Gabbie Marshall is proud to be an Iowa Hawkeye

Despite twice falling short of winning the national championship, Gabbie Marshall holds no regrets about her decision to join Iowa’s women’s basketball program.

Joining the program in 2019, the 23-year-old Hawkeye quickly became a valuable contributor, earning minutes in every game during her freshman year.

What Marshall values most about her recruitment experience with coach Lisa Bluder is the coach’s honesty and sense of humor. Bluder’s promise that visiting Iowa would be compelling, coupled with a humorous remark about corn, resonated with Marshall and played a significant role in her decision to commit to the Hawkeyes.

This is how Gabbie Marshall describes the opening conversation of the process:

“I appreciated that honesty, because she wasn’t just telling me what I needed to hear.”

The cornerstone of those discussions was Bluder’s honesty with Marshall about not starting during her freshman season.

However, as events unfolded, this proved to be a non-issue for the emerging star, as she made significant contributions coming off the bench.

Gabbie Marshall coming back for a final season at Iowa

With Caitlin Clark’s departure and the conclusion of a highly successful era for the Iowa Hawkeyes program, it appeared that the team would undergo significant changes next season.

However, it has now been confirmed that Marshall will return for one final season with her school. In explaining her decision, she expressed gratitude for her time at Iowa and a desire to continue representing the university on the court.

“These past four years have been nothing short of amazing, and because of that, I was not ready to leave this place just yet. I am truly blessed to be able to come back for another year and wear ‘Iowa’ across my chest. … We’re not done yet.”

While Marshall’s scoring output may not fully fill the gap left by Clark’s departure, as she averaged only 6.1 points per game this season, there is hope among Hawkeyes fans that she will step up into a larger leadership role, especially with her teammates moving on to the WNBA.