Journey Houston Delivers in First Career Iowa Start

Freshman guard Journey Houston committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes when she was just a sophomore in high school. On February 19, 2026, she made her first career start.

Houston's start seemingly came out of nowhere as Hannah Stuelke was a late scratch from the starting lineup.

Even though she learned she'd be starting on a few hours notice, Houston exceeded all expectations. Everyone already knew how talented she was, but her performance against Purdue helped bring that conversation to a whole new level.

Houston ended up tying her career high of 16 points as she played a career high 28 minutes. Back on January 29 she played 26 minutes in Iowa's loss to USC where she also dropped 16 points.

Career High in First Career Start

Have a night, No. 8 🤩

A career-high 16 points for Houston! pic.twitter.com/Y1eL3WICRt
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 20, 2026

Even though she's consistently come off the bench, Houston is no stranger to dropping double digits. The freshman dropped 14 on Rutgers back on December 6, a game that just so happened to be her first taste of B1G action.

Now that she's settled in, Houston continues to get better. Iowa knew they had a great player on their hands, but it's clear Houston could blossom into the next superstar. They have a ton of tremendous young talent in this program and they'll look to keep it that way.

Houston drilled six of her seven free throws against Purdue as she had her most career attempts, by far. Prior to this game, the Iowa native hadn't attempted more than three free throws in a single game. Keep in mind, she had seven attempts in her last five games combined.

Houston Makes Strong Case to Start Next Season

Journey Houston committed to Iowa in her sophomore year of high school.

She’ll get her first career start as a true freshman.

Feels like it’s been a long time coming even though she’s only in her first year. https://t.co/sdiQJo1QVk
— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) February 19, 2026

Iowa knows they'll be losing Taylor McCabe, Kylie Feuerbach, and Hannah Stuelke next season. McCabe already had to endure a season ending injury, but Stuelke should be good to go on the 22nd against No. 6 Michigan.

Either way, Iowa has a few notable players on their way out. Their Class of 2026 is quite small, though bringing in five-star McKenna Woliczko makes up for all of that. The 6'2'' forward is quite a different size and stature compared to Houston, but head coach Jan Jensen could easily elect to start her as a true freshman.

The big question is where does that leave Journey Houston? It's safe to assume Woliczko will take Stuelke's spot in the starting lineup and Stremlow will take McCabe's. With Feuerbach on her way out, there's a strong chance Houston could replace her though Iowa has to wait and see who transfers out or what incoming transfers they're able to snag in the portal.

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