The Iowa Women’s Basketball team has been out on the recruiting trail since evaluation period started on the calendar. This past week, Jan Jensen handed out her first two offer as head coach of the Hawkeyes. We take a look at who received offers, their current offer list and more.
’26 6’3 small forward LeeLee Bell (Minot, ND)
Rated as the #1 player in North Dakota by Prep Girls Hoops, Bell was named 2023-24 North Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year. She started playing varisty basketball as an eighth-grader, averaging 15.8 points and 7.5 rebounds for a Minot Majettes team that won the North Dakota Class A State Championship.
As a freshman she improved her numbers, averaging 20.6 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. This past season as a sophomore, Bell averaged 26.1 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. She holds Minot HS records for points in a season (706), rebounds in a season (298) and three-pointers made in a season (63). Bell has also set Western Dakota Association (WDA) records for most points in a championship game at 33 and most points over a tournament (three games) with 83 points.
Full Offer List: Iowa, Michigan, Virginia Tech, Utah, Clemson, Maryland, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Nebraska, TCU, Louisville, Purdue, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Marquette, Wisconsin, Fairfield, St Louis and St Thomas
’28 6’6 forward Sydney Douglas (Los Angeles, CA)
This offer is significant for several reasons. First off, it is the first offer handed out by Jan Jensen since she took over the title as head women’s basketball coach in mid-May. Second, Sydney Douglas could be one of the top prospects in the country when it is all said and done. The offer list for Douglas already reflects her potential, with several top schools in contact.
When you learn her background, her size, athleticism and basketball skills are no surprise. Her mother Maylana Martin-Douglas was the 1999 Pac 10 Player of the Year at UCLA and spent two years in the WNBA with the Minnesota Lynx. Meanwhile, her father Rome Douglas was an offensive lineman at USC and played at the pro level in the NFL, NFL Europe and the CFL. Her grandfather, James Douglas, played basketball at Memphis.
Worth noting that Douglas plays on the Cal Stars 17U EYBL team with ’25 five-star Iowa commit Addison Deal. She was also one of 44 players selected to compete at the USA Basketball U17 Team Trials in Colorado Springs, CO.
Full Offer List: Iowa, South Carolina, UCLA, Tennessee, Ohio State, Colorado, Arizona, North Carolina, Louisville, Mississippi State, California, Wisconsin, UCF and Cal Poly
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