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Addison Deal ‘willing to do anything to help Iowa Hawkeyes win’
Courtesy: Addison Deal/Instagram

Addison Deal ‘willing to do anything to help Iowa Hawkeyes win’

IOWA CITY, Iowa (BVM) – Iowa women’s basketball commit Addison Deal is well aware of the online comments from fans hyping her up as the next Caitlin Clark for the Hawkeyes.

“Caitlin Clark 2.0,” fans write under her basketball highlights.

“I don’t mind the comments – they’re certainly compliments,” Deal said. “As much as I love Caitlin, I am my own person and I hope Iowa fans will love me for me.” 

The anticipation for Deal’s arrival in Iowa City is entirely warranted. As a five-star guard and the No. 18 player in the Class of 2025 by ESPN – (who was ranked No. 4 in the Class of 2020). Deal represents Iowa’s most significant national recruiting triumph of the Clark-driven era.

“There are high expectations (following Clark), but I’m not seeing it as pressure and I’m not stressing – I’m just using it as motivation,” Deal said. “Honestly, I’m just so excited and ready to be on that court and play.” 

Similar to Clark, Deal began playing basketball around 5 years old and started attracting attention from college recruiters as early as middle school.

“I would always follow my older brother Tanner around (who now plays basketball for Grinnell College), and so I got into basketball around the same time as him,” Deal said. “I played boys basketball until seventh grade, and that’s when I started to notice I was good. Colleges began to take notice when I was in sixth grade and I took my first college visit that year.”  

Addison Deal and her brother. (Courtesy: Addison Deal/Instagram)

Ultimately, Deal received over 25 Division-I offers, including from Ivy League schools. She verbally committed to Iowa during her junior year and officially signed in November.

This season, general public seating for Iowa women’s basketball is sold out for the second time in history. According to NCAA financial reports, revenue surged from $1.69 million in fiscal year 2022 to $3.8 million in FY2023 – and soon-to-be-released 2024 figures are expected to exceed that growth. Deal hopes to continue the momentum of success with her approach to the game.

I think it’s incredible seeing this huge wave of new women’s basketball fans, and I hope to keep that ball rolling by playing good basketball,” Deal said. “It’s so much fun to play and watch good basketball with high energy, scoring in transition, getting defensive stops and executing plays. I love to play fast in transition. I love shooting threes and finding my teammates on the full court. I play with a lot of energy. I love getting steals – they’re a momentum changer.” 

Deal also has her eyes set on something that Iowa women’s basketball has yet to achieve: a national championship.

“My goals at Iowa are to win the Big Ten – conference play and tournament,” Deal said. “And then, of course, the dream goal is winning March Madness. I am willing to do anything to help the Iowa Hawkeyes win.” 

Coaches at Iowa certainly see Deal as a winner, and they’ve actually been in contact with her since her freshman season.

“[New head coach] Jan Jensen was my main contact, so we became really close throughout the recruiting process,” Deal said. “She told me that my court leadership and hard-nosed style of play were a great match. [Former head coach] Lisa Bluder would compliment my passing, especially my full-court transition passing. [Assistant coaches] Raina Harmo and Abby Stamp always commented on me being a great culture fit and court fit at the one or two-guard DzپDz.” 

While many might assume Deal’s interest in the Hawkeyes stemmed from Clark, she explained that she actually “started watching Iowa prior to Caitlin’s freshman year.”

“My trainer and coach always told me that Iowa’s style of play fit my skill set, so I’ve been watching Hawkeyes women’s basketball ever since then,” Deal said… “I’m a huge Caitlin fan, and I love that she’s brought more attention to Iowa women’s basketball and just women’s basketball in general. Seeing her accomplish all that she has is really inspiring. I hope I can also inspire young girls that they can do anything with hard work.”

Deal’s dedication has resulted in an impressive high school career – amassing so far. She is currently in her senior season at Mater Dei High School (CA), which is ranked .

“My goal is to win the CIF regionals and the state playoffs,” Deal said. “We’re underdogs because there are so many talented teams and players in California, but I believe in our team. I think we have a really good shot at winning it all.” 

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