Indiana Women’s Basketball Adds Valentyna Kadlecova

What did Indiana’s women’s basketball team get in Czech guard Valentyna Kadlecova? Someone with the potential to be a shooter with a bit of distribution to go along with it.

Indiana announced on Thursday afternoon that the 6-foot freshman would be a part of Indiana’s roster in the 2024-25 season.

Kadlecova (prononuced CA-lech-UH-kov-ah, according to Indiana athletics) most recently played for the Czech national team in the U20 European championships.

Kadlecova averaged 12.1 points, 3 assists and shot 42.9 percent from the floor in that tournament. She has also appeared with the Czech Republic at the FIBA U19 World Cup, FIBA U18 Championships and FIBA U16 European Championships. 

Kadlecova was the designed 3-point shooter for the Czech Republic team. In seven games during the tournament, 40 of her 49 shot attempts were from 3-point range. She made 27.5% of those shots.

Kadlecova’s production peaked in a 76-66 win on July 6 over Switzerland in the Czech Republic’s opening game. She scored 23 points and had four assists against the Swiss.

Kadlecova was also one of the primary distributors for a Czech Republic team that went 3-4 at the U20 European Championships. She topped four assists or more three times in the tournament.

She played club basketball with DSK Levhartice Chomutov in 2023-24, a team in the top division of the Czech Women’s Basketball League, where she averaged 11.6 points 2.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and shot 43.9 percent from the floor and 74.7 percent at the free throw line in the regular season.

Kadlecova only had eight games out of 26 where she failed to reach double-figure scoring for Chomutov.

Kadlelcova was streaky from 3-point range for Chomutov. She went 0-for-10 from long range in her first two games and had another stretch mid-season where she was 0-for-14 over three games.

However, she also drained 6 of 11 from deep in a January game against KP Brno, part of a 30-point effort that nearly doubled her best scoring effort from any other game in the 2023-24 season. Kadlecova made 23.3% from 3-point range over the 26-game season.

In EuroCup action, she averaged 11.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals in six games.

Kadlecova is the fifth newcomer to be added to Indiana’s 2024-25 roster by coach Teri Moren.

Guard Shay Ciezki and forward Karoline Striplin transferred to Indiana from Penn State and Tennessee, respectively.

Kadlecova becomes the third freshman on the roster. She joins forwards Sydney Fenn and Faith Wiseman.

Kadlecova is also the second foreign-born player on the Indiana roster. Starting guard-forward Yarden Garzon is from Israel.

There will be no rush to get Kadlecova into action for the Hoosiers. With starters Garzon, point guard Chloe Moore-McNeil and guard-forward Sydney Parrish returning from a 26-6 team, those positions are set. Ciezki is expected to also be part of the main rotation.

Also back with Indiana playing experience is post player Lilly Meister and guards Lexus Bargesser, Henna Sandvik, Lenée Beaumont and Juli LaMendola.

Indiana’s women’s basketball team will play its first exhibition game on Oct. 30 against Maryville. The Hoosiers will open their season against Brown on Nov. 4.