As the women’s college basketball season looms, the excitement surrounding the future of Iowa has never been brighter, especially after the program welcomed 2026 five-star recruit McKenna Woliczko to campus over Labor Day weekend for an official visit.

With the 2025-26 roster boasting an elite group of newcomers, SB Nation tabbed Hawkeyes guard Addie Deal as part of their list of the country’s top eight freshmen to watch in the upcoming season.

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Deal arrived in Iowa City as part of Iowa’s 2025 signing class after the five-star combo guard ended her prep career at Mater Dei High School as the OC Register Girls Basketball Player of the Year after averaging an impressive 19.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 3.4 steals per game as a senior.

While acknowledging that freshman seasons in women’s college basketball can be unpredictable, they were enamored by the skill potential of the 6-foot guard.

A 6-foot, 5-star guard from California’s Mater Dei High School, Deal is ranked as the 23rd best recruit in her class by ESPN, but some services had her rated as high as the fifth-best overall prospect in the class. Deal was a highly sought after recruit, holding offers from the likes of Tennessee, North Carolina, Baylor and UCLA before signing with the Hawkeyes.

As a senior at Mater Dei, she was a McDonald’s All-American, a finalist for the Naismith High School Player of the Year, and surpassed 2,000 points for her career. She could be Iowa’s next star at combo guard, capable of creating good looks for her teammates and knocking down 3-pointers with ease. Sound familiar? – SB Nation, Mitchell Northam

While SB Nation alluded to Deal’s skills being similar to those of Hawkeyes legend Caitlin Clark, Deal will certainly have all the tools at her fingertips to author her own impressive collegiate entrance and to become one of the nation’s top freshman phenoms this season.

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In addition to Deal, rookies from fellow Big Ten foes USC and UCLA also made the list of eight, including Trojans’ guard Jazzy Davidson and Bruins’ forward Sienna Betts.

Iowa’s 2025-26 schedule gets underway with a nonconference date against Southern on Nov. 3.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women’s basketball star named among freshmen to watch