Caitlin Clark and the rest of the Iowa women's basketball team have their Thanksgiving plans set this year: the Hawkeyes are headed to the Florida Gulf Coast to take part in the Clean Simple Eats Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, FL, from November 24-26.

Joining Iowa at the Gulf Coast Showcase are Delaware, Florida Gulf Coast, Kansas State, North Carolina, Purdue-Fort Wayne, Vermont, and Western Kentucky. Iowa is set to open the tournament against Purdue-Fort Wayne at 6:30 PM CT on Friday, November 24. No TV/streaming information has been announced yet.

The tournament semifinals will take place on Saturday, November 25 at 4 PM and 6:30 PM CT. The tournament final is set for Sunday, November 26 at 6:30 PM CT.

If Iowa defeats Purdue-Fort Wayne in their opener, they'll face the winner of Florida Gulf Coast-Delaware in the semifinals. Kansas State, North Carolina, Vermont, and Western Kentucky are on the opposite side of the bracket. The full bracket looks like this:

Two of the teams in the field won regular season conference championships last season (Vermont in the America East Conference and Florida Gulf Cast in the Atlantic Sun Conference) and four teams (North Carolina, Iowa, Vermont, Florida Gulf Coast) competed in the NCAA Tournament. Two other teams -- Kansas State and Western Kentucky -- also played in the WNIT in 2023.

Florida Gulf Coast upset 5-seed Washington State 74-63 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, before falling to 4-seed Villanova, 76-57, in the second round. 6-seed North Carolina narrowly defeated 11-seed St. John's, 61-59, before barely losing to 3-seed Ohio State, 71-69, in the second round. 15-seed Vermont drew UConn in the first round, which went about like you'd expect (a 95-52 win for the Huskies). In the WNIT, Kansas State won two games losing to Washington in the Sweet 16, while Western Kentucky lost in the first round to eventual WNIT champion Kansas.

Iowa fans ought to remember Kansas State -- the Wildcats stunned Iowa in Manhattan in a non-conference road game last season, edging the Hawkeyes 84-83. That was Iowa's first loss of the season. Given how many players from last year's Iowa team are set to return this season (three of five starters in Clark, Kate Martin, and Gabbie Marshall, plus multiple key back-ups), it's fair to assume they might have a little extra motivation if they should come up against K-State in this tournament.

The Hawkeyes will certainly enter this tournament as heavy favorites to win it. Iowa is coming off a 31-win season a year ago in which they won the Big Ten Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Championship Game. They return unanimous National Player of the Year Caitlin Clark, as well as experienced starters Martin and Marshall, and key reserve Hannah Stuelke.

More information about the event, including hotel and ticket information, is available at the event website -- www.gulfshowcase.com. Tickets for the tournament go on sale on Thursday, August 10.