Who is the greatest all-time athlete from the state of Iowa?
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, USA TODAY Sports will celebrate the 250 greatest American sports figures of all time. Alongside that national recognition, the USA TODAY Network will spotlight the roots of the country’s sports culture: the high school athletes and sports figures who shaped communities and defined their states.
In Iowa, we have conducted 10 polls for the best athletes from individual sports, including football, volleyball, wrestling, track and field, basketball, baseball and softball. Those included in our final poll are those who were selected by Register readers from those polls, as well as a few additional superstars we felt were must-haves on a list of this magnitude.
Vote below on the best of this elite group, or even write in a candidate that we overlooked or you feel strongly about.
Who is the best all-time athlete from Iowa?
Lisa Banse (Birocci), Des Moines Lincoln
The Des Moines native was a standout athlete in high school, earning first-team all-state selections from 1998 to 2001 and helping Lincoln secure state championships in 1999 and 2001. She continued her stellar career at Iowa, where she was a two-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American, who received third-team honors in 2003 and 2005. She went on to play professionally in Italy, Guatemala and Taiwan, and was a member of Italy’s national team.
Tammi Blackstone, Cherokee
The 6-4 basketball star at Cherokee was an All-American in high school. She scored nearly 2,000 points and recorded nearly 1,000 rebounds in her high school career, and she stayed local for college, joining the Drake women’s basketball team.
During her time with the Bulldogs, the program made three trips to the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the final four of the WNIT. Blackstone still holds the Bulldogs’ record in field goal percentage (.624).
Caitlin Clark, Dowling Catholic
Caitlin Clark didn’t win the Register’s women’s basketball poll, but carries such a legacy that we felt it was necessary to include her here, since there is no denying that Clark was a standout athlete during her time with the Maroons. She totaled 2,547 points in four years of high school — the fourth-most in Iowa five-on-five history, but she really became a household name while playing for the Hawkeyes.
She became the fastest Division I player ever (men’s or women’s) in the last 20-plus seasons to reach 1,500 career points, and she scored 3,951 points during her four-year career, making her the all-time leading scorer across NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball. She was the first Division I player to record 3,800-plus points, 1,000-plus assists, and 950-plus rebounds over a career.
As a junior, she led Iowa to its first national championship game, which the Hawkeyes lost to LSU.
Clark earned numerous accolades while at Iowa, including but not limited to: Naismith College Player of the Year (2023, 2024), AP Player of the Year (2023, 2024), Nancy Lieberman Award (2022, 2023, 2024), Big Ten Player of the Year (2022, 2023, 2024), and unanimous first-team All-American (2022, 2023, 2024).
She was the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft and has spent the past few seasons with the Indiana Fever. She was named Rookie of the Year in 2024, and Clark is a two-time WNBA All-Star (2024, 2025).
Scott Crowell, Mason City
Crowell has held the Iowa high school discus record since 1978. His throw of 207-08 was a national prep record at the time. He went on to Iowa State, where he won a Big 8 and NCAA title in 1981 before injuries shortened his career. His NCAA outdoor title was the first-ever in ISU history.
Tim Dwight, Iowa City High
Put the ball in Dwight’s hands, and good things tended to happen. The elite track star and utility offensive player was a force on the gridiron as well, racking up 83 total touchdowns in his career at Iowa City High. That includes a 43-touchdown season in 1993 as a senior, where he led the program to its first state title. Only 12 others in Iowa have ever scored more in one year.
Dwight went on to Iowa, recording 2,075 receiving yards, 21 receiving touchdowns, 322 rushing yards and six touchdowns plus five more touchdowns on punt returns. During his time in the NFL, Dwight had a 10-year career with 2,964 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns, 380 rushing yards and three touchdowns, as well as three punt return touchdowns and two kickoff returns to the house.
Debbie Esser, Woodbine
Esser’s career began with 13 state titles at Woodbine. Only three other Iowans can claim more in their careers. Her high school-best time in the 400 hurdles of 57.3 seconds set in 1975 has yet to be beaten and is the IGHSAU’s longest-standing record in track and field.
Esser went to Iowa State and set the national 400-meter record in 1977 at 57.07 seconds. She won four collegiate titles in the 400 hurdles, the first woman to ever win four national titles in the same event. In total, she was a nine-time All-American, a 15-time Big Eight champion and a three-time Drake Relays champion in college.
Bob Feller, Van Meter
From the moment he entered the major leagues — at the age of 17 — Feller established himself among the best. He struck out 15 batters in his first major-league start in August 1936, and a month later he set an American League rookie record by striking out 17 opponents in one game.
After his 19th birthday, Feller strung together three straight 20-win seasons, and then he put his baseball career on hold — giving up nearly four seasons in his prime to serve in the U.S. Navy following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He didn’t miss a beat when he returned to the game, and Feller averaged more than 19 wins a season over the next six seasons.
Across 18 seasons in the major leagues, he pitched 3,827 innings with a win-loss record of 266-162. He finished with 2,581 strikeouts, the third-most all-time upon his retirement in 1956. He was an eight-time All-Star, and he helped Cleveland win the World Series in 1948.
Mikaela Foecke, Holy Trinity Catholic
She led her high school to its first state title in any sport, and Foecke was named Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year twice. She went to Nebraska to play college volleyball and helped the Huskers to titles in 2015 and 2017, and a runner-up finish in 2018. She earned first-team, All-American honors as a senior.
Dan Gable, Waterloo West
Any list of the greatest wrestlers of all-time has to include Dan Gable. He is a three-time high school state champion from Waterloo West with a 64-0 record, a two-time NCAA champion with Iowa State with a 100-1 ledger, a 1971 World Champion and 1972 Olympic champion. In the 1972 Olympics, his run to gold was legendary as he did not give up a single point.
Gable went on to become one of the all-time Iowa coaching greats, regardless of sport, winning 15 NCAA team titles and mentoring some of the sport’s greatest athletes.
Shawn Johnson, West Des Moines Valley
While we did not have a gymnastics poll, it would be malpractice not to have Johnson as a part of the final poll for the greatest all-time athlete from the Hawkeye State.
In Johnson’s illustrious career, she was a 2008 Olympic champion in balance beam, and a three-time Olympic silver medalist. Johnson also won three World Championships and five Pan-American Games gold medals over the course of her career.
Nile Kinnick, Adel
A list of Iowa all-time athletes would be incomplete without Kinnick, even if he fell short in the voting in our original football poll. “The Cornbelt Comet” from Adel won the 1939 Heisman Trophy, as well as the Walter Camp and Maxwell awards with the Hawkeyes. Kinnick did it all for Iowa, including running, throwing and kicking the ball on top of being a ball-hawking defender. He is the only Hawkeye ever to win the Heisman.
Kevin Kunnert, Wahlert Catholic
Standing 7-feet tall, Kunnert was born to play basketball. He played high school basketball at Wahlert Catholic and continued his career at Iowa in college. He averaged a double-double over his college career, averaging 15.9 points and 12.7 rebounds for the Hawkeyes.
After college, he was selected 12th overall in the first round of the 1973 NBA Draft. In 10 seasons in the NBA, he put up 4,602 points, 4,031 rebounds and 784 assists, before a knee injury ended his professional career.
Rachel Watters, Ballard
Watters was a four-year varsity member of the Ballard boys wrestling team and accomplished a lot internationally. She was a two-time member of the United States’ U23 World team and U20 World team. She also won a Pan-American Championship silver medal in 2019.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him atEmckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Who’s the best all-time athlete ever from Iowa? VOTE
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Eli McKown, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
