Houston developed into one of Iowa's most reliable players by the end of the season. The Davenport native is in line for a major role in 2026-27.
There's no question that Iowa women's basketball's 2025 recruiting class was one of most-anticipated classes in program history.
Five-star and McDonald's All-American Addie Deal headlined the class, but four-stars Journey Houston and Layla Hays also brought plenty of excitement to the loyal Hawkeye fanbase.
Now that the dust has settled and the class has played their first season, it's safe to say that Houston had far and away the best freshman campaign of the trio.
Here's Houston's 2025-26 season grade:
The rundown
Houston comes from an athletic family. Her mother played basketball at Nebraska-Omaha, and her father played football at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Basketball quickly became Houston's game, and she recorded 1,000 points in just two and a half seasons at Davenport North High School.
Houston earned five-star status by her junior season, but a season-ending injury that same year caused the five-star accolade to disappear. Stars or not, Houston came to Iowa City as a highly-regarded four-star prospect.
Houston immediately saw consistent bench minutes from day one, but as is the case with most freshman, the scoring didn't come until later in the season.
Once the balls started slicing through the twine, Houston blossomed from a scrappy bench player into a key scorer. Her breakout game came in a dramatic 85-78 overtime victory over Maryland on Jan. 22, where she recorded 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting.
Houston didn't always put up wild shooting nights, but she didn't have to be the go-to scorer for the Hawkeyes. All she needed to do was provide a spark off the bench, and there's no doubt that she did that. I joined the women's basketball beat in January, and every time I covered a game in person, Houston always made an impact in some way.
Improved free throw shooting (72%) and stretching her game to the perimeter will likely be two of the main focal points of Houston's offseason plan, but as long as she brings her mid-range game (which seemed to be automatic at times) with her to the 2026-27 season, that's a good sign for Iowa's chances.
You really couldn't have asked more of Houston in 2025-26. Her college career is off to a great start.
Grade: A
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