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IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa football senior offensive linemen Gennings Dunker and Logan Jones, and defensive lineman Aaron Graves have been named to the midseason watch list for the 2025 Lombardi Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s best college offensive or defensive lineman. The Lombardi committee made the announcement on Tuesday.
Jones (center) and Dunker (right tackle) have combined for 75 career starts. Iowa’s offensive line has gained more rushing yards than its opponents in five of six games this season. The Hawkeye offense has rushed for more than 200 yards in three games, including 210 yards in a dominating 37-0 road win at border-rival Wisconsin last weekend, and a season-high 310 yards in the season opener against UAlbany. The unit has allowed just nine quarterback sacks.
Graves anchors the middle of the Hawkeye defensive line. The graduate student has been credited with 18 tackles, including 3.5 for loss, and an interception (35-yard return) in five starts in 2025. Iowa’s defense ranks seventh nationally in yards per game (246.7) and eighth in scoring (13.0).
Center Tyler Linderbaum was a finalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award in 2021 and defensive end Adrian Clayborn was a finalist in 2010. Other Hawkeyes who have been semifinalists include linebacker Jay Higgins (2024), linebacker Jack Campbell (2022), offensive lineman Brandon Scherff (2014), offensive lineman Robert Gallery (2003), defensive lineman Jared DeVries (1998), offensive lineman Mike Devlin (1992) and defensive lineman Jeff Drost (1986).
Iowa (4-2, 2-1) hosts Penn State (3-3, 0-3) on Saturday on Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City (6:08 p.m. CT). The game will be streamed on Peacock and broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network.
For the second consecutive season, four Big 12 women’s basketball programs are featured in the Associated Press Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Preseason Poll, while an additional three schools received votes.
Iowa State leads all league programs at No. 14. The Cyclones are led by Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Audi Crooks, who finished last season as an AP and USBWA Third Team All-American while guiding ISU to the NCAA Tournament. Iowa State has now been ranked inside the top 14 of the preseason rankings in four of the last five years.
Baylor checks in at No. 16, marking its 21st consecutive season being included in the preseason poll. The Bears finished the 2024-25 season with 28 wins and advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
Fresh off the first Elite Eight appearance and Big 12 titles in program history, TCU sits at No. 17, its highest-ever preseason AP ranking and its first in 22 seasons. The Horned Frogs added Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Olivia Miles during the offseason as they look to build on their record-setting year.
Oklahoma State lands at No. 22 following a 25-win season and an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cowgirls are in the preseason poll for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
West Virginia, K-State and Kansas each received votes.
The Big 12 Preseason Coaches’ Honors were released last week, while the Preseason Big 12 Media Poll will be unveiled the week of Oct. 27.
A full preview of the 2025-26 Big 12 Women’s Basketball season will take place as the league returns to Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center for Big 12 Women’s Basketball Media Day presented by New Era on Tuesday, Oct. 21. The event will air on ESPNU and ESPN+ from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. CT, with additional coverage throughout the day on ESPN+.
The 2024-25 Big 12 women’s basketball season marked the first time the Conference has had at least five teams finish the season ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll in consecutive seasons since 2010 (2008-10). The league has sent multiple teams to the Sweet 16 in four of the last five NCAA tournaments and has had at least two teams in the regional semifinals in 22 of the last 25 tournaments, tied for the second-highest percentage (88%) of any league during that span.
AP Top 25 Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll
14. Iowa State
16. Baylor
17. TCU
22. Oklahoma State
Receiving Votes: West Virginia, K-State, Kansas.
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Missouri has announced a schedule change for the Pre-National Invitational in Columbia at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course this weekend. Due to anticipated inclement weather, the meet has moved to the morning of Friday, Oct. 17. The women’s 6,000-meter race kicks off competition at 10:00 a.m., with the men’s 8,000-meter race to follow. Admission is $12. For an inside look at the Iowa cross country program and to access exclusive coverage, “like” The University of Iowa Cross Country and Track & Field Facebook page and follow the Hawkeyes on X (@IowaXC_TF) and Instagram (@iowaxctf). Follow live results at hawkeyesports.com/tracklive. UP NEXT |
The Iowa defense will go up against a redshirt freshman quarterback Saturday night when the Hawkeyes host Penn State. Ethan Grunkemeyer stepped in during a loss to Northwestern after Drew Allar suffered a season ending injury. Iowa safety Xavier Nwankpa.
Nwankpa says they are not focusing on all the changes at Penn State.
The Hawkeye defense is coming off a shutout in a win at Wisconsin.
Iowa offensive tack Gennings Dunker expects Penn Staten to bounce back with a big effort.
ST. LOUIS, Mo.–A foursome of Drake women has been named to the 2025-26 Missouri Valley Conference Players to Watch List, the league announced Wednesday morning. Seniors Abbie Aalsma and Ava Hawthorne, along with freshmen Anna Becker and Mylea Monahan, were included as Drake’s representatives.
Aalsma, a native of Waupun, Wis., was an MVC Third Team Scholar-Athlete and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree a season ago. She began her first year at Drake coming off the bench before entering the starting lineup. Aalsma played in all 34 games with 28 starts while shooting 49 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range. She grabbed 64 total rebounds, distributed 67 assists and made 18 steals last season. Her single-game scoring record as a Bulldog came at Southern Illinois with 20 points on six made triples.
Hawthorne has been a mainstay in the Bulldogs’ rotation for her entire career. A season ago, the Gilbert High School graduate started six times but appeared in 34 games. She shot 48 percent from the floor and 39 percent from behind the 3-point arc with an average of 6.1 points per game. Ava scored her career-high 19 points, including four made threes, against Saint Louis in a November 2024 victory.
Becker, a 5’10” guard from Topeka, Kan. where she attended Seaman High School, will look to make an immediate impact for the Dogs. Becker had a decorated prep career for the Vikings with a pair of United Kansas Conference (UKC) Player of the Year Awards, plus multiple All-UKC, All-Shawnee County, and All-State honors. Becker was named the Dan Key Rising Star Female Athlete of the Year as a junior. On the court, she has averaged double figure points all three years as a varsity contributor.
Monahan continues a special connection with Drake women’s basketball as her older sister, Maddie, was a star for the Bulldogs from 2017-22 and was her high school coach at Glencoe-Silver Lake. A three-sport athlete, Monahan earned all-conference honors and varsity letters in basketball, soccer, and track & field. She helped lead the Panthers to three consecutive section finals and is also in line to contribute early in her Bulldog career.
The 2025-26 Drake women’s basketball season will officially begin on Nov. 3 at Eastern Illinois after the Bulldogs host Dakota Wesleyan on Oct. 28 for an exhibition contest.
IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior return specialist Kaden Wetjen has been recognized as a midseason first-team All-American by The Sporting News, it was announced Wednesday by the publication.
The Williamsburg, Iowa, native leads the nation in combined return yards (by 59 yards) for a second straight season. He has 522 combined return yards (236 kickoff, 286 punt) through six games. Wetjen is No. 1 in the NCAA in punt returns (26.0), second in kickoff return touchdowns (1) and third in punt return touchdowns (1).
Wetjen made history in Week 3 when he returned a punt 95 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter of the Hawkeyes’ dominant victory over UMass. The return tied a Big Ten and Iowa record (Michigan State’s Al Brenner at Illinois, 1966 and Iowa’s Bill Happel vs. Minnesota, 1984) and was the longest punt return in Kinnick Stadium history. Wetjen finished the contest against UMass with a career-high 216 return yards (182 punt and 34 kickoff) and a career-high 236 all-purpose yards. The 182 punt return yards are the fourth-most in a single game in Big Ten history.
The following week, Wetjen returned the opening kickoff 100 yards against Rutgers to tie an Iowa and Big Ten record. Wetjen earned Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors following the performances against UMass and Rutgers.
Wetjen is believed to be the first player to score a rushing, receiving, punt return and kickoff return touchdown as a Hawkeye. Both the rushing and receiving scores occurred this season.
Wetjen, who was the recipient of the 2024 Jet Award, is the only player in the nation to have both a kickoff and punt return for a touchdown this season and he was the only player to accomplish the same feat in 2024.
Iowa (4-2, 2-1) hosts Penn State (3-3, 0-3) on Saturday on Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City (6:08 p.m. CT). The game will be streamed on Peacock and broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network.
Pride Of Iowa Conference Meet
Team Results:
Pride Of Iowa Conference Meet
Team Results:
Western Iowa Conference Tournament
Semifinal: Riverside – 3 vs Underwood – 0
Semifinal: Treynor – 3 vs Missouri Valley – 0
Consolation: IKM-Manning – 2 vs Logan-Magnolia – 0
Consolation: Tri-Center – 2 vs AHSTW – 0
Consolation: IKM-Manning – 2 vs Tri-Center – 1
Consolation: Logan-Magnolia – 2 vs Audubon – 1
Consolation: IKM-Manning – 2 vs AHSTW – 0
Consolation: Audubon – 2 vs Tri-Center – 0
Consolation: IKM-Manning – 2 vs Audubon – 0
Consolation: Logan-Magnolia – 2 vs AHSTW – 0
Corner Conference Tournament
Semifinal: East Mills – 3 vs Fremont-Mills – 1
Semifinal: Sidney – 3 vs Stanton – 0
Fifth Place: Griswold – 3 vs Bedford – 0
Consolation: Essex – 3 vs Hamburg – 0
Hawkeye Ten Conference
Clarinda – 3 vs Shenandoah – 1
Red Oak – 3 vs Denison-Schleswig – 1
Lewis Central – 3 vs St. Albert – 1
Kuemper Catholic – 3 vs Harlan – 0
West Central Activities Conference Tournament
Semifinal: Woodward-Granger – 2 vs ACGC – 1
Semifinal: Van Meter – 2 vs DSM Christian – 1
Third Place: Des Moines Christian – 2 vs ACGC – 1
Championship: Van Meter – 2 vs Woodward-Granger – 1
Consolation: Pleasantville – 2 vs West Central Valley – 1
Consolation: Earlham – 2 vs Ogden – 0
Consolation: Ogden – 2 vs West Central Valley – 0
Consolation Final: Earlham – 2 vs Pleasantville – 0
Missouri River Conference
Abraham Lincoln – 3 vs Sioux City West – 1
Sioux City East – 3 vs Thomas Jefferson – 0
Sergeant Bluff-Luton – 3 vs Sioux City North – 0
Bishop Heelan Catholic – 3 vs Le Mars – 0
Season Competition Date Change
Beginning in 2026, softball teams may begin competition in Week 46 (May 18). With the implementation of 10 allowable hitting days and five fielding days during the preseason, many schools are ready to begin competition after two weeks of practice. The new start date aligns with the start and finish of the baseball season. The goal is to provide more flexibility in scheduling while allowing for additional practice time throughout the regular season. Although the new competition date coincides with the State Track and Field Meet, schools are not required to begin their softball season that week.
Double-Elimination Format Approved
The format for the 2026 State Softball Tournament has been finalized. Each class will play all its games on a designated field until the championship, where all championship contests will be played on Channel Seeds Field (the site of all previous title games).
Field Designations:
Class 4A – Channel Seeds Field
Class 3A – Iowa Central Field
Class 5A – Yankee Field (turf field)
Classes 1A & 2A – Fenway and Wrigley (the two new diamonds)
All five fields will have lights, and the field designations will rotate each year.
Each class will be divided into two brackets, with the champion from each bracket meeting in the championship game (ensuring the finalists have not played each other earlier in the tournament).
Group One: #1 vs. #8 and #4 vs. #5
Group Two: #2 vs. #7 and #3 vs. #6
Each class will play one game on Monday (four games per diamond). Following the first round, five games are scheduled for Tuesday. Depending on results, three to five games will be played on Wednesday to determine the championship finalists.
The championship schedule will remain similar to past tournaments, with two championship games on Thursday and three on Friday. For 2026, Classes 2A and 4A will play on Thursday, while Classes 1A, 3A, and 5A will play on Friday. There will be no third-place games, and class schedules will rotate annually. Game start times will be staggered.
Pitchers Permitted to Use Electronic Devices
Pitchers may now use electronic devices during games. This is an Iowa-specific adaptation of the NFHS rule that currently allows catchers and coaches to use such devices.
Postseason Weather Policy
When a postseason softball game is suspended due to weather, play will now resume at the point of suspension on the next playable date. This IGHSAU adaptation eliminates the previous rule that made a game official after five innings in the event of weather interruptions.
Additionally, postseason games halted by weather may not be resumed if three hours have passed since the designated start time. This change provides clearer guidance for site managers and umpires when managing games affected by inclement weather.
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