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Iowa WBB Portal Checklist: Breaking Down Every Position Need

On3 imageby: Kyle Huesmann04/15/26HuesmannKyle

For quite some time, it seemed like the Iowa Women’s Basketball program might be immune to departures through the transfer portal. However, as we’ve found out, no program can run from the portal. Eventually there will be losses and they’ve hit the Hawkeyes this season, with five players entering their names alongside over 1,300 other players that are looking for a new home.

For the first time since the portal became commonplace, major additions to the Hawkeyes roster are needed, but they’ve gotten on the board with a couple of commitments. The latest being a commitment from Oklahoma State transfer guard Amari Whiting. As it currently stands, Jan Jensen and her staff are now up to eight players on the 2026-27 roster. They have a solid returning core, with four of their top six scorers back, led by future All-American center Ava Heiden. Still, if Iowa is going to compete for a Big Ten title and get back to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2024, they’ll need a bit more than eight players.

Current Roster (8)

Departures (9)

  • G Taylor McCabe (Graduation)
  • G Kylie Feuerbach (Graduation)
  • PF Hannah Stuelke (Graduation)
  • F Jada Gyamfi (Graduation)
  • G Addie Deal (Transfer Portal)
  • G Callie Levin (Transfer Portal)
  • G Kennise Johnson (Transfer Portal)
  • SF Emely Rodriguez (Transfer Portal)
  • F Teagan Mallegni (Transfer Portal)

HawkeyeReport breaks down the top needs for the Hawkeyes and what positions need to be filled…

COMPLETE: An off-ball guard that can be plug-and-play in the starting lineup

Georgia guard Dani Carnegie – Talk about a big-time addition. One of the best available players in the portal and she will be a Hawkeye next season. Rated as the #6 player in the portal by ESPN, Carnegie was a First Team All-SEC selection for the Bulldogs, averaging 17.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Not only does she fit the plug-and-play guard spot, but her 84 made threes were sixth-most in the SEC. Three-point shooting was a major need. She’s got the ability to attack the paint off the dribble, which was something Iowa lacked at times last season. This is an A+ addition by the coaching staff.

LINK: PORTAL TARGET BREAKDOWN: Georgia guard Dani Carnegie

1. A starter-caliber power forward

Status: OPEN

Although the Hawkeyes backcourt is not yet complete, the addition of Whiting has solidified it enough that it’s no longer the most pressing need on the roster. That doesn’t mean the backcourt won’t be completed first, but we’ve vaulted the power forward position to the top of the list. The Hawkeyes are set to bring in five-star forward McKenna Woliczko, and while she could come in and be the day one starter, we continue to hold the belief that a starter-caliber power forward to push for the starting job should be the aim here. With Hannah Stuelke and Teagan Mallegni gone and Journey Houston likely set to slide over to play the perimeter more at the 3, there’s currently no one to play the 4 with Woliczko, so an addition of some kind is needed.

Can they convince a young forward to join with Woliczko being a potential three or four-year starter? Can they convince a veteran forward to join and possibly come off the bench? HawkeyeReport is still trying to figure out the exact level of involvement from the staff, but Loyola-Chicago forward Alex-Anne Bessette could be a name to watch going forward.

2. A reliable contributor in the backcourt

Status: IN-PROGRESS

Oklahoma State guard Amari Whiting – This portal pickup isn’t exactly huge in the same sense that the Dani Carnegie addition was, but this is still a big-time land by the coaching staff. A three-year starter for BYU and Oklahoma State, Whiting joins a roster that already had three guards with starting experience, meaning that however the lineup shakes out, a Power 4 starter will be coming off the bench. That’s hard to do in the portal and NIL era. She had the best season of her career, efficiency wise, with OSU and will bring decent scoring, strong rebounding, solid facilitating and defense to the Hawkeyes. She’s never come off the bench, but her numbers point to her being a really good 6th player for Iowa, as the first guard off the bench.

The Hawkeyes backcourt has really taken shape over the last few days, but they still need to add one more good contributor before they turn their focus towards adding depth pieces. In terms of known targets, Western Illinois transfer Raegan McCowan is the obvious one, as she was on campus for a visit early this week. That would be the quickest way to finish out the six-player guard/small forward rotation that figures to include Wright, Carnegie, Stremlow, Whiting and Houston.

3. Depth pieces to fill out an 11-12 player roster

Status: OPEN

It seems to be very likely that next year’s roster will only have 11 or 12 players on it and it will still take 3-4 more portal additions to get to that number. The coaching staff can check all the above boxes with flying colors, which they have thus far, and these remaining spots will still have a bit more importance than you’d think. Looking back at last season, Taylor McCabe (14), Kylie Feuerbach (3), Chit-Chat Wright (3) and Hannah Stuelke (2) all missed games due to injury, as did Teagan Mallegni. It’s unlikely that the player that’s 11th or 12th on the roster gets any notable minutes, but it’s not impossible. The coaching staff has to get the roster to at least 11 players, but 12 players would be more comfortable. No names have emerged that would fit this role on the roster quite yet.

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