MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (KCAU) – The Iowa Hawkeyes and Nebraska Huskers coaches were at the mics for Big Ten Media Day ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

The Hawkeyes were selected as the conference favorite in the Big Ten preseason polls while Caitlin Clark was named preseason Player of the Year for the second time in her career.

Iowa, who returns three starters and the Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year from last year’s national runner-up team, is aiming to win its third straight Big Ten Tournament in a high-level conference.

“I was kind of surprised, actually, to see the rankings. This conference is so good, there’s going to be so many surprises. It’s loaded. The conference is loaded, definitely, and we lost forty percent of our starting lineup. Some really experienced players that were four-year starters. So, it’s tough to replace those two. But, we do have this young girl coming. Maybe you know her…Caitlin, I think. She’s pretty good, too,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said.

The Nebraska Huskers return a pair of preseason All-Big Ten players in Jaz Shelley and Alexis Markowski. Big Red joined Ohio State as the only Big Ten schools to have two players on the preseason All-Big Ten team.

Nebraska, who finished the year in the Super 16 of the WNIT, registered back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2015-16. Also to note, the Huskers will host a pair of 2022 NCAA Tournament teams in Creighton and Southern as they aim to bolster its resume, hoping to return to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last three seasons.

“We have an outstanding blend of some really experienced and talented players and a great mix of some newcomers that just bring some attitude and spunk and just complement our returning players very well,” Nebraska head coach Amy Williams said.

Image Courtesy: AP