An extra year has given an older, wiser Kylie Feuerbach a new perspective as her basketball career comes to a close.

Following her fifth collegiate basketball season last spring, the Sycamore native had the chance to either play one final year or bid farewell to the game she loved. The opportunity to play a sixth season came from being part of the final class that earned a waiver for an extra year during the COVID seasons in 2019-20 and 2020-21, as well as a medical redshirt after missing the 2022-23 season with a knee injury.

After mulling her options as last season ended, Feuerbach made the decision to run it back one more time at the University of Iowa – and doesn’t have a single regret.

“I’m so ecstatic. I knew it wasn’t my time to be done, but it’s just been really cool to step into more of a leadership role this year,” she said following Iowa’s 62-44 win over then-No. 6 Michigan on Sunday. “There’s so many young girls on this team, and I know how important it was for me when I was going through the first two years with the older girls, and they paved the way. It’s been really cool. It’s a really new perspective for me to really just enjoy it.”

Part of the enjoyment Sunday was going through a rare second senior day at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. With her decision looming last season, she was honored with her classmates before the home finale in 2025.

She improved to 2-0 on her Iowa Senior Days after finishing with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 34 minutes as the No. 9 Hawkeyes (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) won their 22nd straight Senior Day game.

Feuerbach said she was much more prepared for the emotion and atmosphere this time around.

“I think last year was unique because the girls I came in with when I transferred in were the girls that graduated last year, so it was more of a Senior Day for me last year. I think last year there was a lot more emotion for me,” she said. “This year, I knew my time was up, I know I have to move on, so I’ve definitely coped with it better in the sense of I know that I’m done, so it’s more so a bittersweet ending and just really playing with some joy.”

That’s been the theme all season long for Feuerbach, knowing the end of her career was coming no matter what. So she tried to enjoy all the different aspects of a retirement tour of sorts, and plans to make the most of whatever time she has left as Iowa looks ahead to the postseason.

“I’m trying to soak it all in, just everything,” Feuerbach said. “The environment particularly, and just the girls feeding into each other is really important over these next few weeks or months, whatever it is. It’s just very bittersweet, I don’t want it to ever end. It’s definitely a different perspective this year.”

That stems from her growth into a new role the past couple of seasons. When she transferred into Iowa after spending her freshman season at Iowa State, Feuerbach said she went through essentially a second freshman season adapting and adjusting to a new team. She played sporadically her first year at Iowa, then tore her ACL the next summer and missed 2022-23. She returned as a role player off the bench for the 2023-24 team that earned its second straight berth in the National Championship game.

Last season, after Iowa lost Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin and Gabby Marshall to graduation, Feuerbach became a starter; she has been in that role since. A steady veteran presence on a very young squad last season, she has been a mentor to the next wave of Hawkeyes – the likes of sophomores Ava Heiden, Taylor Stremlow and Chit-Chat Wright and freshmen Addie Deal and Journey Houston – who have the team in position for a double-bye and potential No. 2 seed in next week’s Big Ten Tournament.

“It has been fun, for sure. It’s been so cool to watch their development because they want to win – and that’s what you want for teammates,” Feuerbach said. “It was definitely an adjustment when we moved on from that Caitlin era, but it’s been really cool to see how the new era is starting to progress, to see them grow, and I feel like a mom with my children, to an extent.”

The extra season – and knowing the end was coming at the end of it – has allowed Feuerbach to reflect on the journey she’s taken at Iowa.

“Throughout all of it, the one thing that I just am so grateful for is the girls that I’m surrounded with every day,” she said. “The culture is just phenomenal, I could not ask for a better group to be surrounded with. It’s been really cool to win the Big Ten titles and go to the Final Fours and play in Kinnick [Stadium], all of those experiences – but I don’t think they would be what they were if it wasn’t for the people that make it that way. It’s been a really, really cool experience."

After the Hawkeyes’ postseason run ends, Feuerbach will turn her attention to the future. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and a Master’s in Strategic Communication, and is currently working on a second Bachelor’s in Entrepreneurial Management. That has helped her start her own business she hopes to build as a secondary job to her future occupation.

“I started a business recently, it’s called His Calling Label, so wanting to grow that – right now it’s just phone cases, but I hope to expand into apparel and other things eventually. But that will probably stay as a side hustle, a side hobby,” Feuerbach said. “Outside of that, I’m going to have to search for jobs when I’m done [with school], and I think I’ll probably want to do something within sports. Not playing – I think I’ll be done with my basketball days – but maybe sports marketing or whatever it is. I definitely love sports and I love just the community that it brings and the people that are part of it, so whatever that entails.”