Top 3 players Iowa's Jan Jensen could target in the class of 2026 ft. Amari Byles
Jan Jensen took over the Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball coaching role after Lisa Bluder announced her retirement in March. Jensen worked with Bluder for 24 years and is already a renowned face in Iowa's program. With that, despite the coaching change, she brings a certain stability to the program.
One of those signs was that Jensen, unlike most coaching switches, didn't choose to initiate a major shakeup in the roster. Nevertheless, Jensen will soon need to begin recruiting for the coming years.
With that, let's look at the players Jan Jensen could target from the talent pool of 2026:
Players Jan Jensen could target in the class of 2026
#1 Brooklyn Hall
The four-star prospect is an athletic six-foot versatile player who can play point and shooting guard.
He has good fundamentals on her jumper and likes to be aggressive in fastbreak situations. Her long wingspan helps her clog passing lanes, disrupt ballhandlers and come up with surprising blocks near the paint.
Her game is similar to her elder sister Bree Hall from the reigning title holders, the Carolina Gamecocks. Brooklyn is expected to soon become a five-star prospect like her sister, especially with nearly two years of growth ahead of her.
#2 Amari Byles
Amari Byles is another four-star prospect climbing the high school charts Jan Jensen could target.
The six-foot-two guard can play almost every position right now but will mostly operate in the backcourt on a bigger level. Byles is comfortable with the ball in her hands and has a variety of dribble moves to get into the lane and finish with either hand.
Byles can also lose defenders by getting quickly into her pull-ups and already shows significant fade in her jump shots, enabling her to confidently sink some from the post. She plays with sophomore standouts Kamora Pruitt and Rieyan DeSouze at DeSoto.
#3 Brooklyn Renn
Indiana’s own Brooklyn Renn is one of the state’s best recruits and is already in the Hawkeyes recruitment cycle through the Indiana Futures initiative.
The six-foot-two player likes to operate near the basket but has enough handles to explore the open court. Nevertheless, she doesn't shy away from the 3-point line and can decisively use her off-hand under the basket.
Unlike the others on the list, Renn would bring a more thought-out approach to the court for Jan Jensen.
Rather than her athleticism, Renn consistently uses head movements or baits defenders by showing the ball. On defense, she anticipates the offense and likes to re-position herself before using her size to erase shots.