‘Interchangeable’ duo: Iowa’s Ava Heiden, Hannah Stuelke capable of more than one role

IOWA CITY — Just call Ava Heiden a 4 1/2.

Hannah Stuelke, too.

Despite all of the outside hand-wringing about positional numbers for the 2025-26 women’s basketball season, Heiden isn’t concerned.

“I want to be interchangeable (between center and power forward),” Heiden said. “I think the hope is that Hannah and I will be together on the floor quite a bit.”

If Iowa is adhering to the theory of having the five best players on the floor, it will be more than quite a bit.

Stuelke, a senior from Cedar Rapids currently off with the USA Women's AmeriCup Team, leads the returning cast in both scoring (12.7 points per game) and rebounds (7.7 per contest).

Heiden, a sophomore, came on fast at the end of her rookie season. The Oregonian averaged 5.0 points per contest.

“I’m more relaxed now,” she said. “I feel more confident and I’m having a lot of fun.”

The 6-foot-4 Heiden closed practice Tuesday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena with an impressive offensive move, taking a pass from Kylie Feuerbach about 16 feet away from the basket, shot-faking two Gray Team managers off their feet, then driving to the basket.

It elicited squeals of delight from several of her teammates.

“I want more of what I did the last few games of last season,” Heiden said. “I was dominating on the block.

“But I also want to use more outside shooting, from the elbow, the short corner, expand to a deep two-pointer. I want to be consistent with that.”

In Iowa’s first-round NCAA win over Murray State last March, Heiden scored 15 points (13 in the first half) on 7-of-11 shooting.

Heiden and Stuelke both have the skill sets to face the basket, or to post up. Six-foot-5 freshman Layla Hays is a more traditional back-to-the-basket center.

“Coming from Alaska, it’s probably hard to find as much competition and size, but Layla’s doing great,” Heiden said. “She’s a social butterfly. She reminds me of Callie (Levin).”

The Georgia Tech connection

In less than a week in late April, the Hawkeyes got an assistant coach (LaSondra Barrett) and a transfer guard (Chit-Chat Wright) from Georgia Tech.

Barrett succeeds Raina Harmon, who took the head position at Florida Gulf Coast.

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“When Nell (Fortner) stepped down (as Georgia Tech head coach), it kind of left me open, and one of the first phone calls was a voicemail from Jan Jensen,” Barrett said.

“With my world kind of going crazy, it spoke a lot to me.”

A 5-foot-4 guard from Atlanta, Wright — the first name is Chazadi — averaged 7.2 points and 2.6 assists as a freshman.

“When I posted that I had committed (to Iowa), everybody congratulated me,” Wright said. “Everybody knows who Iowa is.

“Once (Barrett) signed, I thought, ‘OK, there’s a good chance for me there, too.’ Something about Iowa was attractive to me.

“I took my visit, I really loved it and I committed on the spot.”

Barrett’s scouting report on Wright:

“Her IQ is one of her underrated gifts. She has a big heart and a will to win.”

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com