As a result of the profound success of Iowa women’s basketball this season, Hawkeyes head coach Jan Jensen was honored as a candidate for the 2026 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Award by the Atlanta Tipoff Club via the club’s announcement on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
As implied by the title of the award, it is presented annually to the most outstanding women’s basketball coach who achieves tremendous on-court success.
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So far this season, Jensen has led the Hawkeyes to a 20-5 overall record and an 11-3 mark in Big Ten play, following a 20-plus-win campaign and an NCAA Tournament appearance in her first year at the helm of the program.
Regarding her mark on the Hawkeyes program record book, Jensen became the first coach in program history to win at least 20 games in her first two seasons via the Hawkeyes’ 80-67 victory at Nebraska on Feb. 16. Additionally, she is only the second coach in school history to win at least 20 games in their second season with Iowa.
With three more victories this season, Jensen would pass Angie Lee’s 45-win mark for the most victories by a head coach at Iowa in their first two seasons.
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Throughout the 2025-26 season, the native of Kimballton, Iowa, has guided the Hawkeyes to six AP Top 25 wins (including a program-first three consecutive AP Top 25 wins) and has Iowa tied for sixth nationally in Quad 1 victories.
Jensen and the 12th-ranked Hawkeyes (20-5, 11-3 Big Ten) next matchup will be against Purdue (12-13, 4-10 Big Ten) from West Lafayette, Ind., on Thursday, Feb. 19. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT start and will stream exclusively on B1G+.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women’s basketball coach up for Naismith award
