Bill Fennelly says Stephanie Soares wants to return for another season. So, what's next?
AMES – Iowa State women’s basketball star Stephanie Soares may not be done playing for the Cyclones quite yet.
Cyclones coach Bill Fennelly said Thursday that the star center/forward wants to return for another season at Iowa State.
“I think she knows that there’s still things that she can get done,” Fennelly said while meeting with the media.
Soares, a 6-foot-6 senior, suffered a torn ACL in Iowa State’s 13th game of the season. The injury led to season-ending surgery.
Fennelly has said before that the Cyclones planned to try to get a waiver for Soares to have another season of eligibility in case she wanted to return.
More:Iowa State women's basketball needed help in the post. Stephanie Soares was the answer.
But Thursday’s update from Fennelly, that she does indeed want to come back another season, is a huge development for the Cyclones.
“She’s got a lot of basketball ahead of her—a lot of great basketball ahead of her,” Fennelly said. “So, we have to do our part.”
Soares, a two-time NAIA Player of the Year at The Master's University (CA), made an instant impact during her one season at Iowa State. She averaged 14.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, giving the Cyclones a post presence they hadn't seen for years.
Without Soares in the lineup, ISU, the preseason pick to win the Big 12 Conference, struggled to get back on track and find a new identity.
More:How coveted transfer Stephanie Soares' unique basketball journey brought her Iowa State
But the brief time in Ames helped Soares prove to WNBA teams that she could play at the next level. Teams across the league asked Fennelly to provide updates on how Soares' road to recovery is going.
So far, it has gone well.
But just because Soares wants to come for another season doesn’t mean she will. The waiver Iowa State is applying for could get denied. Fennelly hoped to hear from the NCAA about the status of the waiver before the deadline to declare for the WNBA draft.
But that isn’t even a guarantee. Soares could also get good feedback from WNBA teams about how high she may go in the draft, which is scheduled for April 10, and decide not to return to Ames.
More:Senior day is here again for Iowa State basketball's Ashley Joens. This time it's for real.
“Our main job is to get her healthy and whatever we can do to help her is what we’re going to do,” Fennelly said.
Iowa State’s roster will have some changes to it regardless of what happens with Soares. Fennelly said that Morgan Kane and Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw will not be back next season. The two have another season of eligibility remaining due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kane, who started most of last season and parts of this season, is averaging 5.6 points per game. Espenmiller-McGraw started 23 games as a freshman and 11 during the 2021-22 season.
Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Bill Fennelly says Cyclones star Stephanie Soares wants to come back
