bigs who could shoot the ball and was not shy of deploying many of them on the court. Mallegni brings the same skillset to Jan Jensen. Moreover, she can take it to the paint, shoot it off the catch, pull up in transition and has decent range in her shot.

Additionally, she's not shy of taking it to the rack and garnering opportunities to the free throw line. Mallegni also adds positional versatility. Being able to play the two, three and four, she can different roles on multiple lineups.

#1 Ava Heiden

The four-star 36th-ranked recruit in the 2024 class aims to make an impression following her hard work at Iowa.

Ava Heiden likes to run up and down the floor, creating possible scoring opportunities or making an extra pass. After all, her decision to travel from Oregon to join Jan Jensen’s Hawkeyes was the potential she sees to grow as a player.

Even though Heiden’s commitment came when Bluder was spearheading the Hawkeyes, she cultivated a connection with Jensen during her recruitment process.