By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – With the start of the 2026 Iowa football season barely a month away, and with the heat index soon climbing back over 100 degrees, now might not seem like the right time to talk about college basketball.

But let’s do it anyway.

Over the past six weeks, the media was allowed to watch the Iowa women’s basketball team practice three times for approximately 30 minutes each time, while the Iowa men’s basketball team had two open practices for the media.

That adds up to about 90 minutes of observing and evaluating the Iowa women and about 60 minutes of observing and evaluating the Iowa men.

That probably isn’t enough time to do an in-depth analysis of either team, but predicting the starting lineup for both teams seems reasonable, because after all, it’s just a prediction.

So let’s start with the Iowa women’s basketball team, which has six newcomers on the roster and five returning players, led by All-Big Ten center Ava Heiden.

Iowa women’s 2026-27 projected starting five

Ava Heiden, 6-4, center, third year: The Sherwood, Oregon native developed into one of the top post players in the Big Ten last season, averaging 18.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.

She also led Iowa with 43 blocks.

Heiden runs the court with the speed of a guard, which separates her from most post players her size. She is a force in transition, scoring many of her points on fastbreak layups.

She needs to work on her medium-range jump shot, and if that part of her game improves, watch out because she’ll be even more difficult to guard.

McKenna Woliczko, 6-2, forward, first year: The former five-star recruit from San Bruno, California is versatile enough to play both forward positions. She can score near the basket with her length and she has a strong mid-range game.

She is also working hard this summer to add a 3-point shot to her arsenal.

And while she might struggle at times on defense as she adjusts to the college game, Woliczko’s ability to score at two of the three levels could be enough for her to start as a true freshman.

Taylor Stremlow, 6-0, guard, third year: The Wisconsin native saw action in all 34 games last season and started 18 of them to help guide the Hawkeyes to a 16-2 record when she was in the starting lineup.

She also finished the season with six or more assists in six out of the last seven games, and she recorded five or more assists in 14 games which was a team-best.

She can be careless at times with the ball, and her 3-point shot still needs some work.

But she’s a gifted passer with great court vision, and she also can get hot as a perimeter shooter.

Stremlow was competing with former five-star recruit Addie Deal for one of the starting guard spots last season. Stremlow ultimately won the competition as Deal only started three games and has since transferred to Wisconsin, presumably in search of more playing time.

Dani Carnegie, 5-9, guard, third year: Iowa head coach Jan Jensen describes the Georgia transfer as a “bucket getter” and that is exactly what Iowa needs; somebody who can get a basket under almost any circumstance and from all three levels.

Carnegie averaged 17.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game last season at Georgia and was a unanimous first-team All SEC selection.

She also entered the portal as the sixth-overall rated prospect, and she played her freshman season at Georgia Tech; along with Iowa point guard Chit-Chat Wright.

Wright’s presence at Iowa is one of the biggest reasons Carnegie picked the Hawkeyes.

Chit-Chat Wright, 5-4, point guard, third year: Speaking of Chit-Chat Wright, her performance as a point guard was one of the key factors in Iowa finishing 27-7 last season, including 15-3 in the Big Ten.

The Atlanta, Georgia native led Iowa with 70 3-point baskets last season while shooting a sizzling 44.8 percent (70-of-159) from behind the arc. She also finished second season on the team behind Stremlow with 138 assists last season.

Wright scored at least 20 points in five games last season and she had a career-high 12 assists against Minnesota.

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Iowa men’s 2026-27 projected starting five

Cam Manyawu, 6-9, forward, fourth year: The Kansas City, Missouri native started all 37 games last season as an undersized post player and finished second the team with 169 rebounds despite often being two or three inches shorter than his opponent.

But with the addition of 7-3 center Andrew McKeever from the transfer portal, Manyawu could shift to power forward, which is his more natural position.

He shot 63.1 percent from the field last season, making 101-0f-160 field-goal attempts. However, most of his baskets were from close range. His shooting range would have to improve as a power forward and he only shot 57.5 percent from the free throw line last season.

But as far as having more size on the frontline, Manyawu seeing more action at power forward would certainly help to address that concern.

Cooper Koch, 6-8 forward, third year: His play down the stretch was one of the key factors in Iowa advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time since 1987 season.

The Peoria, Illinois native finished second on the team behind former All-Big Ten point guard Bennett Stirtz with 66 3-point baskets last season. He also scored in double figures in 13 games, including five times in the final nine games, recorded one double-double and made 3-plus 3-pointers in seven contests.

Koch, who is the son of former Iowa player J.R. Koch, has worked hard this summer on expanding his offensive game while also adding strength to help with his rebounding.

Andrew McKeever, 7-3, center, fourth year: Iowa’s season had just ended minutes earlier with a loss to Illinois in the Elite Eight when Iowa head coach Ben McCollum said that his team had to add more size on the front line.

Enter Andrew McKeever, who at 7-3 is now the tallest player in program history.

McKeever appeared in 33 games with 10 starts as a redshirt sophomore at Saint Mary’s College last season, averaging 8.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He also had 28 blocks and 18 steals, and finished with a .500 field goal percentage (105-of-210) while shooting 62.8 percent (59-of-94) from the free throw line.

A native of Livermore, California, McKeever led the West Coast Conference in rebounding last season; compiling 302 rebounds in 33 games, including 125 on the offensive glass.

Tate Sage, 6-7, guard, second year: The Oklahoma native, who originally signed with McCollum at Drake, saw action in all 37 games last season, averaging 6.1 points and 2.1 rebounds in 16.1 minutes per game. He scored in double figures in eight games and had 8-plus points in 13 contests and at least five rebounds in four games.

He came on strong in the post season, scoring 10 points on 2-of-4 shooting in the Elite Eight against Illinois and a career-high 19 points in the Sweet 16 win over Nebraska, making 6-of-10 field goals and 4-of-7 3-pointers while also grabbing a career-high eight rebounds.

Sage has the size and versatility to play both shooting guard and small forward and he could probably even fill in at point guard if needed.

Kael Combs, 6-4, guard, fourth year: While the immense challenge of replacing Bennett Stirtz won’t fall on one player, Combs will be a key part of that transition.

He started 33 of 37 games last season, averaging 6.1 points, 2.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds. His 89 assists were also second-most on the team behind Stirtz’s 163 assists.

Combs played well on the biggest stage last season as he scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting with two 3-pointers and four rebounds in the NCAA Tournament First Round win over Clemson, with 11 of his 15 points coming in the first half. He also finished with a career-high six assists in the Round of 32 victory over top-seeded Florida.