'I Loved Being A Hawk': Doyle Works Toward Next Challenge

Big Ten player of the year is hoping for WNBA call.

Kathleen Doyle was all about being a Hawkeye.

Her college basketball career, and Iowa’s season, came to an abrupt end when the NCAA tournament was canceled.

Now, the guard who was the Big Ten’s women’s basketball player of the year is ready for her next step into an uncertain future.

“I’m quarantining, and I’m training,” Doyle said in a phone interview. “Just trying to stay busy, stay ready for whatever happens.”

Doyle is expected to be selected in Friday’s WNBA draft, but when the season will start remains unclear as sports leagues remain shut down over concerns of the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

She would like to play professionally overseas, too, but there is uncertainty there as well.

“Definitely a lot of unknowns with everything going on in the world,” Doyle said.

Doyle averaged a career-high 18.1 points this season, finishing her career with 1,537 points, 13th most in program history. She had 706 career assists, which ranks second all-time at Iowa.

“These past four years have been so special,” Doyle said. “Playing college basketball has always been my dream, and I couldn’t have wanted anything more from this experience. I have met my lifelong best friends. I got to play for one of the best coaching staffs in the country, who really care about you as people and as players and who help you grow in every part of your life. I’m forever grateful for the experience.

“I wanted to compete for championships. I wanted to attend a great university that was competitive athletically. I got the best of both worlds. People at Iowa are amazing, and that’s what makes this experience special — people who care about you and support you. There have been so many amazing people who have helped me along the way that I will always be grateful for.”

Iowa went 23-7 this season, 14-4 in the Big Ten, staying in the conference title race until the final week.

The Hawkeyes lost their last two games, falling at Rutgers in the regular-season finale before losing 87-66 to Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament.

They were projected as being a top-16 seed overall in the NCAA tournament, which would have meant they would have been host to the first weekend, but never got the chance when the tournament was canceled.

“Obviously it didn’t end the way I wanted it to, the way my teammates and I wanted it to,” Doyle said. “But you just have to kind of go with it. The problem is a lot bigger than basketball, so we understand why it had to happen. It doesn’t make it hurt any less.

“The NCAA tournament is such an awesome experience we were really looking forward to. You work so hard for that opportunity. And the way those last couple of games ended, we didn’t want to go out like that. We were practicing really well, really hard, in the week leading up to the NCAA tournament. So it was pretty heartbreaking for it to end that way. We were really trying to make some noise.”

Doyle said she knew the odds of getting an additional year of eligibility, like athletes in spring sports that were canceled, were long.

“I tried not to get my hopes up too much,” Doyle said. “Playing college basketball was so fun, and I would have done it again in a heartbeat. I just didn’t want to get my hopes up. I loved being a Hawk.”

Now, Doyle will wait for a WNBA call on Friday. She is projected to go in either the second or third round of the draft.

For now, Doyle works in Iowa City.

“I’m just running,” she said. “I have a hoop I can shoot on. So I’m making it work.

“I want to play in the WNBA, hopefully, and then play overseas professionally. Definitely a lot of unknowns of what’s been going on in the world. I know it’s going to be at a whole new level than college basketball was. I strive to be the best I can be in every area of my life. I’m excited to take on a new challenge, and hopefully have some success at it.”