Per multiple reports, Iowa freshman guard Aaliyah Guyton is entering the transfer portal. Guyton played in 29 of Iowa's 34 games during the 2024-25 season, starting one (Iowa's 62-57 loss to Illinois in January).
Over the course of the 2024-25 season, Guyton averaged 4.7 ppg, 1.2 rpg, and 1.1 apg, while playing 16.3 minutes per game. Guyton shot 37.5% from the field during her freshman season and was especially sharp from 3-point range, converting 37.3% of her attempts from beyond the arc.
Guyton's shot did falter a bit at the end of the season -- she shot just 4-of-19 (21%) from the field in the final five games of the season, including a 2-of-9 (22%) effort from deep. Turnovers were also a problem for Guyton at times, as she averaged 1.7 giveaways per game in her 16 minutes action per outing. Still, while improvement on that front would be needed in the future, it wasn't necessarily an egregious amount of turnovers for a true freshman pressed into action against Big Ten competition.
Guyton arrived at Iowa as a celebrated member of the Hawkeyes' hyped 2024 recruiting class, which included four players ranked in the HoopGurlz's overall Top 100. Guyton, the daughter of former Indiana standout A.J. Guyton, was the second-highest rated prospect of the four at #58 on HoopGurlz, behind only Ava Heiden at #42.
A four-star prospect out of high school and the top-rated player in Illinois, Guy ton averaged 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists during her junior season at Peoria. Guyton's senior season was cut short due to an ACL injury; in light of that injury, her ability to recover and play as much as she did for Iowa in 2024-25 is impressive.
Guyton's departure, on top of the graduation of Lucy Olsen, does highlight the need for Iowa to add ball-handlers from the transfer portal. Iowa is bringing in five-star top prospect Addie Deal as part of the 2025 recruiting class, but expecting a true freshman to handle the majority of the ball-handling duties next season could be risky.
This departure is likely to open up further opportunities for a player like Taylor Stremlow, another freshman contributor who averaged 14.4 minutes per game and tallied 2.1 assists per game (against 1.6 turnovers per game). Iowa also recently hosted former Arizona guard Jada Williams on a visit as well
READ MORE: WBB Portal Profile: Jada Williams
Stay tuned to Hawkeye Beacon for continued coverage of Iowa women's basketball and the transfer portal.
