Heiden was easily Iowa's best player in 2026, establishing herself as one of the top centers in the country.
Iowa women's basketball head coach Jan Jensen is known as the "post whisperer" for a reason.
Megan Gustafson and Monika Czinano are just a few of the notable players that have benefited from Jensen's tutelage, and there's another one well on their way to greatness.
That player is Ava Heiden, of course.
Matching the achievements of both, especially Gustafson (the 2019 Naismith Trophy Winner), will be difficult, but it's certainly not out of the question.
Though Heiden is only two years into her college basketball career, her name has already appeared on late-season Naismith Award watchlists. Heiden's final two years with the Hawkeyes could be very special, but our focus right now is on the past.
Here's Heiden's 2025-26 season grade:
The rundown
Transitioning from associate head coach to head coach is far from easy, and one of the primary mistakes Jensen made in her first year as Iowa's head coach was not starting Heiden until later in the season. Her potential was through the roof as a freshman, which was later showcased in the first round win over Murray State.
Jensen didn't make that mistake this season. Heiden started all 34 games at center, leading the Hawkeyes in points (18) and blocks (1.3) per game.
While the rest of Iowa's roster ran into inconsistent stretches at some point in the season, the Hawkeyes knew what they would be getting from Heiden each night - dominant post play.
Heiden's opponents knew what they were about to face each night, but Heiden was simply unstoppable. Iowa's offense will always play through the post, and the 6-foot-4 Heiden was the perfect centerpiece to make it an effective system.
A sign of Heiden's consistency? She reached double figures in 31 out of the Hawkeyes' 34 games, which included eight double-doubles. Post players are expected to average at or near a double-double, but that's still pretty impressive considering opposing teams often had to bring a double team in the paint to slow Heiden down.
It's hard to point out one game that showcased Heiden's impact, but Iowa probably doesn't escape 15th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson in the NCAA tournament without Heiden. The Hawkeyes weren't making outside shots in this game and finally realized they needed to feed the post in order to win.
That strategy worked to perfection, as Heiden overwhelmed the smaller FDU lineup in the fourth quarter en route to a career-high 29 points.
Iowa shouldn't have needed that to beat Fairleigh Dickinson, but it shows the massive impact Heiden has for this basketball team.
Heiden has a fantastic future ahead of her in Iowa City. The sky is the limit.
Grade: A
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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 bradschultz@roundtable.io