Jan Jensen Has Honest Post Caitlin Clark Iowa Evaluation Before NCAA Tournament
Former Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball head coach Lisa Bluder announcing her retirement after the 2024 season made it clear that a new era was dawning upon the program. Combine that with generational superstar Caitlin Clark (plus her partner in crime Kate Martin) leaving for the WNBA made it so new head coach Jan Jensen had a tall task ahead of her for the 2025 season.
Jansen went on to lead the Hawkeyes to a 22-10 record during the regular season and Big Ten Conference Tournament, which was enough to secure them a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Jansen spoke with the media on March 17 and got honest about how she thinks her first season as head coach went.
"I knew the job was going to be hard. But the knowing and the going through were definitely challenging," Jansen said, per an X post from Blake Hornstein of Hawkeye HQ. "But I think that it has been a success, because I think the bar... was incredibly high, and it was incredibly fun. And the fact that our fanbase held... it was a lot like last year. Unless, when people started to realize Caitlin was done, there wasn't as many non-conference games that didn't show up."
She later added, "Overall, where this program ended last year, with who we ended it with, including a couple of GOAT's with Lisa and Caitlin? I feel like I'm happy about that... But when I'm subjective, I think if I can look at it as just a general person... I think it was a pretty good year."
Jan Jensen was asked to give a self-evaluation on her season as head coach
— Blake Hornstein (@BlakeHornTV) March 17, 2025
She discusses meeting the standard that she helped create, engaging with the fanbase, and being her own worst critic:
"When I'm subjective... I think it was a pretty good year..." pic.twitter.com/HwYvYDniiX
Jensen and her Hawkeyes squad have an opportunity to make this season even more of a positive with a good showing in the NCAA Tournament.
Recommended Reading:
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.