{"id":603069,"date":"2026-02-20T09:07:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T09:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/603069\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T09:07:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T09:07:16","slug":"caitlin-clark-praises-coach-jan-jensens-naismith-watch-list-honor-after-successful-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/603069\/","title":{"rendered":"Caitlin Clark Praises Coach Jan Jensen&#8217;s Naismith Watch List Honor After Successful Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/tag\/caitlin-clark\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Caitlin Clark;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Caitlin Clark<\/a> had a 2025 <a href=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/wnba\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:WNBA;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">WNBA<\/a> season to forget as the <a href=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/wnba\/indiana-fever\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Indiana Fever;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Indiana Fever<\/a> went on a surprising run in the playoffs, forcing the <a href=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/wnba\/las-vegas-aces\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Las Vegas Aces;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Las Vegas Aces<\/a> to Game 5 in the semifinals. While the point guard still made the All-Star Game, she was limited to just 13 games in her second year, sidelined by multiple injuries to her groin and ankle.<\/p>\n<p>But before Clark became a WNBA star, she made a name for herself in college basketball with the Iowa Hawkeyes. From 2020 to 2024, she not only led Iowa to two national championship appearances but also became the NCAA\u2019s all-time leading scorer with 3,951 points. And joining Clark during her historic college run were Hawkeyes head coach Lisa Bluder and longtime assistant coach Jan Jensen.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Indiana Fever guard Caitlin ClarkErica Denhoff&amp;sol;Icon Sportswire via Getty Images\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/52e4d5b9e40faae175db44cf42bdd29e.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Indiana Fever guard Caitlin ClarkErica Denhoff&amp;sol;Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p> (Erica Denhoff&amp;sol;Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>After Clark departed for the WNBA in 2024, Bluder decided to step down as Iowa\u2019s head coach following 24 seasons. Jensen then took over the program and has found success during the 2025-26 women\u2019s college basketball season. The No. 13 Hawkeyes are 21-5 and riding a three-game winning streak, despite losing All-Big Ten star Lucy Olsen to the WNBA.<\/p>\n<p>And on Thursday, Jensen was awarded for her performance, earning a spot on the official 2026 Naismith Women&#8217;s College Coach of the Year watch list. Joining the second-year Hawkeyes head coach on the watch list are as follows:<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<ul class=\"content-list\">\n<li>\n<p>Geno Auriemma &#8211; No. 1 UConn Huskies (27-0)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li\/>\n<li\/>\n<li>\n<p>Carla Berube &#8211; Princeton Tigers (20-3)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Krista Gerlich &#8211; No. 20 Texas Tech Red Raiders (23-4)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Kara Lawson &#8211; No. 9 <a href=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/college\/duke-blue-devils\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Duke;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Duke<\/a> (19-6)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li\/>\n<li>\n<p>Kim Mulkey &#8211; No. 7 <a href=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/college\/lsu-tigers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:LSU;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">LSU<\/a> Tigers (22-4)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li\/>\n<li>\n<p>Tammi Reiss &#8211; Rhode Island Rams (23-3)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li\/>\n<li\/>\n<li>\n<p>Jeff Walz &#8211; No. 8 Louisville Cardinals (24-4)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;Jensen in the history books!&#8221; Naismith Awards wrote on X. &#8220;@goiowa has officially stamped her name in @IowaWBB history as the first head coach to secure over 20 wins in her first two seasons. This comes after the Hawkeyes dominant win over Nebraska. The future is bright for Jensen, a member of our 2026 Werner Ladder Naismith Women\u2019s College Coach of the Year Watch List!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Clark quickly took notice of her former coach&#8217;s accomplishment, responding to Jensen&#8217;s accomplishment with one word: &#8220;Aura.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Clark will begin her third season with the Fever on Saturday, May 9, hosting <a href=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/tag\/paige-bueckers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Paige Bueckers;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Paige Bueckers<\/a> and the Dallas Wings in Indianapolis. However, the upcoming WNBA season is in jeopardy, as the league and the players have yet to reach a common ground in their CBA talks.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/caitlin-clark-jokes-retirement-over-031404905.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Related: Indiana Fever Star Caitlin Clark Makes Retirement Admission on Tuesday;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Related: Indiana Fever Star Caitlin Clark Makes Retirement Admission on Tuesday<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This story was originally published by <a href=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/wnba\/indiana-fever\/indiana-fever-star-caitlin-clark-reacts-to-jen-jensen-news-amid-wnba-offseason\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Athlon Sports;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Athlon Sports<\/a> on Feb 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the <a href=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/wnba\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:WNBA;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">WNBA<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=athlonsports.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Preferred Source by clicking here.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Caitlin Clark had a 2025 WNBA season to forget as the Indiana Fever went on a surprising run&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":603070,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[49],"tags":[233,2470,34225,234,1379,259576,4144,259577,8795,95928,7800,259575,21286,2471,79918,24116,62,67,132,68,232],"class_list":["post-603069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-caitlin-clark","tag-dallas-wings","tag-head-coach","tag-indiana-fever","tag-iowa-hawkeyes","tag-jan-jensen","tag-las-vegas-aces","tag-lisa-bluder","tag-louisville-cardinals","tag-lucy-olsen","tag-michigan-wolverines","tag-naismith-awards","tag-oklahoma-sooners","tag-paige-bueckers","tag-princeton-tigers","tag-south-carolina-gamecocks","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-wnba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116102171783676786","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=603069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/603070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=603069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=603069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=603069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}