Jensen produced one of the nation's best coaching jobs by guiding a young Iowa team to 27 wins and a No. 2 NCAA tournament seed.
It's been just over two years to the day since Jan Jensen succeeded her longtime friend and colleague Lisa Bluder as the sixth head coach in Iowa women's basketball history.
Enthusiasm around Hawkeye women's basketball was at an all-time high at this point due to the back-to-back national championship game runs engineered by Caitlin Clark, so there was a lot of pressure on Jensen to maintain what she and Bluder helped build for nearly a quarter century in Iowa City.
Losing Clark and other key members of those Final Four teams made the path to the top even harder for Jensen. Many expected the program to be an NCAA tournament participant for a few years as Jensen built a new core, but no one could've expected the turnaround to happen this quickly.
Iowa isn't just an NCAA tournament participant - it's already back in Big Ten title contention.
There's plenty of people that deserve praise, but we are going to place Jensen, the architect of the 2025-26 Hawkeyes, under the microscope for one final time this offseason before we turn our attention to 2027 and beyond.
Without further adieu, here's Jensen's 2025-26 season grade:
The rundown
The Big Ten coaches and media poll only released a preseason top five ranking. The media's top five was:
1. UCLA
2. Maryland
3. USC
4. Michigan
5. Ohio State
Outside of USC (finished 9-9 in the league), most of these teams were near the top of the standings with the exception of one team - Iowa.
The Hawkeyes came into the season ranked No. 21 in the preseason AP poll, but they didn't have massive expectations. Most of Iowa's key contributors would be sophomores, and many people (including some of the local media) thought the Hawkeyes were one year away from evolving from a talented young team to a bonafide Big Ten contender.
Instead of following the script, it was clear early on that Iowa was one of the Big Ten's best teams. Ava Heiden's dominant presence in the paint helped, but young guards like Chit-Chat Wright and Taylor Stremlow were also focal points of the offense.
By Jan. 29, the Hawkeyes weren't just hanging around in the Big Ten race - they were 9-0 and tied with No. 2 UCLA atop the standings. A three-game losing streak ultimately ended those regular season title hopes, but instead of pout, Iowa closed the season on a six-game winning streak to finish 24-5 overall and 15-3 in Big Ten play.
The Hawkeyes' postseason run ended in disappointing fashion - a 51-point loss to UCLA in the Big Ten tournament championship game and a shaky NCAA tournament performance that concluded with a bitter double overtime loss to 10th-seeded Virginia at home - but 2026 will always be remembered as a breakthrough season for Jensen's Iowa program.
Nobody expected the Hawkeyes to earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, but they did just that. Jensen didn't win national coach of the year, but she earned a well-deserved spot as a semifinalist for the award.
Contrary to what insane Iowa fans on social media say each year, Jensen can coach basketball. She's now got an experienced core returning next season along with a healthy batch of transfers that will only help the Hawkeyes challenge UCLA again.
You can't give Jensen anything but an A for this coaching performance.
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