The summer practices have wrapped up, the new season’s on the horizon, and Iowa is all ready to shift focus to a new centerpiece. Straight from California, the black and gold saw a new commitment for 2025-26 back when Caitlin Clark still held the hopes of thousands to secure the title. A season has passed since the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer graced Carver-Hawkeye, but her name still echoes. This time, from the program’s probable future.

After an underwhelming first season under head coach Jan Jensen, the Iowa Hawkeyes are gearing up to bring back the elite success they witnessed a year ago. Under the spotlight? Addie Deal. The Mater Dei High School graduate is up and ready to take on the challenge about 1,800 miles away from home. And for the introduction, the Iowa WBB social media team had it ready for us.

In speaking about herself, Deal was asked about her favorite players to watch in the WNBA. And she did not shy away from naming her predecessor. “Caitlin Clark, obviously. Love her,” the freshman confidently shared. “She is amazing. I love watching her play.”

Well, Dawn Staley didn’t say, “She’s a generational talent. She can score from anywhere on the court. But more than that, she makes everyone around her better,” for nothing. Having her jersey retired by the program earlier this year, Clark needs no introduction on being an inspirational figure to look up to. But if you ask the freshman, who had reached out to Iowa even before Clark exploded in the college basketball scene, she’d pick a thing or two.

“How they are able to do like so many things. They are not just scorer. They are not just passers. They can rebound. They can do it all,” Deal explained, speaking about both Clark and Sabrina Ionescu.

After setting the scoring record and passing Temeka Johnson for the most career assists in NCAA tournament in her senior year, Clark kept up in the pros. She finished her rookie season with an average of team-high 19.2 points and league-high 8.4 assists. And after 13 games into her sophomore season, she has 3 triple-doubles to her name.

As for Sabrina Ionescu? The 4x All-Star is averaging 19.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 5.3 assists so far, playing for the defending champions. Moreover, Deal admits to have molded her game after the 2025 All-Star 3-point contest winner as an impact player herself. “I played for the Sabrina Ionescu AAU team. She was always a role model of mine looking up to her,” she revealed back in July. For someone who has toured the world with Nike this offseason in hopes of inspiring the next generation, this couldn’t get better.

Deal, on the other hand, is ready to take on the reins of Iowa. “She’s just well-beyond her years in a lot of things skill wise and as far as how she is vocally, how she takes coaching, how she can take something and put it right into action, she’s pretty far ahead in that regard,” assistant coach Abby Stamp says.

As Iowa gives it the next go without their generational talent, Caitlin Clark is far from the cheers her performances echoed.

Caitlin Clark uplifts spirits despite Fever adversities

The Indiana Fever has now confirmed that they will be missing a 3rd guard for the rest of the season. Tuesday morning, the team announced that Sophie Cunningham will be sidelined due to a knee injury– the guard later confirmed it to have been an MCL tear. Given the season she was having in August, consistent career highs and performances from the perimeter, it was no less than a heartbreak. But Caitlin Clark would not let the moment just pass by.

“Love you always, Soph,” she conveyed on Instagram, resharing the news.

With Cunningham joining Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald this season, the Fever signed Shey Peddy on a seven-day hardship contract. It’s a tough road ahead with the likes of Minnesota Lynx, Sparks, and Phoenix waiting to face the Fever. But this is a team that has prided itself on resilience all season long. So with Odyssey Sims settling in, Peddy on board, and Kelsey Mitchell in the best form of her career, as Stephanie White says, ‘do not count them out just yet’.