IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior Kaden Wetjen has been named a finalist for the 2025 Jet Award, which honors the most outstanding return specialist in college football. The announcement was made on Monday by the Jet Award Foundation.

The other four finalists are Caullin Lacy (Louisville), Ryan Niblett (Texas), Jadarian Price (Notre Dame) and Vicari Swain (South Carolina).

Wetjen, who was the recipient of the 2024 Jet Award, leads the country in combined return yards (by 231 yards) for a second straight season. He has 894 combined return yards (356 kickoff, 538 punt) through 11 games. Wetjen is No. 1 in the NCAA in punt returns (28.3) and punt return TDs (3) and fourth in kickoff return touchdowns (1). The 28.3 punt return average is currently tops in Big Ten history. The three punt return touchdowns in 2025 tie for third-most in a single season in Big Ten history.

Wetjen, who is a two-time Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week in 2025, 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. He recorded punt returns of 50 (Minnesota), 62 (Michigan State) and 95 (UMass) yards and went untouched on a 100-yard kickoff return at Rutgers. The 95-yard punt return against UMass tied a Big Ten record.

His 538 punt return yards in 2025 are an Iowa record, passing Ramon Ochoa’s 495 in 2003, and are the seventh-most in Big Ten history.

The native of Williamsburg, Iowa, amassed 182 returns yards against UMass on Sept. 13, fourth-most in a single-game in Big Ten history. Wetjen also had a 20-yard rushing touchdown against the Minutemen to become the first Hawkeye to score a rushing, receiving, punt return and kickoff return touchdown in a career.

Wetjen currently has a 17.5 career punt return average (53 returns, 929 yards), tops in Big Ten history, while his 929 career yards are 10th-most in conference history. His six career combined kickoff/punt return scores are an Iowa record, surpassing Tim Dwight after his 62-yard return in Saturday’s comeback win over Michigan State.

The award is named in honor of Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Famer Johnny “The Jet” Rodgers. The winner of the 2025 Jet Award will be selected by a panel of voters, including media members from the Football Writers Association of America, former recipients of the Jet Award, and two of our founders, Johnny Rodgers and William Reed.

Iowa (7-4, 5-3) returns to action Friday at Nebraska (7-4, 4-4) in the Pioneer Heroes Game. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:08 a.m. (CT) in Lincoln, Nebraska. The game will be televised on CBS and broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Nebraska and Iowa will meet Friday in Lincoln for the 15th annual Heroes Game, presented by Pioneer Seeds. As part of the rivalry game, citizen heroes were selected from each state, with Ashley De La Cruz-Martin chosen as Nebraska’s Hero and Jayce Koob selected as Iowa’s Hero. Both will be recognized Friday, Nov. 28, at Memorial Stadium.

The Heroes Game was created to honor the rich football traditions of the University of Iowa and the University of Nebraska football programs while also annually honoring community heroes in both states. The 2025 citizen heroes have positively impacted the community and stand as an inspiration to others.

Jayce Koob, a 12-year-old sixth grader from MOC-Floyd Valley Community School District, awoke in the middle of the night to heavy smoke and alarms, but he managed to get out of the burning house.  With no phone and alone, Jayce traveled almost a mile to alert neighbors in rural Sioux county to call for help. The tragedy claimed the lives of three teenagers, but his heroic efforts saved a fourth teen inside the house.

“Jayce Koob exemplifies the very essence of courage and selflessness that we strive to celebrate through the Pioneer Heroes program. His quick thinking and bravery in the face of unimaginable tragedy saved a life and reminds us all of the power of resilience and compassion. We are honored to recognize Jayce as an Iowa Pioneer Hero,” said Beth Goetz, the Henry B. And Patricia B. Tippie Director of Athletics Chair. “Thank you to Pioneer for shining a light on Jayce’s incredible story and for your continued commitment to honoring true heroes in our communities.”

“Pioneer is incredibly grateful to honor both Ashley and Jayce for their heroic and impactful efforts in our Midwest communities,” said Jeremy Renz, Pioneer Vice President – Sales. For nearly 100 years, we’ve been helping and honoring farmers throughout the U.S. and we are excited to keep that tradition going by honoring local heroes that live and work in the communities we serve every day. This partnership is one small way we can express our sincere gratitude for those heroes.”

Ashley De La Cruz-Martin, a 16-year-old from Columbus, Nebraska, was on her way into the Pawnee Plunge Water Park in late July, when she witnessed a man collapse in the parking lot. Drawing on her recent CPR training, Ashley immediately recognized the life-threatening situation and began administering CPR until paramedics arrived. Her quick thinking and decisive action saved the gentleman’s life.

“We are proud to recognize the life-saving act by Ashley De La Cruz-Martin and honor her as this year’s Nebraska Pioneer Hero. Ashley’s actions are representative of what this honor entails and make her a true citizen hero,” said Troy Dannen, Nebraska’s Director of Athletics. “The Pioneer Heroes Game reminds us all that life is much bigger than a three-hour football game. We are proud to partner with Pioneer and the University of Iowa each year to continue this great tradition on Thanksgiving weekend.”

Cruz-Martin and Koob will attend the game as special guests of the teams, receive on-field recognition at halftime, and have their names inscribed on the game trophy.

Pioneer, a current partner of both the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Iowa Hawkeyes, is a multi-year title sponsor of the Heroes Game. The ongoing relationship between Pioneer and Nebraska is overseen by Husker Athletic Partners, a Playfly Sports Property, the university’s athletics multimedia rightsholder. The ongoing relationship between Pioneer and Iowa is overseen by Learfield’s Hawkeye Sports Properties, the University’s athletics multimedia rightsholder and locally based team.

The ACGC Girls Basketball season begins Monday. After coming off a 22-2 season a year ago and a busy summer Head Coach Brad Baudler is excited to begin the season.

The Chargers return four of their five starters from a season ago including Senior Cam Richter who averaged 15 points a game last year. Richter will be a key leader for this year’s team.

Baudler says Richter’s game has really evolved over the summer.

The West Central Conference should be extremely competitive again this year.

ACGC heads to IKM-Manning to begin the season Monday with coverage on both KJAN and KJANTV at 7:20. Tip-off is at 7:30 P.M.

The 12th ranked Iowa State women outscored Mercyhurst 32-9 in the second quarter, Sunday, and raced away to a 112-62 win in Hilton Coliseum.

That’s ISU coach Bill Fennelly. The Cyclones are 7-0 and head to Florida for a tournament this week.

The Cyclones play Marquette on Friday.

The 16th ranked Iowa State men take a 4-0 record to Las Vegas and will play 14th ranked St. Johns Monday afternoon. It’s part of the Players Era Men’s Championship that will see the Cyclones take on Creighton Tuesday afternoon.

That’s ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger, who is heading back to Las Vegas. He was the head coach at UNLV before taking the Iowa State job.

Coached by Rick Pitino, St. Johns is 3-1 with the lone loss coming to Alabama.

Iowa avoided a Senior Day disaster this past weekend, by rallying for a 20-17 win over Michigan State on Saturday. Drew Stevens connected on a 44-yard field goal as time expired as the Hawkeyes rallied from a 10 point fourth quarter deficit. It was a emotional finish to the home season for coach Kirk Ferentz.

Bottled up for most of the day, the Hawkeyes offense did not score until the fourth quarter before putting up 13 points in the final 11 and-a-half minutes.

The Hawkeyes are 7-4 and close the regular season with a Black Friday game at Nebraska.

Iowa State closed the home schedule, Saturday, by rolling to a 38-14 win over Kansas. The Cyclones are 7-4 and will close the regular season at Oklahoma State.

That’s ISU coach Matt Campbell. It was the final home game for 16 seniors, who still have a chance to close their careers with nine wins.

It is the final week of the regular season for the Cyclones who got an early start in Dublin, Ireland.

(Atlantic, IA) – The Treynor Cardinals spoiled opening night in Atlantic, beating the Trojans 51-31 on Friday. Although the Trojan defense played relatively well, it was a lack of offensive production, combined with good defense from the Cardinals, that was the story of the night. Treynor defended the inside extremely well, limiting Katrina Williams and Atlantic’s post production. Coupled with turnovers, the Trojans managed just five points in each of the first two quarters. Although the offense had more production in the second half, it wasn’t nearly enough to chip away at the lead Treynor had established.

As expected in the first game of the season, neither team flew out of the gate. A Zoey Kirchoff 3-pointer gave Atlantic the lead early, and it stayed that way for nearly three minutes. However, it was clear that the Treynor defense was keying in on defending the post. Although the Trojans had opportunities down low throughout the game, Cardinal defenders collapsed, causing the Trojan shooters to be off. However, despite the lack of offense, the Trojans held Treynor to 15 points in the first quarter and were well within striking distance.

The second quarter was Treynor’s best offensive quarter. Scoring 13 points, the Cardinals knocked down three 3-pointers, including two from Nora Konz, who tied for the team lead in scoring, finishing the game with 12 points. They were quick and decisive with their ball movement, avoiding a large number of turnovers. Meanwhile, the Trojan offense continued to be stifled. In addition to struggling with turnovers at times, Treynor moved to a press, which caused issues for the Trojans. Freshman Maddie McLaren added her second field goal of the game, but Makenna Schroeder’s first long ball of the season was their only other points Atlantic mustered as they went into the half down 28-10.

Although the second half wouldn’t alter the course of the game, the Trojan offense did play better. They managed 10+ points in each of the final two frames, led by their freshman. Kaitlyn Hickman tallied eight points in the fourth quarter, while Maddie McLaren added six more and ended as the team’s leading scorer with 10. However, the Trojans were never able to build any momentum as the Cardinals stayed consistent on their way to a 51-31 win. Head coach Dan Vargason said that turnovers played a big role in the lack of offensive production.

He felt that some missed opportunities early cost them.

However, there were positive takeaways. In addition to the defense playing relatively well, the production from the freshman was a good sign.

The Trojans, now 0-1, will turn their attention to Denison-Schleswig as they travel to face the Monarchs on Tuesday. Vargason knows that they will have to cut down on the turnovers and continue to improve and clean up their game.

Tuesday night’s game in Denison is scheduled for 7:30 pm. You can catch the action on KJANTV with coverage beginning at 7:20 pm.

The AHSTW Girls Basketball team is set to begin the 2025-206 season next week. Head Coach Jason McCall says the summer was filled with hard work and now they are ready to compete against someone other than themselves.

AHSTW had zero seniors last year meaning everyone is coming back. McCall believes the team chemistry should skyrocket this season.

The Vikings are competing in a few scrimmages leading up to the first regular season game.

Players to watch this season for AHSTW will be Junior duo Bella Lamp and Addison Carroll. The Vikings open their season up Monday on the road at Woodbine.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa head softball coach Stacy May-Johnson released details of the Hawkeyes’ 47-game regular season on Thursday. The 2026 slate features 19 games at Bob Pearl Field with the first home game scheduled for March 20 against Minnesota.

SCHEDULE NOTES 

• Iowa opens the season down south with tournaments in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.  The Hawkeyes open the year at the JoAnne Graf Classic in Tallahassee, Florida, on Feb. 7–9 followed by weekends at the MUSB Invitational (Feb. 13–15) and Campbell Softball Tournament (Feb. 20–22).
• The Hawkeyes continue their southern swing with a single game at McNeese State on Feb. 26 before closing out February at the LSU Invitational in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from Feb. 27–28.
• Iowa opens Big Ten play on the road for its first two series.  The Hawkeyes travel to Columbus for a three-game series at Ohio State from March 6–8 before facing Illinois in Champaign from March 13-15.
• The Hawkeyes’ home debut begins with a three-game series against Minnesota from March 20-22. Other marquee home series include Washington (March 27–29), South Dakota State/Georgia Tech (April 10–12), Indiana (April 17–19) and Purdue (May 1–3).
• The team will hit the road for conference series against Oregon (April 3–5) and Nebraska (April 24–26).
• Iowa’s midweek slate includes matchups against Illinois State, Northern Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Illinois.  The Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series matchup against the Cyclones will be played on April 8 in Iowa City and April 21 in Ames.

The Hawkeyes posted a 35-18 overall record and 15-7 mark in Big Ten play during the 2025 season, finishing sixth in the league standings. Iowa swept four conference series and earned ranked wins over UCLA and Nebraska during a late-season surge.

The 2026 campaign marks the first season under May-Johnson, a former Hawkeye All-Big Ten standout and U.S. National Team member, who returns to Iowa City with nearly two decades of coaching experience.