SAN ANTONIO, Texas – University of Iowa head men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum has been named the recipient of the 2025 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year award, which is presented annually to the top first-time head coach in Division I college basketball.

McCollum’s Division I debut was a record-setting season at Drake. He guided the Bulldogs to a school-record 31 wins, the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

After sweeping the league’s regular season and tournament titles, the Bulldogs earned a No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They defeated No. 6 seed Missouri, 67-57, to record the program’s first non-First Four win since 1971. The team’s 31 victories were the most by a first-year coach in Valley history, which earned him MVC Coach of the Year.

“Coach Ben McCollum is the definition of ‘quality knowing no level,’” said James Wilhelmi, Senior Analyst of CollegeInsider.com. “The same championship mentality and elite execution that made him a powerhouse at the D2 level have seamlessly translated to the Missouri Valley. His immediate success at Drake is no surprise — great coaching wins anywhere. The Joe B. Hall Award is a fitting recognition for his impact.”

During his 16-year coaching career, McCollum won four NCAA Division II national championships (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022) at Northwest Missouri State University. He has amassed a 426-95 record and an 81.8 winning percentage. It is fifth-best all-time among collegiate men’s basketball coaches.

McCollum is also the only non-Division I coach to win the John McLendon award, which he was awarded in 2019.

The Joe B. Hall award is named in honor of longtime Kentucky head coach Joe B. Hall who was given the task of following the legendary Adolph Rupp at the school. In his first season, Hall finished 20-8, won the SEC and advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals.

Hall coached the Wildcats from 1972 to 1985. He won two-thirds of his games (297-100), received four SEC Coach of the Year honors, and won a National Championship in 1978. He also steered the program to two other Final Fours, won eight Southeastern Conference regular season championships and one Southeastern Conference tournament championship (1984).

Coach Hall passed away on January 15, 2022.

Iowa State defensive tackle Domonique Orange feels he has a lot to prove as he gets ready for his senior season. The native of Kansas City started seven games last season and was named honorable mention All Big 12.

Known as a run stopper, Orange want to become a better pass rusher.

Orange says becoming more diversified started with winter workouts.

Cyclone defensive coordinator Jon Heacock wants Orange on the field for more snaps next season.

Heacock says if Orange wants to play in the NFL that will be critical.

Heacock says it comes down to conditioning and consistency.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz believes the Hawkeyes have enough experience on the offensive line to continue to make progress. Three starters return along the offensive line from last year’s team that finished 8-5.

The two losses from last year are significant. Mason Richman at left tackle and guard Connor Colby.

Ferentz says whether it is on offense or defense, depth on the line is crucial.

The Hawkeyes close spring drills on April 26th with a practice.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Freshman forward Cooper Koch will return to the University of Iowa men’s basketball program next season.

The Peoria, Illlinois, native entered his name into the transfer portal on March 19, but he has elected to return to the Hawkeyes in 2025-26 under first-year head coach Ben McCollum.

“After speaking with coach McCollum, I believe his vision for the men’s basketball team is one that aligns with mine,” said Koch in a social media post. “With that being said, I have decided to withdraw my name from the transfer portal and stay home.”

“We are excited to have Cooper return to our program next season,” said McCollum. “I have enjoyed getting to know Cooper over the past week and I feel like he’s going to be a key piece for our team moving forward with his ability to shoot the basketball.

“I also want to thank our fans for assisting us in getting Cooper to return. We need to continue to push the envelope with Josh (Dix) and Pryce (Sandfort) to let them each know how important they are to Hawkeye Nation.”

Koch missed all but 10 games during the 2024-25 season with a medical condition.  He averaged 4.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.8 in 13.6 minutes per game, while shooting 48.4 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from 3-point range.

Koch’s best game came during a Dec. 30 contest against New Hampshire when he scored a career-high 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting with three 3-pointers.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE INDOOR

7. Treynor – 31 points

Champions: Brady Wallace – 110 meter hurdles (13.93— School Record) 

9. Bishop Heelan – 28 points

2nd Place: Carson McInerney- shot put (15.40m) 

22. Sioux City North – 4 points

6th Place: 4×800 meter relay (8:32.94)

Individual top finisher: 8th place – Kuma Gutema – 3200 meters (9:46.320)

24. Sioux City East 2 points

7th Place: Chris Ford- long jump (6.30m) 

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE INDOOR

10. Bishop Heelan – 26 points

2nd Place: Shannon Cleary – long jump (5.08m)

13. Sioux City East – 20 points

Top Finisher/2nd Place: Grace Erick – 100 meters (12.29) & 200 meters (25.15) 

21. Sioux City North – 3 points

3rd place: 4×800 meter relay (10:57.42)

A healthy corp of linebackers would be a big lift for the Iowa State defense heading into next season. Injuries decimated the unit as linebackers missed a total of 55 games during an 11-3 season. Cyclone defensive coordinator Jon Heacock.

With a large number of experienced linebackers Heacock says they are working them at various positions this spring.

As he said with the roster limit at 105 players for next season it will be important to have versatility in the number of positions a linebacker can play.

Injuries forced Cael Brezina on the field early in his freshman season. He played eight games before battling injuries of his own.

Brezina on getting on the field early in his freshman season.

Brezina says if the linebackers can stay healthy there will be a lot of depth next season.

SARASOTA, FLA.- The University of Iowa rowing team 1V8 and 1V4 competed in the A finals, 2V8 in the B finals, and 2V4 in the C finals during the second day of racing at the Sarasota 2K on Saturday at Nathan Benderson Park.

The Hawkeyes raced in the finals of 2000-meter sprints against a strong field of competition, including No. 18 Alabama, Boston College, Dartmouth, High Point, Iowa, Jacksonville, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville, Miami (FL), Michigan State, Old Dominion, Tulsa, No. 25 UCF, UMass, No. 21 UNC, and West Virginia.

Iowa’s top placement of the day was the 2V4 in the C final, with a second-place finish, finishing only three seconds behind first. The other Hawkeye boats all improved their times by at least five seconds.

The Hawkeyes are back in action April 11-12 against Kansas and San Diego in Lawrence, Kansas at Wyandotte County Lake.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JEFF GARBUTT
“I felt that the team really handled themselves well this weekend. Travel always challenges you outside your comfort zones and this group did a fantastic job balancing the demands of the weekend. The weather and conditions were challenging which added to the challenges of racing some great competition. Many of the women had their first taste of DI varsity rowing and I am proud of how they showed improvement over the three rounds of racing. As we continue to prep for B1G Championships in May and Kansas in two weeks, we are going to continue pushing our fitness levels and increasing our boat speeds, finding another gear of speed during the race. Everyone on our squad is ready to get back to work and try and shine our brightest when it matters. Go Hawks!”

FINISHES
Iowa was pulling strong at the start of the race, with the field remaining tight through 500 meters. Dartmouth and Miami took a couple seats in the middle meters, beginning to separate from the group. UCF surged to take the lead with Iowa maintaining connection. Iowa made a final push in the last 250 meters to stay connected with the leaders, finishing less than two seconds behind Big Ten rival Michigan State.

Varsity Eight
1 UCF (6:27.05)
2 Dartmouth (6:29.97)
3 UNC (6:30.58)
4 Michigan State (6:32.55)
5 Iowa (6:34.18)
6 Miami (6:37.01)
Iowa: Natalie Maher (cox), Orla Cuffe, Molly Shannon, Scarlett Maleham, Mia Lawrence, Poppy Brook-Turner, Lily Beardsley, Sophia Foreman, Emma Rayner

Iowa came out strong, with the whole field overlapping in the first 500 meters. Louisville took a three-seat lead over the Hawkeyes in the middle meters. In the final 250 meters, Iowa, Louisville, Kansas, and Jacksonville all made a push to break away from one another. It was a tight finish, with Iowa finding the grit to push just ahead of Louisville.

II Varsity Eight
1 Kansas 6:53.08)
2 Tulsa (6:53.35)
3 Iowa (6:54.27)
4 Louisville (6:54.54)
5 Boston College (6:58.60)
6 UMass (7:12.10)
Iowa: Cara Burns (cox), Annabel Rayner, Soph Pepper, Karire Evans, Haley Reeves, Olivia Smothers, Meghan Harris, Maggie Toennis, Alli Merritt

Iowa came out strong and remained connected to the leaders through the first 500 meters. UNC, Dartmouth, and UCF started to separate from the rest of the group in the middle meters. Iowa remained in reach of Dartmouth in the last 250 meters but ran out of room to close the gap.

Varsity Four
1 UCF (7:18.29)
2 UNC (7:21.79)
3 Kansas State (7:23.28)
4 Miami (7:28.50)
5 Dartmouth (7:30.73)
6 Iowa (7:35.09)
Iowa: Carissa Cochico (cox), Ava Satterfield, Haley Hayes, Evan Schwickerath, Laura Murphy

Iowa got out to an early lead, going up two seats on Alabama. Heading into the second half of the race, Iowa maintained its separation from Alabama. In the final 500 meters Alabama pushed and took a deck lead on the Hawkeyes to finish the race.

II Varsity Four
1 Alabama (7:54.96)
2 Iowa (7:58.27)
3 West Virginia (8:19.77)
4 High Point (8:53.25)
Iowa: Kimberly Marquez (cox), Issy Allen, Emma Tate, Ella Grove, Isabelle DeLong

Iowa City, Iowa – Sasha Boros won her 100th career dual as the University of Iowa women’s tennis team’s head coach in the Hawkeyes’ 4-1 victory over No. 62 Nebraska on Saturday afternoon at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.

Boros is the third Iowa coach to reach the 100-career win milestone. The victory moves Iowa to 11-5 overall and 5-2 in Big Ten play, matching the team’s 2024 win total.

Iowa started off strong in doubles play. On court one, No. 76 Tereza Dejnozkova and Nikita Vishwase claimed a quick 6-2 victory over Ana Zamburek and Lucy Loy. At No. 2, Daianne Hayashida and Marisa Schmidt edged Emma Rizzetto and Reya Lee Coe, 7-5, to capture the doubles point.

The match at the three line between Barbora Pokorna and Pia Kranholdt against Maria Taranovaand Natalia Trigosso was left unfinished with Iowa leading 5-3.

Kranholdt opened singles play with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Loy on court five to put Iowa up 2-0. At No. 6, Vishwase followed with a dominant 6-1, 6-4 win over Miyoshi, extending the Hawkeyes’ advantage to 3-0.

The Cornhuskers tallied their lone point when Zamburek defeated No. 106 Dejnozkova, 6-1, 3-6, 2-6 at the one line. Pokorna clinched the win with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 victory over Coe at the four position.

The remaining matches were left unfinished with Iowa clinching the match. On court two, Hayashida was battling Taranova 3-6, 6-4, 3-0, while Schmidt was leading Rizzetto, 3-6, 6-2, 4-1at No. 3.

QUOTING HEAD COACH SASHA BOROS
“I’m proud of the team. It’s always hard to find four points in the Big Ten. This is an incredibly competitive year for Big Ten tennis. I’m proud of the way they went out and competed and continue to improve. We’re looking forward to getting on the road next weekend and having two more hard-fought Big Ten battles at Maryland and Rutgers.”

UP NEXT
Iowa (11-5, 5-2) returns to action Friday, heading east to face Maryland at the Tennis Center at College Park on Friday at 2 p.m. (CT).

No. 29 Iowa 4, No. 62 Nebraska 1

Singles Results
No. 1 – Ana Zamburek (NEB) def. No. 106 Tereza Dejnozkova (UI), 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 – Daianne Hayashida (UI) vs. Maria Taranova (NEB), 3-6, 6-4, 3-0 (unfinished)
No. 3 – Marisa Schmidt (UI) vs. Emma Rizzetto (NEB), 3-6, 6-2, 4-1 (unfinished)
No. 4 – Barbora Pokorna (UI) def. Reya Lee Coe. (NEB), 6-2, 2-6, 6-1
No. 5 -Pia Kranholdt (UI) def. Lucy Loy (NEB), 6-4, 6-0
No. 6 – Nikita Vishwase (UI) def. Yuzu Miyoshi (NEB), 6-1, 6-4

Order of Finish: 5, 6, 1, 4

Doubles Results
No. 1 – No. 76 Dejnozkova/Vishwase (UI) def. Zamburek/Loy (NEB), 6-2
No. 2 – Hayashida/Schmidt (UI) def. Rizzetto/Coe (NEB), 7-5
No. 3 – Pokorna/Kranholdt (UI) vs. Taranova/Trigosso (NEB), 5-3 (unfinished)

Order of Finish: 1, 2