Fans of Iowa women’s hoops should be very excited about some of the recruits that are saying yes to the black and gold in the post Caitlin Clark era. Jan Jensen has had some of the very best high school players expressing serious interest in Iowa and has convinced a few of them to commit.
Khalia Hartwell is listed officially at 6’4” but reports say she is between that and 6’5”. Scouts say her strengths are her defense and ability to score and finish around the rim and that she has very good athleticism
along with good touch and a good basketball IQ. It sounds like she has a decent midrange jumper but may need some help developing her overall offensive game.
Hartwell attends Westside High School in Anderson, South Carolina, and chose Iowa over Georgia and Virginia Tech among other offers.
Her commitment comes soon after her visit to Iowa City the weekend of the Iowa / Iowa State football game and it seems that Iowa City was her only official campus visit.
Jan Jensen and staff were one of the first programs to express interest in Hartwell. Hartwell noted that she felt at home when she visited and she has already developed a solid rapport with Jensen and staff. She noted Jan’s ability to develop post players stating Jan and staff “work well with bigs, so if I go there, I know they’ll make sure that I go as far as I can go.”
Hartwell is rated the 16th overall prospect in the class of 2027 and the 2nd ranked center in the class by 247 Sports. This marks the 3rd year in a row that the Hawkeyes have picked up a recruit ranked inside the top 20 by 247. Prior to the arrival of Caitlin Clark, this is not air that the program regularly breathed. Jensen and staff deserve credit for seizing the momentum and converting interest into commitments.
