By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Addie Deal’s recruitment to the Iowa women’s basketball team seems almost too good to be true.

Because rarely does a future five-star recruit reach out to Iowa before Iowa has reached out to her.

But that is exactly what happened with Addie Deal as a high school school freshman from southern California.

At the advice of her trainer, Deal asked her high school coaches to reach out to the Iowa coaches just to let them know that she was interested in being a Hawkeye.

This was even before Caitlin Clark had risen to legendary status as a Hawkeye.

Deal’s trainer felt that Iowa’s style of play would fit to her liking, and since she hadn’t heard from Iowa yet, Deal decided to initiate the get-acquainted process.

“I started seriously considering Iowa my freshman year,” Deal said Tuesday after practice. “I had gotten a couple offers, but there were a couple schools I hadn’t heard from and Iowa was one of those schools.

“So, I had my coaches reach out and ever since then, I was like, yeah, that’s the place I want to be.”

Iowa assistant coach Abby Stamp knows all too well how difficult it is to recruit top talent, especially from far away places.

So to have a player as talented as Addie Deal sort of drop on your lap was a moment to remember.

“It was one of those where we got the e-mail and the text and then we looked her up, and said, ‘okay,” Stamp said Tuesday. “We hadn’t probably done as much recruiting on the coast at the time, so she wasn’t really necessarily in our wheelhouse.”

Once the Iowa coaches knew that Deal’s interest was real and sincere, the race to sign her was on.

Deal would ultimately commit to Iowa in March 2024, and by then she was a 6-foot guard and ranked as a five-star recruit.

Lisa Bluder was the Iowa head coach when Deal first committed to the Hawkeyes.

But then Bluder retired shortly after the 2023-24 season, causing concern that Deal might change her mind about playing for Iowa.

All it took, however, was assurance from new head coach Jan Jensen that Iowa’s culture wouldn’t change.

“Coach (Jensen) had called me to tell me about the coaching change, and even then, I asked her, ‘coach is the culture going to change and she said no,” Deal said. “So, I was like, ‘okay, then I’m here to stay. I’m here for real.”‘

Deal, who is from Irvine, California, is the second five-star recruit to sign with Iowa since 2020, the other being West Des Moines native Caitlin Clark, who would go on to become the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer while also leading Iowa to NCAA runner-up finishes as a junior and senior.

Deal said Tuesday in her first interview with the Iowa media that she really became interested in the Iowa women’s basketball program during the Covid-19 global pandemic.

The fact that Clark would go on to become a Hawkeye legend obviously made a strong impression on Deal.

But Deal was high on the Hawkeyes even before Clark started making logo threes and no-look passes in college.

“It was kind of before Caitlin got here, but right as she was coming,” Deal said of her initial interest in Iowa. “It was during the Covid times.

“So, she wasn’t really well known yet. I kind of got to watch Iowa before her, and obviously during and after. So to see that was really cool.”

The way in which the Iowa coaches and players all handled Clark’s rise to stardom sent a strong and positive message to Deal, who watched closely from afar as Clark soared to unprecedented heights.

“It was super cool to see the coaching staff and the whole team before her fame and then during her fame, nothing really changed,
Deal said. “Sure, there were a lot more eyeballs on them and everything. But they were still the same people. And then even after that, still the same people. So that was really special.”

Much is expected from Deal as she enters her freshman season. She is one of five newcomers on the team and will play both guard positions.

“So surreal, definitely a dream come true,” Deal said of being a Hawkeye. “Honestly, it’s better than I thought it was going to be somehow and some way. So I have no complaints whatsoever.”

Deal credits her new teammates and coaches for helping to create the right atmosphere to excel and to be happy on and off the court.

“These girls, I feel like I’ve been around them my whole life and we’ve only been together for like a month,” Deal said. “So I think are camaraderie is really good and we get along really good off the court, which helps us on the court for sure. So vibes are always high during practice and we have fun and work hard.”

Deal has lived in California since she was under 2 years old.

Once she started being recruited nationally, Deal decided that she would look beyond her home state for a college to attend.

“I was ready for a change,” Deal said. “I was ready to experience something else.”

Iowa would soon become her favorite school during the recruiting process, and now that she is a Hawkeye, Deal gets to experience the celebrity treatment, which doesn’t happen back home despite her success.

“I think it’s so cool, we’ll be like just walking downtown and every once in a while someone will say, ‘oh, it’s women’s basketball,”‘ Deal said. “Good luck this season.

“So that’s really special because I don’t get that at all back home.”

Deal is now part of a deep and talented Iowa roster that consists of players from some unusual places based on Iowa’s history of recruiting mostly in the Midwest.

Sophomore center Ava Heiden is from Oregon, while sophomore forward Emely Rodriguez, freshman center Layla Hays and sophomore transfer point guard Chazadi ‘Chit-Chat’ Wright are from the Dominican Republic, Wasilla, Alaska, and Atlanta, Georgia, respectively.

“I think it’s definitely helpful that everyone is kind of from different places,” Deal said. “It’s great that we all come together and have similar personalities and get along really well.”

Deal said the word amazing multiple times while describing her first few weeks as a Hawkeye.

She has watched former Hawkeyes such as Kate Martin and Lucy Olsen, and of course, Caitlin Clark, become fan favorites in college and beyond, and now Deal is eager to feel that same heartfelt embrace.

“I think the fan support is really amazing,” she said. “It carries on even after college; the Kate Martin support, the Caitlin Clark support, Lucy Olsen.

“Everyone loves those girls and it definitely started because of here at Iowa. So, I’m excited to be a part of that.”

The challenge in recruiting is finding the right fits on and off the court.

In Addie Deal’s case, she actually found Iowa early on during the recruiting process after being told that it might be the right fit for her playing style. Iowa likes to play at a fast pace on offense and that fits perfectly with how Deal likes to play.

“I think I’m fun to watch and I love playing basketball and I’m just excited to be around the great crowd and support base,” Deal said when asked to describe her playing style. “I’m a shooter. I can score. I can drive. I like to make really good passes. Style of play; very fast.”

And while it certainly helps that her older brother plays basketball for Grinnell College, Iowa’s culture, success and playing style is what ultimately sold Addie Deal on being a Hawkeye.

“We’re always telling them it’s about fit, and it’s fit for us and them,” Abby Stamp said. “And I think for Addie, it was important to her. She’s a really loyal kid. She wants to have really good relationships and we built that early with her. We were fortunate. She got on campus when she was pretty young and we were able to just maintain that relationship.

“I think the more fans get to know her, the more they’re going to fall in love with her, too. And she’s going to reciprocate that right back. It’s one of those situations where I think it’s just a really, really good fit that was just meant to be.”