Fresh on the heels of Caitlin Clark's ascension to superstardom, Iowa women's basketball may have found its next — ahem — Big Deal.
2025 guard Addison Deal, of powerhouse Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes Tuesday afternoon. Deal first visited Iowa in 2022.
A six-foot guard, Deal is widely regarded as one of the top prospects in the 2025 class, regardless of state or position. She ranks fifth overall in Prospect Nation's Class of 2025, and 12th in ESPN's list of the Top 60 recruits in the Class of 2025.
After committing, Deal also reposted a video of her playing at Iowa's gym:
What To Expect
With Caitlin Clark set to graduate and (in the worst-kept secret in sports) take her talents to the Indiana Fever in April's 2024 WNBA Draft, the Hawkeye fanbase — and the Big Ten's numerous television partners — will be eager to see The Next Big Thing land in Iowa City.
Deal can be that next big thing.
Like Clark, Deal is a 6'0" guard who will arrive on the college scene with jaw-dropping shot-creating skills already in her bag. Deal demonstrates a preternatural level of polish, staying in control on dribble-drives and stepbacks, and using her size to generate space for her shot, either on the interior or on the perimeter.
Coming from a perennially dominant program like Mater Dei and camping with Nike, Deal will arrive in Iowa City ready to handle the bright lights and high expectations of the spotlight — to say nothing of Iowa's complex system on offense.
"The thing I appreciate most about Deal's game is no skill, drill, or breakdown is too elementary for her to focus on," said trainer Brandon Clay, who has worked with Deal during her development. "That allows me a chance to really build into what I'd like to see her doing at the end of the workout by starting at Square One."
Deal's commitment to improvement will be especially welcome in Iowa City, where Bluder and assistant head coach Jan Jensen pride themselves on development, execution and teamwork as part of a holistic approach to basketball. That the Iowa staff holds a usage-heavy prospect like Deal in such high regard speaks well to her ability to involve her teammates in winning basketball, much in the way that has made Clark a generational star.
Of course, Deal is a 2025 prospect, so there will be a one-year gap between Clark and Deal's Hawkeye careers, but with a 2024 scholarship opened up by Sharon Goodman's graduation, a veteran transfer ready for a step up in competition may be the ideal way for Bluder to keep the momentum of success rolling in Iowa City.
What This Means
This is the second-biggest recruiting victory in Lisa Bluder's time at Iowa, and only Clark's singular greatness since signing with Bluder and the Hawkeyes could keep Deal out of serious consideration for the top spot.
Indeed, for most of Bluder's tenure, she has focused her recruiting efforts on the Midwest. Iowa has landed its fair share of Top 100 recruits through the process, including four in the 2024 class alone, but few have had offers from the nation's top programs and only Caitlin Clark ranked as a Top 20 recruit.
In the last year or two, Iowa has expanded its recruiting focus to the coasts, chasing some of the best recruits in the classes of 2025 and 2026 while competing directly with the best of the best in the sport.
Deal represents Iowa's first major recruiting victory from that expanded focus. Her offer list includes most of the best programs in the country: Stanford, LSU, USC, UCLA, Indiana and Ohio State.
And unlike Clark, this isn't the case of Iowa taking advantage of proximity to an elite recruit who wants to stay close to home. Deal's high school is less than 50 miles from USC and UCLA, two schools that will be Top 2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament with promising futures. Deal also has family in Louisiana, giving her a local connection to LSU.
Deal's commitment shows that Iowa's brand nationally is as strong as it has ever been — even in the glory days of C. Vivian Stringer stalking the Carver sidelines. It offers hope that Iowa can win more recruiting battles with major recruits outside of the Midwest.
Indeed, if Deal can help convince other elite recruits to join her, Iowa could build upon the success of the Caitlin Clark Era to cement itself as one of the elite programs in women's college basketball.
A Connection to the Area
One benefit Iowa has had during Deal's recruitment is that she does have a connection to the area. Her brother Tanner is a freshman at Grinnell College an hour west of Iowa City. One of Tanner's teammates on this year's Grinnell team is David Bluder, son of Iowa coach Lisa Bluder. Having those connections and a family member not far away no doubt helped Iowa in convincing Deal to commit.
