Top 5 WNBA players of all time who played for Iowa Hawkeyes ft. Caitlin Clark
The Iowa Hawkeyes has given many great players to the WNBA, with the latest being Caitlin Clark. Their best era was with Lisa Bluder, who coached the team for 24 years, only announcing her retirement this year.
She led Iowa to two NCAA finals. Despite making it to the finals, Iowa hasn't won any NCAA title to date.
In their history, Iowa has made it to the NCAA tournament 21 times. Out of those appearances, they have been to 10 Sweet Sixteens, six Elite Eights, three Final Fours, and two championship games.
In this article, let's have a look at the top five players produced by Iowa for the WNBA.
Top 5 WNBA players of all time who played for the Iowa Hawkeyes
#5. Tangela Smith
Tangela Nicole Smith, hailing from Chicago, Illinois, played for Iowa for four seasons from 1994-1998. In her last season for them, Smith averaged 19.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game and was one of the best for Iowa. She went to George Washington High School and was honored with High School All-American honors by WBCA.
Until 2019, she was the number three in blocks for Iowa. Other than that, she was seventh in rebounds and 10th in points. In the 1998 WNBA draft, she was picked by the Sacramento Monarchs 13th overall. Later, she played for other WNBA teams like the Charlotte Sting, Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever.
#4. Samantha Logic
Samantha Logic played for Iowa for four seasons and is now serving as the assistant coach for the University of Oregon. In her last season at Iowa, she averaged 13.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game. She also made it to the First-Team All-Big Ten in 2014 and 2015.
Hailing from Racine, Wisconsin, she was drafted as a 10th overall pick in the 2015 WNBA Draft by the Atlanta Dream. However, she was later traded to the San Antonio Stars.
#3. Tia Jackson
Tia Jackson exhausted her college eligibility with the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1990-1995 as a forward under Vivian Stringer. She averaged 13.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. However, her best stats came in the 1993-94 season when she averaged 16.8 points per game.
As a player, she was an honorable mention in the All-Big Ten twice. In the 1997 WNBA Draft, she was selected No. 9 by the Phoenix Mercury. However, she only played one season in the WNBA because of injuries. She is currently the assistant coach for the Duke women's basketball program.
#2. Toni Foster
Toni Foster was a forward for the Iowa Hawkeyes for four seasons (1989-1993). She played 119 games for the program and averaged 13.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 53.4 percent from the field. She led Iowa to the NCAA tournaments in every season she played in and as a part of the program's first Final Four appearance.
Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, she was selected as the eighth overall pick, before Tia Jackson, in the 1997 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury where she played for three seasons and averaged 6.5 points per game.
#1. Caitlin Clark
Caitlin Clark was the best player ever to play for the Iowa Hawkeyes. She took women's basketball to another level by attracting so many eyes due to her record-breaking performances. While playing for Iowa, she became the top scorer in Division I basketball for both men and women.
She was a scoring machine for Iowa and averaged a stunning 31.6 points per game in the 2023-24 season, taking her collegiate career tally to 3,951. She also secured 8.9 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game in the same season for them.
In the 2024 WNBA Draft, she was a clear No. 1 pick in every mock draft and indeed, was picked No. 1 by the Indiana Fever with an expectation to now take WNBA to the another level.