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Former Iowa Hawkeyes center Megan Gustafson has her No. 10 jersey retired after a NCAA Big Ten Conference women's basketball game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Michigan State, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. 200125 Gustafson 001 Jpg Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen, Iowa City Press-Citizen via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Former Iowa Center Megan Gustafson Makes History

Originally posted on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI
By Nishant Gupta | Last updated Oct 11, 2025 4:00 PM ET

Megan Gustafson donned the Iowa Hawkeyes colors before entering the WNBA in 2019. The Wisconsin native made history on Friday with the Las Vegas Aces.

The center started her college basketball career in 2015. She played 33 games in her freshman year, starting 14 and averaging 10.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game. She was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

Gustafson became the program’s starter in her sophomore year, and she nearly doubled her production, charting 18.5 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 0.6 APG, and 1.3 BPG in 34 games. Gustafson earned her first First-team All-Big Ten honor in 2017, and she did not look back from there.

In her junior year, the Hawkeye center led Division I in points per game and field goal percentage. She recorded 25.7 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 1.4 APG, and a career-high 2.1 BPG while shooting 67.1% from the field in 32 games. She was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and earned her second straight First-team All-Big Ten honor.

The center broke the ceiling in her senior season with the Hawkeyes. She posted a career-high 27.8 points per game and 69.6% field goal conversion, leading the Division in both categories for the second consecutive season. In addition, Gustafson posted a career-high 13.4 RPG, a career-high 1.7 APG, and 1.8 BPG. She won the Big Ten Tournament MOP and was named Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year.

Gustafson kept on winning honors in her final season, being named the ESPNW National Player of the Year and Naismith College Player of the Year. The center was picked in the second round at No. 17 overall by the Dallas Wings. Two years later, she moved to the Washington Mystics, only to leave after one season.

She had a two-year stint with the Phoenix Mercury before joining the Las Vegas Aces last year. On Friday, Gustafson became the first-ever Hawkeye player to win a WNBA championship as the Aces recorded a clean sweep of the Mercury for the title.

Iowa women’s basketball head coach Jan Jensen was the program’s assistant HC when Gustafson played for the Hawkeyes. She was delighted to see an Iowa alumnus clinch the WNBA title and penned down a wholesome message for the center.

“So happy & so proud of former Hawkeye @GustafsonMeg10,” Jensen wrote. “She just became an @WNBA WORLD CHAMPION! What a ride to @LVAces for this small town kid, from Port Wing, WI who had 11 in her class!Love you, Megan! Enjoy this moment! You deserve ‘em all!God bless!”

So happy & so proud of former Hawkeye @GustafsonMeg10 She just became an @WNBA WORLD CHAMPION! What a ride to @LVAces for this small town kid, from Port Wing, WI who had 11 in her class!Love you, Megan! Enjoy this moment! You deserve ‘em all!God bless! pic.twitter.com/UFbsrpLhNU
— Jan Jensen (@goiowa) October 11, 2025

Gustafson played nine minutes in the fourth and last game of the 2025 WNBA Finals and charted one rebound. She averaged 3 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.3 assists, and 0.3 blocks in 20 appearances this season.

This article first appeared on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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