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IOWA CITY — An Iowa women’s basketball career that began with ample hype and high expectations has ended rather abruptly for Addie Deal.
The Hawkeyes guard is entering the transfer portal after just one season with the program, she announced March 30 on social media. Originally ranked as ESPN’s No. 23 overall prospect in the 2025 class, the five-star’s signing initially signaled Iowa’s growing ability to appeal to players outside the Midwest. But Deal’s departure will now inevitably bring more scrutiny as Jan Jensen’s program absorbs its first significant blow of the transfer-portal era.
“Thank you to my amazing teammates, all the incredibly wonderful fans, my business partners and the Iowa City community for their support over my first year," Deal wrote in her farewell post. "I have learned a lot during my freshman season and look forward to continuing to grow as a result.
"Playing in the B1G Conference title game and making the B1G All-Freshman team will always be things for which I am so thankful. That said, I have made the very difficult decision to enter the transfer portal. Thank you to the staff at the University of Iowa. I will always appreciate my time here."
Deal finished her lone season in Iowa City having made three starts in 34 games, averaging 15.5 minutes, 5.1 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest. She shot 39% from the field and 30% from deep, mixing in flashes of potential with stretch of youth that became magnified given Deal’s recruiting stature.
The high mark of Deal’s season came with a 20-point outing in 32 minutes against Ohio State, a game in which Iowa secured a 91-70 win despite losing Taylor McCabe to a torn ACL in the first quarter. That injury opened the door to Deal’s three starts, which coincided with a trip back home on the Hawkeyes’ West Coast swing.
That trip didn’t materialize the way Deal envisioned. She scored three points over 38 total minutes in losses at USC and UCLA while going 1-for-9 from the field. Deal started Iowa’s first game back from that trip — a 91-85 home loss to Minnesota — but Taylor Stremlow replaced her in the starting lineup and remained there for the final 11 games.
Deal’s final game with the Hawkeyes produced zero points in just four minutes, as Iowa suffered a stunning home loss to Virginia in the NCAA Tournament’s second round. That was one of eight scoreless games Deal had to go with six double-digit efforts. The other five came against Evansville, Western Illinois, Penn State, Oregon and UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament title game.
Jensen mentioned multiples times throughout the season about the pressure Deal was under as a highly ranked prospect trying to find footing for one of the most visible programs in women’s college basketball. Jensen hope some of that would evaporate once Deal strung a few decent performances together in the middle of Big Ten play, which saw Deal put up 18 points in 20 minutes against Oregon three games before the Ohio State breakout.
However, the freshman’s contributions never really picked back up after coming out of the starting lineup. After lighting up the Buckeyes with the first 20-point outing of her career, Deal scored 42 points the rest of the season.
Still, it’s a bit surprising to see this finish as Deal’s ultimate freshman conclusion. Her parents moved from California to Iowa once Deal locked in with the Hawkeyes, aided by the fact her brother just finished his junior season with Grinnell College. Deal’s seesawing season always felt like typical freshman turbulence that would fade as more experience piled up.
Instead, Deal and the Hawkeyes will try again elsewhere. With now two roster spots open as a result of transfer-portal entries — and likely more coming — Jensen and company will need to be portal-active in their own right to bring in an addition(s) of substance alongside five-star freshman McKenna Woliczko.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa women's basketball loses Addie Deal to transfer portal
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The Hawkeyes guard is entering the transfer portal after just one season with the program, she announced March 30 on social media. Originally ranked as ESPN’s No. 23 overall prospect in the 2025 class, the five-star’s signing initially signaled Iowa’s growing ability to appeal to players outside the Midwest. But Deal’s departure will now inevitably bring more scrutiny as Jan Jensen’s program absorbs its first significant blow of the transfer-portal era.
“Thank you to my amazing teammates, all the incredibly wonderful fans, my business partners and the Iowa City community for their support over my first year," Deal wrote in her farewell post. "I have learned a lot during my freshman season and look forward to continuing to grow as a result.
"Playing in the B1G Conference title game and making the B1G All-Freshman team will always be things for which I am so thankful. That said, I have made the very difficult decision to enter the transfer portal. Thank you to the staff at the University of Iowa. I will always appreciate my time here."
Deal finished her lone season in Iowa City having made three starts in 34 games, averaging 15.5 minutes, 5.1 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest. She shot 39% from the field and 30% from deep, mixing in flashes of potential with stretch of youth that became magnified given Deal’s recruiting stature.
The high mark of Deal’s season came with a 20-point outing in 32 minutes against Ohio State, a game in which Iowa secured a 91-70 win despite losing Taylor McCabe to a torn ACL in the first quarter. That injury opened the door to Deal’s three starts, which coincided with a trip back home on the Hawkeyes’ West Coast swing.
That trip didn’t materialize the way Deal envisioned. She scored three points over 38 total minutes in losses at USC and UCLA while going 1-for-9 from the field. Deal started Iowa’s first game back from that trip — a 91-85 home loss to Minnesota — but Taylor Stremlow replaced her in the starting lineup and remained there for the final 11 games.
Deal’s final game with the Hawkeyes produced zero points in just four minutes, as Iowa suffered a stunning home loss to Virginia in the NCAA Tournament’s second round. That was one of eight scoreless games Deal had to go with six double-digit efforts. The other five came against Evansville, Western Illinois, Penn State, Oregon and UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament title game.
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Jensen mentioned multiples times throughout the season about the pressure Deal was under as a highly ranked prospect trying to find footing for one of the most visible programs in women’s college basketball. Jensen hope some of that would evaporate once Deal strung a few decent performances together in the middle of Big Ten play, which saw Deal put up 18 points in 20 minutes against Oregon three games before the Ohio State breakout.
However, the freshman’s contributions never really picked back up after coming out of the starting lineup. After lighting up the Buckeyes with the first 20-point outing of her career, Deal scored 42 points the rest of the season.
Still, it’s a bit surprising to see this finish as Deal’s ultimate freshman conclusion. Her parents moved from California to Iowa once Deal locked in with the Hawkeyes, aided by the fact her brother just finished his junior season with Grinnell College. Deal’s seesawing season always felt like typical freshman turbulence that would fade as more experience piled up.
Instead, Deal and the Hawkeyes will try again elsewhere. With now two roster spots open as a result of transfer-portal entries — and likely more coming — Jensen and company will need to be portal-active in their own right to bring in an addition(s) of substance alongside five-star freshman McKenna Woliczko.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa women's basketball loses Addie Deal to transfer portal
Continue reading...
