IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa diver Geneva Pauly and swimmer Olivia Swalley were tabbed as the Big Ten Athletes to Watch heading into the 2025-26 season, the league announced on Tuesday.

Pauly, a senior from Arvada, Colorado, returns to the diving well after placing 10th from the tower at the 2025 NCAA Zone Diving Championships. She qualified to zones in all three dives a season ago. Pauly’s 278.65 points in the platform dive ranks second all-time in school history. From the 1-meter springboard, Pauly holds Iowa’s ninth-best total (312.95).

Swalley returns for her junior year after leading the team in four events a season ago. The native of Johnston, Iowa, is the school record holder in the 400 IM (4:10.54). Swalley is second in the 100 breast and 200 IM, while holding the fourth-fastest time in the 200 breast. In total, Swalley won 21 individual races and was a part of three winning relays during the 2024-25 season.

The University of Iowa swimming and diving team begins its season on Oct. 10 for its Pink Out meet against UNI. Competition begins at 5:00 p.m. (CT) inside the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center in Iowa City.

(Radio Iowa) – Arizona coach Brent Brennan says Matt Campbell has built a consistent winner at Iowa State. The 3-0 Wildcats face their first road test of the season on Saturday night when they visit the 14th ranked Cyclones.

Arizona is coming off a bye week and Brennan says it gave them added time to prepare for Iowa State.

The Arizona defense is giving up only 96 yards of rushing per game and Brennan says the Cyclones use of multiple tight ends will make that a tougher challenge.

Brennan says the Wildcat’s first road test will be a tough one.

(Radio Iowa) – Indiana coach Curt Cignetti says the 11th ranked Hoosiers need to move on as they get ready for Saturday’s game at Iowa. The Hoosiers are 4-0 after clobbering then ninth ranked Illinois 63-10.

Cignetti on the consistency of the Iowa program.

Cignetti says Iowa’s Kaden Wetjen is a game changer in the return game

Despite the lopsided win against Illinois, Cignetti has concerns about the Hoosier secondary.

(Radio Iowa) – The top ranked teams remain the same in the latest Radio Iowa High School Football Poll. Todd Kimm reports.

Class 5A
1. Waukee Northwest (4-0), LW #1 vs DSM East
2. WDM Valley (3-1), LW #3 @ Indianola
3. Dowling Catholic (3-1), LW #4 vs Waterloo West
4. Iowa City West (4-0), LW #7 vs #8 Liberty
5. Ankeny (3-1), LW #6 vs #6 Sioux City East
6. Sioux City East (4-0), LW #8 @ #5 Ankeny
7. Johnston (3-1), LW (X) @ CB Abe Lincoln
8. Iowa City Liberty (3-1), LW #2 @ #4 Iowa City West
9. Cedar Falls (3-1), LW #10 vs Dubuque Hempstead
10.Southeast Polk (2-2), LW #5 vs Ottumwa

Class 4A
1. Cedar Rapids Xavier (4-0), LW #1 @ CR Washington
2. Pella (4-0), LW #2 @ Marion
3. Sergeant Bluff-Luton (3-1), LW #5 @ #6 Fort Dodge
4. North Polk (3-1), LW #3 vs Ballard
5. ADM (Adel) (3-1), LW #6 vs Boone
6. Fort Dodge (4-0), LW #7 vs #3 Sergeant Bluff-Luton
7. Gilbert (4-0), LW #8 @ Bondurant-Farrar
8. Newton (3-1), LW #10 vs Oskaloosa
9. Decorah (3-1), LW #4 @ Waterloo East
10.Glenwood (3-1), LW #9 @ Lewis Central

Class 3A
1. Clear Lake (4-0), LW #1 @ #7 Independence
2. Solon (4-0), LW #2 @ Fairfield
3. Bishop Heelan (3-1), LW #3 @ #10 Sioux Center
4. Mount Vernon (3-1), LW #4 @ Maquoketa
5. Des Moines Christian (4-0), LW #5 vs Williamsburg
6. Algona (3-1), LW #9 @ MOC-Floyd Valley
7. Independence (4-0), LW #10 vs #1 Clear Lake
8. West Delaware (4-0), LW (X) @ Iowa Falls-Alden
9. Nevada (3-1), LW #7 vs Winterset
10.Sioux Center (4-0), LW (X) vs #3 Bishop Heelan

Class 2A
1. Kuemper Catholic (4-0), LW #1 @ Southeast Valley
2. Van Meter (3-1), LW #2 @ Clarinda
3. Osage (4-0), LW #4 @ New Hampton
4. PCM (Monroe) (3-1), LW #5 @ South Tama
5. Okoboji (Milford) (4-0), LW #6 vs Estherville Lincoln Central
6. Mid-Prairie (Wellman) (3-1), LW #7 vs West Liberty
7. Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (3-1), LW #8 @ Sheldon
8. Woodward-Granger (3-1), LW #3 vs Grand View Christian
9. Centerville (4-0), LW (X) vs Pella Christian
10.Alburnett (3-1), LW (X) vs West Branch

Class 1A
1. Grundy Center (4-0), LW #1 @ #10 Clarion-Goldfield-Dows
2. West Lyon (4-0), LW #2 vs Hinton
3. Regina Catholic (4-0), LW vs Durant
4. South Hardin (4-0), LW @ Garner Hayfield Ventura
5. Treynor (3-1), LW #6 @ #6 Underwood
6. Underwood (3-1), LW #8 vs #5 Treynor
7. West Marshall (3-1), LW #9 vs Pleasantville
8. Lawton-Bronson (3-1), LW (X) @ Ridge View
9. Union (4-0), LW (X) vs Jesup
10.Carion-Goldfield-Dows (3-1), LW (X) vs #1 Grundy Center

Class A
1. West Hancock (4-0), LW #1 @ Lake Mills
2. Saint Ansgar (4-0), LW #2 @ Nashua-Plainfield
3. MMCRU (4-0), LW #3 vs Sibley-Ocheyedan
4. AC/GC (4-0), LW #4 @ #9 Madrid
5. North Linn (5-0), LW @ East Buchanan
6. Woodbury Central (4-0), LW #6 vs Gehlen Catholic
7. Wapsie Valley (4-0), LW #7 @ #8 Maquoketa Valley
8. Maquoketa Valley (3-1), LW #8 vs #7 Wapsie Valley
9. Madrid (3-1), LW #9 vs #4 AC/GC
10.Riverside (Oakland) (3-1), LW #10 vs Nodaway Valley

8-Player
1. Bishop Garrigan (4-0), LW #1 vs Turkey Valley
2. Iowa Valley (5-0), LW #2 @ Winfield-Mount Union (Thurs)
3. Gladbrook-Reinbeck (4-0), LW #3 @ #8 Don Bosco
4. Woodbine (4-0), LW #4 @ East Mills
5. Audubon (4-0), LW #5 @ #9 Fremont-Mills
6. Montezuma (3-1), LW #6 @ S.E. Warren
7. Easton Valley (4-0), LW #7 @ HLV/TC
8. Don Bosco (2-1), LW #8 vs #3 Gladbrook-Reinbeck
9. Fremont-Mills (3-1), LW #9 vs #5 Audubon
10.Edgewood-Colesburg (4-0), LW #10 vs Central City

 1A REGION 3 

Atlantic – 5 vs Audubon – 4

Atlantic winners: Lily Willrich (2), Shauna Anderson (2), Jacobi Harter, Aubrey Winford, Dylin Ball, Taryn O’Brien

Audubon winners: Briley Belnap, Vivian Jackson, Lena Rieman, Reagan Hoffman 

2A REGION 4

Indianola – 5 vs Abraham Lincoln – 1

Non-Conference 

Southwest Valley – 3 vs Stanton – 1

IKM-Manning – 2 vs Coon Rapids-Bayard – 0

Coon Rapids-Bayard – 2 vs East Sac County – 0

East Sac County – 2 vs IKM-Manning – 1

Pekin – 2 vs Moravia – 0

Moravia – 2 vs Moulton-Udell 0

Moravia – 2 vs Cardinal – 0

Cardinal – 2 vs Moulton-Udell – 0

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa return specialist Kaden Wetjen earned Big Ten Co-Special Teams Player of the Week honors following his effort in the Hawkeyes’ 38-28 road victory at Rutgers, the announcement was made Monday by the league office. He shares the weekly honor with Michigan’s Dominic Zvada.

Wetjen (5-foot-9, 196 pounds) amassed a game-best 183 all-purpose yards, including tying an Iowa record with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff. The 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown is the sixth in school history and the second of Wetjen’s career. He is the second Hawkeye to return an opening kickoff for a touchdown (C.J. Jones vs. USC in the 2003 Orange Bowl). It is Wetjen’s second career 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown (2024 Music City Bowl vs. Missouri) and it is the 45th 100-yard return for a touchdown in Big Ten history (25th in a league game and first since 2023).

Wetjen, who was last week’s Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week, has four career combined return touchdowns (two punt, two kickoff), which ties Kahlil Hill for the second-most all-time (Tim Dwight, 5). It marked the second straight week that Wetjen returned a kick for a score (95-yard punt return vs. UMass on Sept. 13). Wetjen has returned both a punt and kickoff for a touchdown each of the last two seasons.

In addition to the 100-yard kickoff return, the 2024 Jet Award recipient also had a 43-yard punt return and a 24-yard kickoff return. It marked Wetjen’s second straight and fifth career game with 100+ return yards.

It is the third of Wetjen’s career as he was also honored once during the 2024 season.

Iowa (3-1, 1-0) returns home on Saturday, hosting No. 11/12 Indiana (4-0, 1-0) on Homecoming. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. (CT) on Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium. The game will be seen on Peacock and broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network.

UNI coach Todd Stepsis hopes to use the bye week to fix the run game. In a 2-2 start to the season the Panthers are only averaging 113 yards on the ground. They are coming off a 20-9 loss at Utah Tech.

With a tough Missouri Valley Football race upcoming the Panthers need to find a ground game.

Stepsis says part of the solution is more toughness from the offensive line.

Stepsis says they may get quarterback Matthew Schecklman more involved in the run game.

Stepsis says while they were hoping to be better than 2-2 at this point it is not because of a lack of effort.

The Panther open the Missouri Valley race at home on October fourth against North Dakota.

AMES, Iowa – No. 14 Iowa State (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) will play at Cincinnati (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) on Saturday, October 4 at 11 a.m. on ESPN2. The undefeated Cyclones will face Arizona this Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium with a 6 p.m. kickoff being aired on ESPN. To purchase tickets to the Arizona game, click here.

 2025 Iowa State Football Schedule

Aug. 23                +*vs. Kansas State (ESPN)               W, 24-21

Aug. 30                SOUTH DAKOTA (FOX)                     W, 55-7

Sept. 6                 %IOWA (FOX)                                     W, 16-13

Sept. 13               at Arkansas State (ESPN2)               W, 24-16

Sept. 27               *ARIZONA (ESPN)                             6 p.m.

Oct. 4                   *at Cincinnati (ESPN2)                      11 a.m.

Oct. 11                 *at Colorado                                     TBA

Oct. 25                 *BYU (Homecoming)                       TBA

Nov. 1                   *ARIZONA STATE                             TBA

Nov. 8                   *at TCU                                              TBA

Nov. 22                *KANSAS                                            TBA

Nov. 29                *at Oklahoma State                         TBA

Dec. 6                   Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship Game

All Times Central

+ Aer Lingus College Football Classic (Dublin, Ireland)

%Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series

*Big 12 Conference Game