The third-year head coach met with the media on Thursday to discuss key summer topics and shared her thoughts on the NCAA's new five-year eligibility rule.
The college basketball season is still months away, but for Jan Jensen and Iowa women's basketball, it's already underway.
The Hawkeyes began summer workouts a few weeks ago, but Thursday marked the first practice that was open to the media.
Iowa will open three of its practices to the local media this summer, and once Thursday's practice concluded and the media took the floor for post-practice interviews, the realization that the grind is back set in for Jensen.
"Just can't believe it's already here. I texted one of my friends and said I've been searching for the off season, but hopefully I'll find it next year," Jensen said.
Though college basketball coaches don't get much of an offseason these days, Jensen was more than happy to address the media about her 2026-27 squad.
Here were the biggest talking points during her 24-minute media session:
Carnegie Makes USA Basketball Team
Georgia transfer Dani Carnegie was Iowa's prized acquisition from the transfer portal, but she isn't practicing with her new team right now because she qualified for the United States 3x3 Women's Nations League Team a few weeks ago.
Carnegie and Team USA will compete in the 2026 FIBA 3x3 Nations League Americas Conference from June 27-July 3, where they will play a rigorous schedule of games across the globe.
Jensen was pleased to see Carnegie make the team, but unlike previous Hawkeyes to play in this event like Caitlin Clark and Hannah Stuelke, Carnegie doesn't have prior experience playing in Iowa's system.
"That's hard when they're newer, because they don't really know the system at all, but Dani's a pretty good player. I think she'll pick up on it really, really quickly," Jensen said. "But that's the bummer part, but also a great part."
Though Carnegie is currently the only Iowa player playing games for Team USA this year, she wasn't the only Hawkeye to make the team. Star center Ava Heiden also tried out and qualified for the roster, but opted out due to the intense schedule that Jensen says causes a lot of "wear and tear" on the body.
"I think it was the wise choice," Jensen said. "She really wants to focus on adding some different weapons to her bag, and I think it's wise for that bigger body."
Physicality Will Wait
While the Hawkeyes return a lot of key players, there's a lot of new faces that have to learn Jensen's pristine offense this summer. Carnegie is one of them, but transfers Jocelyn Faison (Georgia), Bria Medina (Knox College), Amari Whiting (Oklahoma State), and incoming freshman McKenna Woliczko and Ella Stromdahl are still getting used to the system.
Preparing these players for the physicality that comes with playing Big Ten basketball isn't easy, but that's not the focus for Jensen and her staff right now. The summer plan instead is to focus on fine-tuning the fundamentals, because the physicality of the Big Ten simply can't be duplicated in practice.
"We'll get more physical as we go with scrimmaging. Our practice squads do a really nice job, but there's nothing like battling a Maryland - you just got to go through it," Jensen said.
How Does The Five-Year Rule Change Things?
The landscape of college athletics continues to change by the day, and the summer of 2026 has been no different. The NCAA has been proposing a five-year eligibility rule for student athletes, and that was finally approved on June 23.
There's a lot of programs that could benefit from this rule, but for Iowa, it's a gold mine. Chit-Chat Wright, Ava Heiden, and Taylor Stremlow could all have three more years of eligibility if they choose.
Heiden and Stremlow voiced their opinion on this during their media sessions, but how will this change how Jensen runs her program? Jensen hasn't thought of the long-term benefits just yet since the rule is only two days old - her and her staff are just focusing on adapting to it.
"I think I love it. Could be really good, and you could hold on to your team, but we're living in the most unique times, Jensen said. "I think everything is kind of a year by year basis. I think it's promising."
Other Notes
Jensen expects Carnegie to rejoin the team after the Fourth of July break, but it could be awhile before Medina and Stromdahl gain valuable reps in practice.
Per Jensen, Medina suffered a broken nose on the first day of practice and isn't practicing for a few weeks, but Stromdahl's case is far different. The Sweden native won't join the Hawkeyes until the fall because of not only the orientation protocol for international students, but she's also trying to make the Swedish national team.
"We're gonna have to catch her up, but hopefully we've done a good job laying down everything so she can mimic everything, and we've only got to see her on film, but from what I've seen, I think she'll pick things up pretty quick," Jensen said.
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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at [email protected]
