Lucy Olsen is heading from Villanova to Iowa, following Caitlin Clark’s footsteps

Olsen will follow in the footsteps of departed Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark and get her turn to play for a program that reached the national championship game in each of the last two seasons.

Villanova star Lucy Olsen is transferring to Iowa, the former home of star Caitlin Clark.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer

by Jonathan Tannenwald and Jeff Neiburg

Updated April 17, 2024, 8:23 p.m. ET

Published April 17, 2024, 6:40 p.m. ET

Villanova women’s basketball star guard Lucy Olsen announced Wednesday night that she’s transferring to Iowa.

Olsen will follow in the footsteps of departed Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark, and get her turn to play for a program that reached the national championship game in each of the last two seasons.

A Collegeville native and Spring-Ford graduate, Olsen was the third-leading scorer in Division I this season with 23.3 points per game. Only Clark and Southern Cal freshman JuJu Watkins were better.

Olsen was Villanova’s leader this past season not just in scoring, but in assists, steals, and minutes played. She won the Big East’s most improved player award, made the all-conference first team, and was named an Associated Press honorable mention All-American.

The Wildcats narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament, then reached the final of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, the NCAA-run second-tier postseason event. In the ensuing days, starting center Christina Dalce and starting point guard Zanai Jones also entered the transfer portal.

Olsen made an official visit to Iowa a few days ago, before coach Lisa Bluder headed to New York to watch Clark go No. 1 in the WNBA draft. After Olsen made her announcement, Clark gave her a shout-out on social media.

Though Villanova’s NIL collective tried its best to keep Olsen in town, there were more factors at play in the move. Clark’s halo and next season’s returning players — especially forwards Hannah Stuelke and Addison O’Grady — will keep Iowa in the headlines next year in the expanded Big Ten. So will the conference’s lucrative TV deals with Fox (which puts women’s games in prime time), NBC, and CBS.

The Hawkeyes also will continue to draw big crowds on campus. They did for many years before Clark arrived, dating back to C. Vivian Stringer’s tenure in the 1980s and 1990s. Next season will be Bluder’s 25th at the helm, and she has taken the team to the NCAA Tournament 19 times.