After Shateah Wetering entered the transfer portal, that opened up one scholarship for the Iowa Hawkeyes for next season.
With plenty of big names opting for new destinations, Hawkeye fans were hopeful one of them would be coming to Iowa City to team up with Caitlin Clark and co.
Unfortunately, it looks like the three biggest names will all be heading elsewhere. Louisville transfer Hailey Van Lith recently visited LSU, Stanford transfer Lauren Betts announced her transfer to UCLA and DePaul transfer Aneesah Morrow just named a top three that doesn’t include the Hawkeyes.
Though the Iowa Hawkeyes had previously contacted her, Morrow revealed her top three as LSU, South Carolina and USC.
TOP 3⭐️ pic.twitter.com/4ht3P9EBgJ
— Aneesah Morrow (@AneesahMorrow24) April 21, 2023
Both Morrow and Betts seemed to make a lot of sense for Iowa given the departure of Monika Czinano inside. One would think the draw to play and win with Clark would be a strong one.
So far, it hasn’t worked out that way for the Hawkeyes.
Morrow averaged 25.7 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists last season with DePaul. The Chicago native had 25 double-doubles last season.
Meanwhile, Betts was the top-ranked player in the 2022 class per ESPN. She averaged 5.9 points and 3.5 rebounds with the Cardinal last season in just 9.6 minutes of average floor time. The 6-foot-7 center shot 60.2% from the field.
Van Lith was sensational at Louisville, averaging 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. The way things are trending, it looks and feels like LSU might add both Van Lith and Morrow to go along with star forward Angel Reese.
There’s other names in the portal that Iowa could ultimately be attached to, but ESPN’s top three look like they are headed elsewhere.
As it currently stands, Iowa will have another talented team. It’s one that ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Creme already has on his way-too-early No. 1 seed line.
The Iowa Hawkeyes advanced to the national championship game in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Clark, the consensus National Player of the Year, returns alongside fellow starters Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall.
Hannah Stuelke and Addison O’Grady will be expected to contribute heavily in 2023-24 for the Hawkeyes as well.
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