Top Iowa sports story in 2023 was kind of obvious

This was easy. A no-brainer, as some like to say.

When looking back at the top stories of 2023 — which we media folks like to do each year at this time — the top story in Eastern Iowa was pretty obvious.

It’s definitely the top story across all of Iowa, too, maybe across the Midwest and the quite possibly in all of the Big Ten Conference — from coast to coast.

The Iowa women’s basketball team went from good, to great to downright enchanting. You couldn’t take your eyes off this team, either in person or on TV.

Led by GOAT Caitlin Clark — player of the year seems like it doesn’t quite capture her stature — Iowa went 31-7, finished second in the Big Ten regular-season standings, won the conference tournament (again), then reeled off five NCAA tournament wins — including a memorable, 77-73, win over South Carolina in the semifinals — before falling to LSU in the national title game.

Along the way, there were many thrilling moments, like the regular-season-ending, 86-85, victory over Indiana on a Clark prayer.

The thing is, these wins were only part of this wonderful story. They were an important part, of course, but it was the way Lisa Bluder’s team captivated its fans and how this program elevated women’s basketball to new heights.

Even more important was it generated more fans — and not only in Iowa.

This season sold out soon after tickets became available. The team drew 55,646 fans to Kinnick Stadium for an exhibition game against DePaul in October, dubbed the “Crossover at Kinnick.”

The team stands No. 4 in the country right now, is 13-1 and has won 10 in a row after Saturday’s victory over Minnesota.

And we’ve barely mentioned Clark — the engine who makes this team run so smoothly. She won every major award available last season and is leading the country in scoring right now.

But her numbers, too, only tell part of her story. The way she plays the game, with a brash playfulness, is mesmerizing. She’s good, she knows she’s good, yet still plays like a kid having the time of her life dribbling, passing and shooting.

She alone has helped women’s basketball become more relevant everywhere, especially when the Hawkeyes come to town. Arenas that usually sit half empty are selling out because people want to see her do what she does.

It’s been an enjoyable ride that continues to this day. This story still is being told, and may get even better.

While the Iowa women’s basketball run was an easy choice as the “story of the year,” there were many compelling stories in Eastern Iowa in 2023.

Here are the others, in no particular order:

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* The Hawkeye football team won 10 times and played in the Big Ten championship game despite its offense being the worst in the country and its offensive coordinator — and head coach’s son — getting canned midway through the season by the interim athletics director, his interim boss. But Brian Ferentz has kept that job until after Monday’s bowl game.

If Iowa can beat a depleted Tennessee team in the Citrus Bowl, it will be among a select few with 11 wins in 2023. Odd, indeed, but what a success story for the players.

* The Iowa State football team, led by a first-year quarterback, went from 4-8 in 2022 to 7-6 in 2023 after Friday’s loss to Memphis in the Liberty Bowl. Matt Campbell continues to do fantastic work in Ames.

* And the Iowa and ISU teams were rocked by the gambling scandal that engulfed the state — and only this state — when players in a variety of sports were suspended or ruled ineligible to compete.

The Iowa men’s wrestling team may have been the hardest hit, losing several of its returning starters.

* Speaking of Iowa wrestling, another top story in 2023 was Spencer Lee falling in the NCAA tournament in his quest to become Iowa’s first four-time national champ.

Healthy now, Lee has bounced back recently, winning a U.S. Senior Nationals freestyle title in his run for a 2024 Olympics berth.

* Wrestling also had a milestone year. The first season sanctioned by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union took place with lots of new wrestlers and new teams and the state tournament at Xtream Arena in Coralville and was a huge success.

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* The Iowa women’s wrestling team also got its first official season started and the Hawkeyes have not disappointed. They are ranked No. 1 — can they be 1 and 2? — and have been dominating their competition.

* Another big story among colleges in Iowa was the expansion of the Big Ten (to 18 teams) and Big 12 (to 16). Those football and basketball schedules will look a lot different in 2024 with cross-country trips galore. Iowa play a regular-season football game in Pasadena, Calif., ISU in Salt Lake City, Utah.

* Among the top high school stories of the year is the success at Williamsburg. The Raiders won three straight state titles to close out 2023 — boys’ track and field in the spring, softball in the summer and football in the fall.

* The Cedar Rapids Kernels also reached rarefied air, winning the Midwest League title in the fall.

* And let’s not forget a couple of national stories with Iowa ties.

What former Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy has done with the San Francisco 49ers is remarkable. He’s gone from Mr. Irrelevant — the last person taken in the 2022 draft — to in the conversation for NFL MVP in 2023.

Another former Cyclone, Tyrese Haliburton, has become a rising star in the NBA, leading the Indiana Pacers to the championship game of the inaugural In-Season Tournament.

And Cedar Rapids’ own Murray brothers are NBA twins — Kris a first-round draft pick of the Portland Trail Blazers in 2023, a year after his brother, Keegan, was picked fourth by the Sacramento Kings. Keegan made the All-Rookie team in 2023 and recently dropped 47 points in a game that included 12 3-pointers, including an NBA record 11 in a row.

Now let’s sit back and enjoy the last day of the year — and anticipate what 2024 will bring.

Happy New Year.

Comments: (319) 398-5861; jr.ogden@thegazette.com