2025–26 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team

2025–26 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
2025–26 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
Acrisure Classic champions
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 23
AP	No. 25
Record	10–2 (1–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Ben McCollum (1st season);
Assistant coaches	Bryston Williams (1st season); Luke Barnwell (1st season); Josh Sash (1st season); Connor Wheeler (1st season);
Home arena	Carver–Hawkeye Arena

2025–26 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 13 Nebraska	2	–	0	1.000	12	–	0	1.000
No. 2 Michigan	2	–	0	1.000	11	–	0	1.000
No. 9 Michigan State	2	–	0	1.000	11	–	1	.917
No. 5 Purdue	2	–	0	1.000	11	–	1	.917
UCLA	2	–	0	1.000	10	–	3	.769
No. 24 USC	1	–	1	.500	12	–	1	.923
No. 25 Iowa	1	–	1	.500	10	–	2	.833
Indiana	1	–	1	.500	10	–	3	.769
No. 20 Illinois	1	–	1	.500	9	–	3	.750
Ohio State	1	–	1	.500	9	–	3	.750
Washington	1	–	1	.500	8	–	4	.667
Wisconsin	1	–	1	.500	8	–	4	.667
Minnesota	1	–	1	.500	7	–	5	.583
Penn State	0	–	2	.000	8	–	4	.667
Northwestern	0	–	2	.000	7	–	5	.583
Maryland	0	–	2	.000	6	–	6	.500
Oregon	0	–	2	.000	6	–	6	.500
Rutgers	0	–	2	.000	6	–	6	.500

† 2026 Big Ten tournament winner As of December 23, 2025 Rankings from AP Poll

The 2025–26 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represents the University of Iowa during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hawkeyes, led by first-year head coach Ben McCollum, play their home games at Carver–Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

Previous season

The Hawkeyes finished the 2024–25 season 17–16, 7–13 in Big Ten play to finish in a five-way tie for twelfth place. As the No. 15 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they beat Ohio State in the first round,^[1] before losing to Illinois in the quarterfinals.^[2] The Hawkeyes received a bid for the National Invitation Tournament, but declined.^[3]

On March 14, 2025, the school fired head coach Fran McCaffery.^[4] On March 24, the school hired Drake head coach Ben McCollum to be their next head coach.^[5]

Offseason

Departures

Iowa departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Even Brauns	0	F	6'9"	245	GS Senior	Iowa City, IA	Graduated
Brock Harding	2	G	6'0"	162	Sophomore	Moline, IL	Transferred to TCU
Drew Thelwell	3	G	6'3"	195	GS Senior	Orlando, FL	Graduated
Josh Dix	4	G	6'5"	200	Junior	Council Bluffs, IA	Transferred to Creighton
Trey Buchanan	5	G	6'1"	180	Freshman	Westfield, IN	Walk-on; transferred to South Dakota State
Seydou Traore	7	F	6'7"	215	Sophomore	New York City, NY	Transferred to Utah
Ladji Dembele	13	F	6'8"	250	Sophomore	Newark, NJ	Transferred to UNLV
Carter Kingsbury	14	G	6'4"	225	RS Junior	Ponca, NE	Walk-on; transferred to The Citadel
Payton Sandfort	20	F	6'7"	215	Senior	Waukee, IA	Graduated
Pryce Sandfort	24	F	6'6"	205	Sophomore	Waukee, IA	Transferred to Nebraska
Luc Laketa	25	G	6'5"	185	Senior	Concord, MI	Walk-on; left the team
Owen Freeman	32	F	6'10"	230	Sophomore	Moline, IL	Transferred to Creighton
Chris Tadjo	34	F	6'8"	220	Freshman	Montreal, Quebec	Transferred to Santa Clara
Riley Mulvey	44	F	6'10"	230	RS Junior	Rotterdam, NY	Transferred to Siena
Isaiah Johnson-Arigu		F	6'7"	220	Freshman	Minneapolis, MN	Transferred to St. Thomas (MN)

Incoming transfers

Iowa incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Cam Manyawu	3	F	6'9"	250	Junior	Kansas City, MO	Drake
Tavion Banks	6	G/F	6'7"	215	Senior	Kansas City, MO	Drake
Alvaro Folgueiras	7	F	6'10"	230	Junior	Málaga, Spain	Robert Morris
Kael Combs	11	G	6'4"	205	Junior	Nixa, MO	Drake
Bennett Stirtz	14	G	6'4"	190	Senior	Liberty, MO	Drake
Brendan Hausen	15	G	6'4"	220	Senior	Amarillo, TX	Kansas State
Isaia Howard	23	G	6'5"	215	Sophomore	Plattsburg, MO	Drake
Joey Matteoni	44	F	6'9"	220	RS Freshman	Overland Park, KS	Drake

Recruiting classes

2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Trevin Jirak C	West Des Moines, Iowa	Valley High School	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	260 lb (120 kg)	Apr 11, 2025
Trevin Jirak C	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Tate Sage SF	Weatherford, Oklahoma	Weatherford High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Apr 30, 2025
Tate Sage SF	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Overall recruit ranking: Rivals: NR 247Sports: 39 ESPN: —
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Iowa 2025 Basketball Commitments". Rivals. Retrieved June 27, 2025. "2025 Iowa Hawkeyes Recruiting Class". ESPN. Retrieved June 27, 2025. "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved June 27, 2025.

2026 recruiting class

There are no current recruits for 2026.

Roster

2025–26 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	3	Cam Manyawu	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Jr	Drake	Kansas City, MO
G	5	Peyton McCollum (W)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Waukee Northwest HS	Maryville, MO
G/F	6	Tavion Banks	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Sr	Drake	Kansas City, MO
F	7	Alvaro Folgueiras	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Jr	Robert Morris	Málaga, Spain
F	8	Cooper Koch	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS Fr	Metamora Township HS	Peoria, IL
G	10	Jacob Koch (W)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Iowa City West HS	Iowa City, IA
G	11	Kael Combs	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Drake	Nixa, MO
G	14	Bennett Stirtz	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	Drake	Liberty, MO
G	15	Brendan Hausen	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Sr	Kansas State	Amarillo, TX
F	20	Trey Thompson (W)	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Greeneville HS	Greeneville, TN
G	23	Isaia Howard	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	So	Drake	Plattsburg, MO
G	24	Tate Sage	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Fr	Weatherford HS	Weatherford, OK
C	27	Trevin Jirak	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Fr	Valley HS	West Des Moines, IA
F	44	Joey Matteoni	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS Fr	Drake	Overland Park, KS

Head coach

Ben McCollum (Northwest Missouri State)

Assistant coach(es)

Bryston Williams (Northwest Missouri State)
Luke Barnwell (Newman)
Josh Sash (William Penn)
Connor Wheeler (SIU Edwardsville)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 4, 2025* 7:30 p.m., BTN	Robert Morris	W 101–69	1–0	19 – Stirtz	5 – Tied	6 – Stirtz	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (9,232) Iowa City, IA
November 7, 2025* 6:00 p.m., B1G+	Western Illinois	W 77–58	2–0	24 – Stirtz	5 – Folgueiras	7 – Stirtz	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,978) Iowa City, IA
November 14, 2025* 7:00 p.m., FS1	Xavier	W 81–62	3–0	21 – Stirtz	9 – Manyawu	4 – Combs	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (11,678) Iowa City, IA
November 18, 2025* 7:30 p.m., BTN	Southeast Missouri State	W 99–70	4–0	16 – Folgueiras	5 – Tied	9 – Stirtz	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (9,302) Iowa City, IA
November 20, 2025* 6:00 p.m., B1G+	Chicago State Acrisure Series on-campus game	W 93–54	5–0	16 – Banks	10 – Banks	6 – Stirtz	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (9,265) Iowa City, IA
November 25, 2025* 8:30 p.m., CBSSN	vs. Ole Miss Acrisure Classic semifinal	W 74–69	6–0	29 – Stirtz	10 – C. Koch	2 – Tied	Acrisure Arena Palm Desert, CA
November 26, 2025* 8:30 p.m., CBSSN	vs. Grand Canyon Acrisure Classic championship game	W 59–46	7–0	19 – Howard	6 – Tied	5 – Stirtz	Acrisure Arena Palm Desert, CA
December 2, 2025 6:00 p.m., Peacock/NBCSN	at No. 7 Michigan State	L 52–71	7–1 (0–1)	14 – Stirtz	6 – Manyawu	4 – Stirtz	Breslin Student Events Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI
December 6, 2025 3:00 p.m., FS1	Maryland	W 84–64	8–1 (1–1)	25 – Stirtz	7 – Tied	3 – Tied	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,956) Iowa City, IA
December 11, 2025* 7:00 p.m., FS1	at No. 4 Iowa State Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series	L 62–66	8–2	14 – Banks	6 – Manyawu	4 – Stirtz	Hilton Coliseum (14,267) Ames, IA
December 14, 2025* 2:00 p.m., BTN	Western Michigan	W 91–51	9–2	13 – Tied	6 – Tied	6 – Stirtz	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,341) Iowa City, IA
December 20, 2025* 5:00 p.m., BTN	vs. Bucknell	W 94–39	10–2	17 – Folgueiras	9 – Banks	6 – Stirtz	Casey's Center (8,177) Des Moines, IA
December 29, 2025* 4:00 p.m., BTN	UMass Lowell						Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA
January 3, 2026 5:00 p.m., Peacock	UCLA						Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA
January 6, 2026 7:00 p.m., BTN	at Minnesota						Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN
January 11, 2026 11:00 a.m./3:30 p.m., FOX	Illinois Rivalry						Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA
January 14, 2026 5:30 p.m., BTN	at Purdue						Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN
January 17, 2026 1:00 p.m., FOX	at Indiana						Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN
January 20, 2026 7:30 p.m., BTN	Rutgers						Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA
January 28, 2026 6:00 p.m., BTN	USC						Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA
February 1, 2026 7:00 p.m., FS1	at Oregon						Matthew Knight Arena Eugene, OR
February 4, 2026 10:00 p.m., BTN	at Washington						Alaska Airlines Arena Seattle, WA
February 8, 2026 2:00 p.m., FS1	Northwestern						Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA
February 11, 2026 5:00 p.m., FS1	at Maryland						Xfinity Center College Park, MD
February 14, 2026 4:00 p.m./7:00 p.m., FOX	Purdue						Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA
February 17, 2026 8:00 p.m., BTN	Nebraska						Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA
February 22, 2026 3:00 p.m., FS1	at Wisconsin						Kohl Center Madison, WI
February 25, 2026 8:00 p.m., BTN	Ohio State						Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA
February 28, 2026 11:00 a.m., BTN	at Penn State						Bryce Jordan Center State College, PA
March 5, 2026 7:00 p.m., Peacock	Michigan						Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA
March 8, 2026 4:00 p.m., FOX	at Nebraska						Pinnacle Bank Arena Lincoln, NE
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[6]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP^[7]	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	23	25	23

References

^ "Harding hits late 3 to help Iowa pull away and beat Ohio State 77-70 in a Big Ten Tournament opener". ESPN.com. March 12, 2025. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
^ "Kylan Boswell scores 24 points to help No. 24 Illinois beat Iowa 106-94 in Big Ten tourney". ESPN.com. March 13, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
^ Tachman, Tyler (March 15, 2025). "Iowa basketball won't participate in postseason tournament following Fran McCaffery departure". Hawk Central. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
^ Thamel, Pete; Borzello, Jeff (March 14, 2025). "Iowa dismisses head coach Fran McCaffery after 15 seasons". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
^ Thamel, Pete; Borzello, Jeff (March 24, 2025). "Iowa hires Drake's Ben McCollum as men's basketball coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
^ "2025–26 MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE". Iowa Hawkeyes. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
^ "AP Top 25 Men's College Basketball Poll". AP News. Retrieved October 14, 2025.

[1] "Harding hits late 3 to help Iowa pull away and beat Ohio State 77-70 in a Big Ten Tournament opener". ESPN.com. March 12, 2025. Retrieved March 26, 2025.

[2] "Kylan Boswell scores 24 points to help No. 24 Illinois beat Iowa 106-94 in Big Ten tourney". ESPN.com. March 13, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2025.

[3] Tachman, Tyler (March 15, 2025). "Iowa basketball won't participate in postseason tournament following Fran McCaffery departure". Hawk Central. Retrieved June 27, 2025.

[4] Thamel, Pete; Borzello, Jeff (March 14, 2025). "Iowa dismisses head coach Fran McCaffery after 15 seasons". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 27, 2025.

[5] Thamel, Pete; Borzello, Jeff (March 24, 2025). "Iowa hires Drake's Ben McCollum as men's basketball coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 27, 2025.

[6] "2025–26 MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE". Iowa Hawkeyes. Retrieved June 30, 2025.

[7] "AP Top 25 Men's College Basketball Poll". AP News. Retrieved October 14, 2025.

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Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
Venues	Close Hall (1901–1904) First Iowa Armory (1905–1922) Second Iowa Armory (1922–1926) Iowa Field House (1927–1983) Carver–Hawkeye Arena (1983–present)
Rivalries	Iowa "Big Four" Iowa State (Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series) Illinois
Culture & lore	"Iowa Fight Song" Herky the Hawk Gambling scandal First 5-on-5 college basketball game
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1892–93 1893–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–1901 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics