Can transfer star Lucy Olsen make Iowa forget about Caitlin Clark?

The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball program is one of the most recognizable in the country, thanks to the historic exploits of Caitlin Clark. They’ll be challenged to repeat the same level of success without her, but they’ve brought in a star transfer that could help fill the void left by Clark. All statistics are sourced from Sports Reference.

The University of Iowa will welcome Lucy Olsen into the fold next season. Olsen averaged over 23 points per game in her final season at Villanova University.

Olsen has really come into her own with each passing season. She’s increased her free throw attempts, and has shot better from the line each year as well.

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Olsen’s steal numbers have also increased, which will help her contribute on both ends of the floor at Iowa.

The Hawkeyes seem to be thrilled with adding someone of Olsen’s caliber. Former head coach Lisa Bluder told the school’s website, “Her skill set and personality is exactly what we were trying to get out of the transfer portal.”

Olsen already has a following in her new college setting. She told the New York Post about specific fans “They got out of the car, and were like ‘Hey, you’re Lucy Olsen, you’re the new Hawkeye.’ And I was like ‘yeah, how do you know me? I haven’t touched the ball yet.’”

Bluder retired this summer, and Jan Jensen is going to be the women’s basketball coach moving forward. She described Olsen’s game and how it compared to Clark’s. “She (Olsen) shoots it from the normal three point line. She can pass it, but she’s not going to maybe make that three-quarter length pass. And when she shoots, a lot of them are going to be in that mid-range area.”

Olsen does have one claim to fame that Clark doesn’t when it comes to the summer of 2024. Olsen was selected to represent the United States in the three on three competition for players under 23 years old.

Having USA written across my chest… not a lot of people get to do it,” Olsen told USA Basketball’s website.

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As the Gazette’s website points out, only Clark and JuJu Watkins from the University of Southern California scored more points than Olsen last season. While her style will be different from Clark’s, Olsen should be able to comparably match the raw point totals Clark put up.

Olsen knows that she can only be the best version of herself. She told the New York Times, “There’s not going to be another Caitlin Clark. She’s amazing, and she’s done such great things here.”

Olsen continued, “I think it’s just more pressure internally of saying, all right, do the best you can and if you do that, then there’s nothing else that you can give.”

For what it’s worth, Caitlin Clark is on board with the Hawkeyes' choice to help replace her scoring. Clark posted in support of Olsen, saying “go hawks” when Olsen represented the USA in three on three basketball.

ESPN wrote a piece in April 2024 that listed out the bevy of accomplishments Clark has to her name when she was in college. The compilation is lengthy, considering how she re-wrote the record books in her collegiate career.

The principal figures in Iowa’s rise to prominence are no longer there, as Bluder and Clark have since moved on. It’ll be up to Jensen and Olsen to maintain the level of excellence the program has experienced in recent years.

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The new regular season begins on November 6, as the Hawkeyes will square off against Northern Illinois.