“Lot of new”: Iowa star Kylie Feuerbach gives insight on post Caitlin Clark, Lisa Bluder era at Iowa
Kylie Feuerbach has been part of one of the most special eras in the Iowa Hawkeyes' women's basketball history. As part of the Hawkeyes' rotation, she had the best seat in the house to watch Caitlin Clark and veteran coach Lisa Bluder make the Hawkeyes one of the strongest women's basketball programs in the last few years.
After leading the Hawkeyes to the NCAA Tournament final for the second straight season, Bluder announced her retirement. The Indiana Fever made Clark the top overall pick in this year's WNBA draft, bringing down the curtains on one of the most iconic eras in Hawkeyes history.
On Fresh Tawk with Jada Gyamfi, Kylie Feuerbach revealed her excitement for the new era that will be led by Bluder's successor Jan Jensen.
"Obviously the new coach, or well, same coach. But new coaches, there’s a lot of new!
"Everything has been meshing just really well, so I’m just really excited. Just lots of new opportunities, new is like the keyword here. New, but I’m excited for all of it."
Kylie Feuerbach keen to take on new competition in Big Ten conference
This year, the Oregon Ducks, UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans and the Washington Huskies will join the Big Ten conference. That looks set to make the conference more competitive, which Feuerbach admittedly is looking forward to.
"I think it’ll be really fun, and I’m excited to play some new teams too," said Feuerbach.
"You’re getting exposed to different people over the years, like, now with the Big Ten teams we’ve been playing, we kind of know who’s on their team. Here and there, they will have a couple of new players, or sometimes they have a completely new team. But, having like, literally new teams is going to be really fun."
After missing out on the 2022-23 season due to injury, Kylie Feuerbach returned with a solid 2023-24 season as part of the Hawkeyes' rotation. In 38 games, she averaged 14.1 minutes, 2.7 points and 1.3 rebounds.
The loss of Clark and some of their top stars through the WNBA draft and the transfer portal could see Feuerbach get more game time in the new era of Hawkeyes women's basketball. Feurbach is likely to be a regular feature in the backcourt alongside Lucy Olsen, who transferred to Iowa after three successful seasons with the Villanova Wildcats.