Ava Heiden Settling in at Iowa

Iowa Freshman Center from Oregon Fitting into New Environment

Iowa's Ava Heiden speaks with reporters on July 16, 2024 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo: Rob Howe/HN) /

Ava Heiden has learned to appreciate a lot of things about Iowa, ranging from the hospitality to thunderstorms.

Iowa’s 6-foot-4 freshman center has come a long way to experience things — it’s a little more than 1,900 miles from Sherwood, Oregon to Iowa City — and she’s experienced plenty since arriving on campus.

“Everyone here is super nice,” she said last week. “That’s one thing I noticed coming from the West Coast. It’s like, ‘Hey, let me hold the door for you.’ They’re nice (on the West Coast), but not at this level. It’s Midwest hospitality, it’s amazing.”

And then there are the thunderstorms. Heiden got to experience a powerful one last Monday when a big line of storms passed through the eastern part of the state.

“Oh, it was awesome,” Heiden said. “It’s like a running joke among the freshmen. In Oregon, we only have thunderstorms once a year, once every other year, so it’s my favorite weather phenomenon.”

Heiden recalled when on a trip with her club team to Louisville, Kentucky, “there was a big (storm),” she said. “And I was just sitting there in my hotel room watching it. It was awesome.”

So back to Monday’s storm…

“So last night I was just sitting in my dorm room, we got pizza, we watched The Bachelorette, too, and I just sat there and watched the rain,” Heiden said. “It was beautiful.”

She has one wish when it comes to her love of stormy weather.

“At the end of my four years,” Heiden said, “I want to see a tornado.”

So there’s that.

It has been, well, a whirlwind since Heiden has joined the Hawkeyes for summer workouts. Heiden has gotten an education into the Hawkeyes’ style of play under new head coach Jan Jensen.

“It’s been a lot for sure,” Heiden said. “Just a learning curve. My club team, Northwest Select, we played a very similar transition offense. There’s little things here I have to tweak. There’s muscle memory, but there are some things I have to switch around a little bit. It’s kind of unlearning, then relearning. There’s a learning curve, but I think I’m keeping up pretty well.”

One of the reasons why Heiden came to Iowa was because of Jensen’s reputation as a coach of post players. Heiden, ranked the No. 36 prospect in the nation by ESPN.com, averaged 17.2 points and 11.3 rebounds in high school, but she felt she could learn a lot from Jensen.

Heiden remembered the recruiting call from Jensen and then-head coach Lisa Bluder.

“Hour-long call, and it was amazing,” Heiden said. “(Jensen) and Coach Bluder wanted to talk to my parents and I was like, ‘Hey, that’s cool.’ They wanted to get to know me, but also my family, how we operate. Just making a connection to us, and it made me feel like family was a big part here.”

It’s why Heiden stuck with her commitment in May when Bluder announced her retirement and Jensen was promoted to head coach.

“If there was anyone I wanted to fit in (Bluder’s) place, it’s Coach J,” Heiden said. “She’s going to fill her shoes perfectly. She’ll serve the team well.”

For all the hospitality and lightning and thunder and all, Heiden is a long way from home, but she’s OK with that.

“I was open to everywhere,” Heiden said of the recruiting process. “My family and I are really close, so I knew it would be difficult (leaving). But they also want me to go explore, find new experiences. They’re not the type of family to hold back. They’re like, ‘Go, go find something new.’

“Iowa, it felt like home. The people here became near and dear to my heart, and so that made the transition better.”

The Hawkeyes do play at Oregon this season, and Heiden plans on hitting up all of her teammates for tickets.

She also plans on being a key part of Iowa’s rotation in the frontcourt.

“It would be amazing,” Heiden said. “But I want to serve the team the best I can. Coach J is the best — she’ll put me in the role she sees fit.

“But I’d like to (play). I want to be on the court, you know?”