IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — No one was less surprised that Tyler Cook decided to come back to Iowa than coach Fran McCaffery. The biggest question now for the Hawkeyes is whether Cook’s return will be enough to get them back on track after a disappointing season.

Cook, who will be a junior next season, announced on Wednesday that he was withdrawing from the NBA Draft. Though it seemed like at times that Cook’s days in Iowa City might be numbered — and he acknowledged Thursday that he was unsure about his future until Wednesday morning — McCaffery said that the process went almost exactly as he envisioned it.

Cook, who averaged team highs with 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds a game in 2017-18, wasn’t expected to be selected. “It was time for him to explore his options, and that’s exactly what he did … and I’m sort of baffled by everybody’s surprise. I mean, the kid wants to play in the NBA. I want him to play in the NBA. I want to be part of him reaching his dream,” McCaffery said. “If the indications were that he was going to be a first-round pick, he’d be gone. … I think everybody overanalyzed what happened. He did exactly what he said he was going to do.”

Cook and fellow junior-to-be Isaiah Moss both went through the NBA draft evaluation process before deciding to re-commit to the Hawkeyes. That left Iowa in the position of bringing nearly every key contributor back in 2018-19. That could be either a good or a bad thing for a team that lost 19 games and was just 4-14 in the Big Ten.

The Iowa defense was, at times, perhaps as bad as any Power Five team in America. Iowa allowed nearly 80 points a game and let opponents shoot 46.2 percent from the floor. Both McCaffery and Cook said Thursday that Iowa’s defense will have to improve if the team wants to escape the league basement. The Hawkeyes should have the depth to make that happen, as they return all five starters from a year ago.

We need to “make sure everyone is locked in and ready to go,” Cook said. As for Cook’s future, McCaffery said that NBA scouts want to see Cook improve as much next season as he did between his freshman and sophomore seasons, when his points, rebounds and assists all went up. They also want him to improve defensively to the point where Cook would be able to guard all five positions.

If Cook can become a better defender next season, it should help the Hawkeyes make the necessary strides on that end of the floor — and solidify Cook’s status as the leader Iowa has been looking for. “He wants to lead this team. That’s what I love about this guy. He has to be the guy that leads in the locker room and on the court. I encourage him to be that guy,” McCaffery said.

AMES, Iowa – The 2018 Iowa State football season is right around the corner and the ISU Athletics Department has confirmed television and kickoff times for the first three games of the season.

Iowa State will open the 2018 season under the lights, playing host to South Dakota State on Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. Cyclones.tv will carry the game.

The annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series game vs. Iowa in Iowa City on Sept. 8 will be a 4 p.m. kickoff on Fox.

The Iowa State-Oklahoma matchup in Jack Trice Stadium on Sept. 15 will kick at 11 a.m. The game will be carried on one of the ESPN family of networks channels (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU).

Iowa State returns 16 players from last year’s 8-5 Liberty Bowl champion team, including 10 players who earned preseason All-Big 12 honors from Athlon Sports.

Over 50,000 fans have attended a game in Jack Trice Stadium a school-record 45-straight games.

2018 Iowa State Schedule
Sept. 1                  SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (Cyclones.tv) – 7 p.m.
Sept. 8                  %at Iowa (Fox)  – 4 p.m.
Sept. 15                *OKLAHOMA (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU) – 11 a.m.
Sept. 22                AKRON – TBA
Sept. 29                *at TCU – TBA
Oct. 6                    *at Oklahoma State – TBA
Oct. 13                  *WEST VIRGINIA – TBA
Oct. 27                  *TEXAS TECH (Homecoming) – TBA
Nov. 3                   *at Kansas – TBA
Nov. 10                 *BAYLOR – TBA
Nov. 17                 *at Texas – TBA
Nov. 24                 *KANSAS STATE – TBA
*Big 12 Conference game
%Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series
Times are CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa – – Afternoon start times for the opening three University of Iowa football games were announced Thursday by the Big Ten Conference and BTN, ESPN, and FOX television networks. Start times for seven Iowa contests were announced, including five of seven home games.

Iowa opens the season Sept. 1, with a 2:30 p.m. (CT) contest against Northern Illinois on BTN. The Hawkeyes host instate rival Iowa State in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series game Sept. 8, starting at 4 p.m. (CT) on FOX.  The Hawkeyes host Northern Iowa the following weekend at 6:30 p.m. (CT) on BTN.  Iowa and Northern Iowa have never met in a night game.

Following consecutive road games in October, Iowa returns to Kinnick Stadium for Homecoming against Maryland (Oct. 20), with that game starting at 11 a.m. (CT).  The network designation has not been announced.  Iowa’s annual Black Fridaycontest against Nebraska (Nov. 23) will air on FOX at 11 a.m. (CT). The Hy-Vee Heroes Game will once again serve as Iowa’s Senior Day.

The Hawkeyes will be the Homecoming opponent at Minnesota (Oct. 6) and at Indiana (Oct. 13).  The annual meeting for Floyd of Rosedale will be played at either 3:30 or 4 p.m. (CT) on a yet to be determined network.  Iowa’s game in Bloomington has a noon (ET) kickoff and will air on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2.

Kickoff times for the remainder of the season, beginning with the Big Ten opener against Wisconsin, will be announced no later than 12 days prior to the game, per the media rights agreements between the Big Ten Conference and its television partners.

Questions concerning the purchase of 2018 football tickets, including general public, UI faculty/staff and UI student seasons tickets by current UI students, should be directed to the UI Athletics Ticket Office.  The office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The office telephone number is 1-800-IA-HAWKS.  Information is also available at hawkeyesports.com/ fightforiowa.

Iowa’s 2018 football schedule (all listed times are CT):

Sept. 1        Northern Illinois, 2:30 p.m., BTN
Sept. 8        Iowa State, 4 p.m., FOX
Sept. 15      Northern Iowa, 6:30 p.m., BTN
Sept. 22      Wisconsin, TBA
Oct. 6          at Minnesota, 3:30 or 4 p.m., TBA
Oct. 13        at Indiana, Noon, ABC/ESPN/ESPN2
Oct. 20        Maryland, 11 a.m., TBA
Oct. 27        at Penn State, TBA
Nov. 3        at Purdue, TBA
Nov. 10      Northwestern, TBA
Nov. 17      at Illinois, TBA
Nov. 23      Nebraska, 11 a.m., FOX

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior lineman Keegan Render has been named to the Rimington Trophy Preseason Watch List, the Boomer Esiason Foundation announced Wednesday.

The Rimington Trophy is awarded to the nation’s premier center in college football and is presented annually by the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

Render (6-foot-4, 307-pounds) started in all of Iowa’s 13 games in 2017. The Indianola, Iowa native saw action at center, right guard, and left guard last year, while playing in every offensive down in five of 13 games. Render was part of two 50-point offensive outputs, as the Hawkeyes gained 487 yards of total offense against Ohio State and 505 yards of total offense against Nebraska.

The Rimington Trophy winner will be announced on Jan. 12, 2019, at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska. The center with the most first team votes will be determined the winner.

Render and the Hawkeyes open their season on Sept. 1 against Northern Illinois.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior Tyler Cropley has been named an NCAA Division I Second-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, it was announced Thursday by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

Cropley, a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, is the 20th All-American in Iowa baseball history and the sixth under Hawkeye head coach Rick Heller. He is the first Iowa catcher to earn first or second-team All-America honors; Alex Dvorsky was a freshman All-American as a catcher/outfielder in 1999.

The McCook Lake, South Dakota, native hit a team-best .342 as a senior and led the team in hits (68), doubles (20), RBIs (50), slugging percentage (.578), and on-base percentage (.449).  The catcher also tied for the team lead with 43 runs and was second with nine home runs.

Cropley ranked in the top-15 in the Big Ten Conference in nine different offensive categories.

The first-team All-Big Ten selection paced the team with 21 multi-hit and 14 multi-RBI contests.  He had two walk-off home runs — a grand slam in Iowa’s 13-9 win over Bradley on March 28 and a two-run home run to give the Hawkeyes a 7-5 series-clinching victory over No. 7 Michigan on April 29.

Cropley’s 20 doubles are tied for the second most in a single season in school history.

The Boys State Soccer Tournaments begin today at Cownie Soccer Park in Des Moines and continue through Saturday. Quarterfinals are being played Thursday, Semifinals on Friday, and Finals and Consolation Finals on Saturday.

Class 1A

#1 Iowa City Regina vs. #8 Treynor 12:00pm (Field #9)
#4 Gilbert vs. #5 Davenport Assumption 12:10pm (Field #7)
#2 Williamsburg vs. #7 Nevada 12:15pm (Field #6)
#3 Des Moines Christian vs. #6 Iowa Mennonite 12:05pm (Field #8)

Class 2A

#1 Pella vs. #8 Perry 2:30pm (Field #9)
#4 Dallas Center-Grimes vs. #5 Cedar Rapids-Xavier 2:40pm (Field #7)
#2 Storm Lake vs. #7 Hudson 2:45pm (Field #6)
#3 Marion vs. #6 Newton 2:35pm (Field #8)

Class 3A

#1 WDM Valley vs. #8 Waukee 5:00pm (Field #9)
#4 Ankeny Centennial vs. #5 Iowa City, West 5:10pm (Field #7)
#2 Cedar Rapids Prairie vs. #7 Ankeny 5:15pm (Field #6)
#3 Bettendorf-Morningstar-Rivermont vs. #6 Iowa City, City High 5:10pm (Field #8)

The Kuemper Catholic Knights girls golf team finished 8th at the Class 2A State Girls Golf Tournament at Lake Panorama National Golf Course. The Knights finished with a two-day total of +215, 791. Van Meter was the State Champion team with a +157, 733 total.

Morgan Weber of Dike-New Hartford was the individual State Champ with a +4, 148 two-day total. She shot rounds of 75-73 to win it by 12 strokes. McKenna Ludwig of Kuemper Catholic was 23rd overall with a +44, 188. Her teammate Katie Schweers was right behind in 24th with a +45, 189.

Hawkeye Ten Conference

Clarinda 7, Sidney 3
Red Oak 16, Fremont-Mills 1
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 5, Harlan 3

Western Iowa Conference

Griswold 17, Essex 7
Logan-Magnolia 15, Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 0 (5 inn.)
Treynor 12, Tri-Center 1 (5 inn.)
Underwood 12, East Mills 0 (4 inn.)
West Central Valley, Stuart 9, Audubon 4
West Monona 14, Missouri Valley 1

Rolling Vallley Conference

CAM, Anita 11, Woodbine 6
Coon Rapids-Bayard 4, Glidden-Ralston 3
Exira-EHK 3, AR-WE-VA, Westside 2
West Harrison 6, AC/GC 4

Other Scores

Carroll 13, Perry 4
Clarke, Osceola 3, Wayne 1
Des Moines Christian 21, Martensdale-St Marys 8
Earlham 3, Melcher-Dallas 0
Lenox 2, Murray 0 (8 inn.)
OA-BCIG 5, Maple Valley-Anthon Oto 2

Hawkeye Ten Conference

Atlantic 11, Nodaway Valley 3
Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 6, Glenwood 2
Denison-Schleswig 9, MVAOCOU 6
Harlan 10, Shenandoah 4
I-35 4, Creston 3
St. Albert 9, CB Thomas Jefferson 6

Western Iowa Conference

Griswold 11, Essex 1 (6 inn.)
Logan-Magnolia 17, East Mills 2
Missouri Valley 13, West Monona, Onawa 2 (5 inn)
Tri-Center 8, Treynor 7
West Central Valley 14, Audubon 2

Rolling Valley Conference

Ar-We-Va, Westside 6, EHK-Exira 2
Boyer Valley 11, IKM-Manning 9
CAM 1, Woodbine 0
Coon Rapids-Bayard 9, Glidden-Ralston 5

Corner Conference

Sidney 7, West Harrison 5

Other Scores

Ankeny Christian Academy 5, East Union 0
Lenox 20, Murray 5 (5 inn.)
Martensdale St. Marys 7, Madrid 6
Pleasantville 3, Melcher-Dallas 2