Going into the offseason, there were questions about how Iowa women's basketball would replace Lucy Olsen and what the back court would look like for the Hawkeyes in 2025-26. Consider those questions at least partially answered as of now. On Wednesday morning, Iowa picked up a commitment from Georgia Tech point guard Chazadi "Chit Chat" Wright out of the transfer portal.
Wright, a 5'4" point guard, played in all 33 games last year for the Yellow Jackets, starting 12. In those 33 appearances, she averaged 7.4 points per game, 2.6 assists per game, 2.2 rebounds per game, 1.2 turnovers per game, and 1.0 steals per game, while shooting 44.3% on two-point field goals and 32.3% from three-point range during her freshman season at Georgia Tech.
Wright is the first player that Iowa has landed out of the transfer portal, though she continues a recent trend of adding point guards via the portal. The Hawkeyes landed Molly Davis from Central Michigan a few years ago; the diminutive Davis turned into a key part of Iowa's rotation in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Last year Iowa picked up a commitment from Lucy Olsen out of Villanova; Olsen did a very good job of filling Caitlin Clark's enormous shoes as best she could, earning All-Big Ten first team honors and being selected in last week's WNBA Draft.
The departure of Olsen, as well as Aaliyah Guyton's decision to enter the transfer portal, left Iowa in major need of a contributor at point guard. The Hawkeyes pursued several other options in the portal before landing Wright, including former Arizona guard Jada Williams and UCLA guard Elina Aarnisalo, but found the correct fit with Wright.
Wright also joins Iowa less than a week after former Georgia Tech assistant coach LaSondra Barrett joined the Iowa coaching staff. That hire is already paying dividends and helping Iowa land a high-potential player at a position of significant need.
Stay tuned to Hawkeye Beacon for continued coverage of the offseason for Iowa women's basketball, including further work in the transfer portal, continued recruiting coverage, and much more.
