As expected former Iowa star Caitlin Clark was the first pick in the WNBA Draft.

The announcement on ESPN’s coverage of the draft. Clark is a two-time national player of the year and is college basketball’s all-time leading scorer and third all-time in assists.

Clark feels her passing will be her biggest strength in the WNBA.

Clark led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back appearances in the national title game and shared a moment with Hawkeye coach Lisa Bluder after being selected by the Fever.

Clark joins a young but talented Fever team that is anxious to regain its winning ways. Indiana has not made the WNBA playoffs since 2016.

Clark has spent the past year balancing endorsement opportunities, school and basketball and feels that has prepared her for the next level.

Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell says it has been a competitive spring for the Cyclones as they get ready to close it out Saturday in Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones are coming off a scrimmage over the weekend that Campbell said included about 125 plays.

Campbell says they have tried to test the Cyclones in a variety of ways.

The only significant injury occured to redshirt sophomore linebacker Carson Willich (will-ik). The native of Blue Springs, Missouri appeared in all 13 games last season and suffered an ACL injury early in spring.

Campbell says Willich will miss next season.

The Atlantic Trojans boys golf team is off to great start to their season. They are holding steady with 17 golfers on the varsity level. The Trojans are coming off a 4th place finish at the Lewis Central Tournament last week.

Coach Kendra Henningsen said things are going well so far this season even though there has been some ups and downs but thinks the team is on the right track.

Coach Hennings talked about the individuals that are doing well for the year.

Coach Henningsen says that she is looking forward to watching the guys and wants to see their hard work paying off.

Coach Henningsen talked about what the Trojan’s fan base can expect when they come out and watch her team this season.

The Trojans next golf meet will be Tuesday April 16th as they will be taking on Denison-Schleswig in a Hawkeye Ten regular meet at Majestic Hills Golf Course in Denison. That golf meet will start at 4:00 p.m.

After playing sparingly as a freshman John Nestor is making progress at corner this spring at Iowa where he hopes to fill the void left by Cooper DeJean’s entry into the NFL Draft. The native of Chicago appeared in 10 games as a freshman and is drawing comparisons to former star Riley Moss.

Nestor says Moss is a player he looked up to.

The Hawkeyes close out spring drills with an open practice on April 20th

Former WNBA star and ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo believes former Iowa star Caitlin Clark will succeed at the next level. The two-time natonal player of the year is expected to be taken by the Indiana Fever with the frst pick in tonight’s WNBA Draft.

Lobo says Indiana is is perfect landing spot for Clark.

Lobo says Clark’s game will translate to the pro level.

Lobo says Clark’s vision and ability to facilitate will help her succeed.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State head men’s basketball coach T.J. Otzelberger has announced the addition of three transfers to the 2024-25 Iowa State roster. Seattle transfer Brandton Chatfield, Northern Iowa transfer Nate Heise and Charlotte transfer Dishon Jackson will all join the Cyclones this summer.

Chatfield is a 6-10 forward out of Orofino, Idaho who played for the Redhawks the last three seasons. Chatfield comes to Iowa State with one season of eligibility remaining. Chatfield will be the first known player from Idaho in program history.

He started all 37 games for Seattle last season, ranking second on the team in rebounds per game at 5.4. He averaged 9.4 points per game, while shooting 60.1 percent from the floor. He also tallied 30 blocked shots and 15 steals. Chatfield was named to the NABC Honors Court in 2022 and was a WAC All-Academic selection in 2022 and 2023.

“Brandton brings tireless work habits and a blue-collar mentality to the court each day,” Otzelberger said. “His skill level at his size will be an asset to our offense. Defensively he takes tremendous pride in his team getting stops and you can count on him to block out. Brandton’s experience will serve our program immediately upon his arrival.”

Chatfield scored in double figures in 14 of his 37 games, including a pair of games with a career-high 18 points. He recorded three double-doubles on the year, while reaching double figure rebound totals four times. He just missed a fourth double-double with nine points against Utah Tech.

In three seasons at Seattle, Chatfield started 87 of the 99 games he appeared in. He led the Redhawks with 5.4 rebounds per game in 2022-23, while averaging 7.0 points per game. He was 22-of-56 (39.3 percent) from downtown in 2022-23 as well. Chatfield started his career at Washington State with fellow transfer Dishon Jackson and former Cyclone Aljaž Kunc. Chatfield redshirted the 2019-20 season and appeared in seven games in 2020-21 before transferring to Seattle.

Heise is a 6-5 guard out of Lake City, Minn. who played for the Panthers the last four years. Heise comes to Iowa State with one season of eligibility remaining and can apply for a medical redshirt for missing a majority of the 2022-23 season.

An All-Missouri Valley Conference Third Team selection, Heise appeared in and started 32 of the 33 games for the Panthers last season. He led Northern Iowa with 431 points, averaging a career-best 13.4 points per game. He connected on 47-of-132 3-pointers (35.6%). He averaged 6.1 rebounds per game, while also leading the Panthers with 78 assists (2.4 per game). Heise earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District First Team honors this season.

“Nate’s competitive spirit stands out in all that he does on the court,” Otzelberger said. “His basketball IQ, shooting ability and strength in attacking the paint will elevate our offense. Defensively he takes tremendous pride in shutting down an opponent’s best player. Nate is a proven winner and will immediately add to our culture.”

He scored in double figures in 22 of the 32 games he played in last season. Heise recorded four double-doubles on the year, scoring at least 19 points in each one of them. He just missed a triple-double against Belmont, finishing with 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. He had multiple steals in nine games, including three against North Texas.

During his junior year, he appeared in two games before suffering a season-ending hand injury. He scored 24 points in the two games. He started all 32 games as a sophomore, averaging 8.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He started 21 games as a freshman, averaging 7.6 points per game. He was named to the Missouri Valley All-Freshman Team.

Jackson is a 6-11 center out of Oakland, Calif. who played for the 49ers this season. Jones comes to Iowa State with two seasons of eligibility remaining after spending three years at Washington State, where he was teammates with fellow transfer Brandton Chatfield and former Cyclone Aljaž Kunc.

“Dishon possesses tremendous offensive skill, power and versatility,” Otzelberger said. “He’s a mismatch player that can create advantages and facilitate offense. Defensively, he’s an effective rim protector with terrific rebounding instincts. The maturity and leadership that Dishon has demonstrated will immediately impact our program.”

Jackson started all 30 games he appeared in for the 49ers last season, averaging 11.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.9 blocks and 0.6 steals per game. He was second on the team in rebounding and third in scoring. He scored at least 15 points in 10 games, while reaching double figures in 17 games. He tallied a career-high 21 points against UAB. He notched two double-doubles on the year, including a career-high 12 rebounds against Tulsa. He had a career-high seven assists against East Carolina to go along with 10 rebounds and five points.

Prior to going to Charlotte last season, Jackson was at Washington State for three seasons. He made 49 appearances for the Cougars, including 19 starts. He redshirted his final season in Pullman due to an injury he suffered during the 2021-22 season. He averaged 7.2 points per game as a freshman for the Cougars, as he earned PAC-12 All-Freshman Honorable Mention honors.

(Radio Iowa) – The W-N-B-A Draft is tonight (Monday) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City. There has been much speculation that Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is expected to be the first selection of the draft by the Indiana Fever. Clark became the all-time leading scorer, man or woman, in college basketball this season and set several more records. The draft begins at 6:30 p-m Central time and will air on E-S-P-N.

Clark made an appearance this weekend on Saturday Night Live on N-B-C. She sat at the show’s “Weekend Update” desk and lampooned a cast member who’s told several jokes about the W-N-B-A — and this year’s N-C-Double-A women’s basketball tournament.

Iowa State running back Abu (uh-boo) Sama (Sah-muh) hopes to start his sophomore season like he finished his freshman campaign. Sama rushed for 276 yards, including runs of 77, 71 and 60 yards in a snowstorm in the regular season finale at Kansas State.

Sama says he has quickly bonded with new ISU running backs coach Tyler Roehl (roll).

Roehl says Sama has tremendous potential

Roehl says Sama has focused on details this spring.

Iowa State’s spring game is April 20th.

Iowa defensive lineman Yahya (why-yay) Black credits coaching consistency for Iowa’s success on defense. Phil Parker is entering his 13th season as defensive coordinator for a unit that finished fourth in the country in scoring defense during a 10-4 campaign.

The Hawkeyes have an experienced defensive line that includes former Southeast Valley star Aaron Graves. The junior had 37 tackles last season.

Graves says with experience comes a larger leadership role.

The Hawkeyes close spring drills with an open practice on April 20th.

ANN ARBOR, MICH. – The University of Iowa softball team dropped game three of the series against Michigan, 6-5, on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field at Carol Hutchins Stadium.

Junior Devyn Greer got the start for the Hawkeyes. She ended up going 5 1/3 innings allowing five runs on six hits and struck out four.

The Wolverines got on the board first with an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning. Michigan did not record another hit until the sixth inning.

The Hawkeye evened the score at one in the top of the fourth as junior Rylie Moss came around to score on a fielder’s choice from Greer. Iowa took the lead in the sixth as Moss scored on another fielder’s choice to make it, 2-1. Senior Brylee Klosterman added to the Hawkeye lead with an infield RBI single to push the lead to 3-1.

Michigan answered back in the bottom of the sixth with a solo shot and a three-run home run to take the, 5-3, lead. The Hawkeyes were not done yet as freshman Jena Young sent a no-doubter over the centerfield wall to tie the game at five.

The Wolverines were able to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh. They walked it off with a single to left field to secure the series sweep.   

Sophomore Jalen Adams (9-9) was charged with the loss in relief. Iowa finished the game with five runs on seven hits.

UP NEXT

The University of Iowa softball team travel to Ames, Iowa to take on Iowa State in the 2024 Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series on Tuesday April 16. First pitch at the Cyclone Sports Complex is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with John Leo on the call.