Iowa women's basketball's Jan Jensen named Naismith COTY semifinalist

After guiding the Iowa women's basketball (26-6, 15-3 Big Ten) to its sixth No. 2 seed in program history in just her second season at the helm of the Hawkeyes, Jan Jensen was announced as a semifinalist for the 2026 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year award. The native of Kimballton, Iowa, has further cemented her mark on the Hawkeyes' program this season by winning 24 games in the regular season, which is the second-most over the last 26 years, and reaching 15 Big Ten victories this year, which is also the most by a coach at Iowa in their second season.

One of the nation's very best 🤩 Coach @goiowa is a semifinalist for the Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year! pic. twitter.

com/zDFkRg6dcj — Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 19, 2026 Under Jensen's leadership, the program also netted seven AP top-25 victories, including five in the AP Top 15, both of which tied a school record in a single season. In the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament on March 7, Jensen picked up her 49th career win by defeating Michigan , which is the most wins by an Iowa women’s basketball coach in their first two seasons. Up next for Jensen and No.

2 seed Iowa is an NCAA Tournament first round matchup against No. 15 seed Fairleigh Dickinson (30-4, 18-0 Northeast Conference) on Saturday, March 21 at 3 p. m.