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Iowa stars Lucy Olsen and Hannah Stuelke feature on Naismith Trophy watchlist

The hype around returning star Hannah Stuelke and Villanova Wildcats transfer Lucy Olsen continues in Iowa. Days before beginning their 2024-25 season, the Hawkeyes duo were named to the Naismith Women’s Player of the Year award watch list on Monday.

The two are named to a group of 50 players across the Division I circuit projected to contest for the award. Some of the other players on the list include USC Trojan’s JuJu Watkins, UNC’s Alyssa Ustby, LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson and 2021 Naismith Award winner Paige Bueckers.

The award is presented to the most outstanding player within the college circuit. As the season progresses, the watch list will be narrowed down to a handful of players. A panel of head coaches, NCAA administrators and certain media names will select the winner next year.

Lucy Olsen was the third-highest scorer behind Watkins and Caitlin Clark. She averaged 23.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.9 steals last season while making 43.8% of her shots. As a result, she earned an All-BIG EAST selection and BIG EAST Most Improved Player alongside All-American honors by WBCA and AP.

Hannah Stuelke is coming off a breakout season in her sophomore year, posting 14.0 ppg and 6.6 rpg on a commendable 62.7% from the field and 50% from the 3-point line. She also earned a second-team All-Big Ten induction from media and coaches.

What will be Hannah Stuelke and Lucy Olsen's roles at Iowa?

While fans are excited to witness where Hannah Stuelke’s potential will take the Hawkeyes, they are also looking forward to Lucy Olsen’s impact.

When she initially joined Iowa, the guard was eyed to mimic Caitlin Clark’s effect on the roster. However, Jan Jensen quickly diminished all notions around that, paving the way for Olsen to bring her unique skillset to the floor.

"She kind of reminds you of a running back that's small, and they're kind of hard to tackle,” Jan Jensen said earlier this month. “And you think, ‘How is that guy, getting through that backfield?' And that's how Lucy Olsen is."

Former coach Lisa Bluder touched on Hannah Stuelke's potential impact this year on the B1G Tailgate last weekend. She said Stuelke's efficiency and constant growth will allow her to be one of the leaders at Iowa.

"Yeah, well, you can't talk about this year without talking about Hanna Stuelke," Bluder said.
"What a great opportunity she has as only a junior. And then, senior Sydney Affolter, oh my goodness, just came into her own last year, was in the All-Big Ten Tournament team when we won the championship and just playing so well. So, I think those two are really gonna lead us."

Hanna Stuelke is a difference-maker in plenty of areas on the floor, be it defense, boxing out or initiating toughness. Experts believe her biggest challenge this season will be to maintain high efficiency on high-volume attempts.

Lucy Olsen is a mid-range maestro, with plenty of tricks to get to her spots. As the Division I world makes notice of that, it remains to be seen how much she can still execute with the Hawkeyes.

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