As the 2025-26 women’s college basketball season approaches, ESPN shared player comparisons for some of the game’s top 2026 recruiting targets, including two that have the interest of the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Coming off a year in which the Hawkeyes found their way back to the NCAA Tournament and notched a win, coach Jan Jensen continues to reload the roster with high-level talent. Iowa has transformed itself into a national player in the women’s college basketball recruiting world and is now among the favorites for the nation’s best.

Kate Harpring

The first of the two top prospects discussed was 5-foot-10 guard Kate Harpring, who attends Marist School in Atlanta, Georgia.

In her junior year, Harpring averaged a staggering 32.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 5.1 steals, 3.7 assists and 1.2 blocks per game, leading the War Eagles (29-3) to the Class AAAA state semifinals.

According to the article, ESPN compared Harpring to Florida State‘s senior guard Ta’Niya Latson based on her aggressiveness off the dribble and physicality at the rim that translates to superior scoring, rebounding, facilitating and 3-point shooting marksmanship.

Harpring is as aggressive as it gets off the dribble. Combine that with her physicality at the rim, and she looks a lot like Latson. Both score, rebound, facilitate and are respectable 3-point shooters.

Latson led the nation in scoring last year with 25.2 points per game and has already eclipsed 2,000 career points in college. She had a reputation early as a player who attacks the rim hard, then rounded out her game by adding shooting range. She also averaged more than four assists and steals rebounds per game last season. Both players create easy offense by forcing turnovers via their defense ball pressure. Harpring is a capable shooter – she averaged 19 points, 6 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the 3SSB league – but prefers drives and pull-ups, so her natural evolution will come from beyond the 3-point line, much like Latson. – Shane Laflin, ESPN

Harpring is a five-star and ranked No. 1 in the state, No. 1 among point guards and No. 1 overall in the 2026 class, according to 247Sports’ 2026 women’s basketball rankings.

Given her top ranking, Harpring holds 11 offers in addition to Iowa, including UConn, LSU, South Carolina and Notre Dame.

McKenna Woliczko

The second Hawkeyes recruit was McKenna Woliczko, who attends Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, California.

The five-star, 6-foot-2 wing is ranked No. 6 nationally by ESPN, On3 and 247Sports. According to 247Sports, Woliczko is the country’s No. 2 power forward and the No. 2 player from California. On3 rates Woliczko as the nation’s top shooting guard and as the No. 2 player from California.

Despite an ACL injury that ended her junior season, Woliczko has put up impressive numbers during her prep career. She averaged 20.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game during her freshman season and 22 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks per game with Archbishop Mitty during her sophomore campaign.

ESPN compared Woliczko to Baylor’s senior guard Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, highlighting her ability to play bigger than her size, aggressiveness on the glass, and confidence extending out to the mid-range, as well as her potential to improve her 3-point efficiency.

Although Woliczko has missed some time due to injury since the high school season, her effort and motor have left major impressions among recruiters. Both she and Littlepage-Buggs (6-1) play bigger than their listed size, as they attack the glass and refuse blockouts by defenders. They’re also nice shooters out to the extended mid-range, and are working to improve from deep.

But the prevailing similarity between these two players is their effort and willingness to do whatever it takes to win. Littlepage-Buggs averaged 15 points and 10.4 rebounds per game this season for the Bears. Woliczko was a double-double machine in high school as well, prior to injury. – Shane Laflin, ESPN

Regarding her recruitment, she named Iowa, Ohio State, South Carolina and USC as her final four on June 12. She scheduled her official visit to Iowa City for Labor Day weekend.

While the two Iowa women’s basketball prospects named among the 10 premier recruits named in the article will generate significant attention from competing schools, it is clear the Hawkeyes are not afraid to go toe-to-toe with the nation’s elite programs.

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