4 Hawkeyes named to NFHCA Watch List

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Four University of Iowa field hockey student-athletes—fifth-year Fréderique van Cleef, fourth-years Dionne van Aalsum and Gia Whalen, and second-year Jordan Byers—have been named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Watch List, the association announced Thursday.

The Hawkeye quartet is among 254 collegiate student-athletes from across the country included on the watch list. The list is intended to represent players with the strongest potential for consideration for the 2026 NFHCA All-Region and All-America teams.

Van Aalsum enters the 2026 season as the NCAA active leader with 64 career goals in 56 games. She led the nation with 28 goals in her debut season before scoring nine goals in 2024. In 2025, van Aalsum returned to the top of the national leaderboard with 28 goals, averaging 1.40 goals per game to rank first nationally in both categories.

The Netherlands native played in all 20 games with 19 starts during the 2025 campaign. After being named to the NFHCA Preseason Watch List, van Aalsum earned two Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors (Sept. 8 and Sept. 15) and NFHCA Offensive Player of the Week recognition (Sept. 10). She capped her season earning first-team All-Big Ten, NFHCA All-West Region, and NFHCA All-America honors.

Van Cleef appeared in all 20 games with 19 starts in 2025, finishing second on the team with 12 goals and 29 points while adding five assists. She recorded four game-winning goals and ranked 46th nationally in goals per game (0.60) and 48th in points per game (1.45). Van Cleef earned first-team All-Big Ten, NFHCA All-West Region, and NFHCA All-America recognition following the season.

Over the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Whalen appeared in 38 games with 37 starts, totaling nine points on four goals and one assist. A two-time NFHCA Preseason Watch List selection, she tallied 29 shots—including 17 on target—and earned second-team All-Big Ten and NFHCA All-West Region honors in 2024. The two-time letterwinner has also consistently excelled in the classroom, securing back-to-back Academic All-Big Ten honors alongside 2024 NFHCA National Academic and University of Iowa dean's list recognition.

Byers played in all 20 games during the 2025 season, totaling six points on one goal and four assists. She registered 10 shots with four on goal and, after being named to the NFHCA Preseason Watch List, earned second-team All-Big Ten and NFHCA All-West Region honors.

11th-ranked Iowa opens the 2026 season at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Iowa will face No. 7 Wake Forest on Friday before taking on No. 2 North Carolina on Sunday.