Iowa
Iowa women’s basketball lands Aaliyah Guyton, another top-100 prospect in the 2024 class
Caitlin Clark drains 10 straight 3-pointers during summer workout
Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark wound up making 233 of 300 shots during her workout on May 25. She is entering her senior year of college.
Chad Leistikow, Hawk Central
While Iowa’s magical women’s basketball run last season thrusted the Hawkeyes into a national spotlight never seen before, Lisa Bluder’s program isn’t deviating from its successful ways on the recruiting trail. Owning the area remains of utmost importance.
Iowa further hammered that home Monday night by landing four-star senior Aaliyah Guyton out of Peoria High School in Illinois. ESPN ranks the 5-foot-8 guard as the No. 57 overall prospect in the 2024 class.
After racking up double-digit scholarship offers over the past two years, Guyton previously announced a top-five of Pittsburgh, Illinois, Nebraska, Michigan State and Iowa. The Hawkeyes first offered during the 2022 summer and landed Guyton’s official visit early last month. Bluder and her entire staff were courtside on Sept. 7 for Guyton’s first open gym ahead of her senior year.
It’s been clear for a few years that Guyton’s basketball future was destined for something special. She won conference player of the year as a sophomore and junior while racking consensus all-state honors. Guyton averaged 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.1 steals per game on a Peoria team that finished 29-4.
“How lucky am I to have a point guard like that?” Peoria coach Meechie Edwards told the Journal Star last season. “The best point guard in the state of Illinois to me. Period. Hands down. I don’t care what anyone else says.”
On the AAU scene, Guyton runs with Mac Irvin Lady Fire — a Select 40 program that has produced more than 75 Division I alumni. She is already the program’s sixth D-I commit in the 2024 class.
Guyton, daughter of former Indiana star A.J Guyton, is now Iowa’s fifth 2024 commit and fourth that ranks inside ESPN’s top 100: (Ava Heiden at No. 36, Teagan Mallegni at No. 64, Taylor Stremlow at No. 88). While it remains to be seen if Caitlin Clark will return for her fifth year, Iowa will lose at least three players — Kate Martin, Gabbie Marshall and Molly Davis — after this season.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.