Ben McCollum isn’t backing off the big names on the recruiting trail.
That message came through loud and clear at the 2026 Big Ten Basketball Media Days in Rosemont, Illinois, where Iowa was represented by McCollum, Cooper Koch and Kael Combs. After Iowa’s strong finish last season, McCollum was the central figure in the conversation, and he made it plain that the Hawkeyes are not trying to live in the middle of the pack when it comes to talent acquisition.
“I guess maybe some people want to finish whatever place. Our objective is to eventually finish first.
That’s the objective. To finish first, you’ve got to get first place players.”
That line fits the way Iowa has attacked the recruiting board under McCollum. The Hawkeyes have already landed commitments from Iowa’s No. 1 overall prospect and 2025 Iowa Mr.
Basketball Jaidyn Coon, along with Washington’s No. 1 overall prospect Ethan Harris. Those two are part of the foundation, but they are not the end of the story.
McCollum and his staff have kept pushing into the 2027 class and beyond, with top-five 2027 prospect Cayden Daughtry standing out as a major target. Daughtry first entered McCollum’s orbit in the summer of 2025, when he was sitting just outside the top 20. Since then, his stock has soared all the way to the top 3, and Iowa remains firmly in the mix as he trims his list.
There’s more than one example of Iowa taking real swings at high-end talent. The program has already picked up a commitment from Keller Daugherty, who made a huge rise in the rankings.
He went from a three-star to a four-star recruit and is now No. 97 in the 2027 class. For a player who was unranked for most of last summer, that’s a major climb and a useful under-the-radar win for Iowa.
The Hawkeyes are also still involved with top-20 guard Jalen Davis, and they have not offered anyone in the 2027 class ranked outside the top five in their state. That tells you plenty about how McCollum is approaching the job. Iowa has missed on some of the class’s most elite names, but being in the conversation for them matters too.
The national perception around the program has changed, and Iowa’s Elite Eight run has helped with that. Recruits are paying attention, and McCollum is clearly using that momentum to chase a higher recruiting ceiling.
One more name to watch is 2028 five-star prospect Bentley Lusakqueno, who has already locked in an unofficial visit this fall.
It all points to a different kind of recruiting posture in Iowa City. Under former head coach Fran McCaffrey, the program rarely went after top prospects outside the state and focused heavily on offensive fit.
McCollum has widened the scope. He’s still looking for players who fit, but he’s also making it clear that Iowa intends to go after the best talent available.
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McCollums tie to the city gives that commitment extra weight for a fan base that has been eager to see stability and momentum at the same time. Rather than letting the coaching-change rumors linger, he framed the job as one he wants to grow into further, a message that should go a long way toward settling nerves while the bigger work of strengthening the program continues. [Read more 🡒]
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Even with an experienced offensive line and a healthy stable of backs, the Hawkeyes still are waiting for the kind of consistency that makes the whole unit click. Ferentz expects that picture to improve as the season goes on, but for now the backfield remains one of the offenses biggest tests and a reminder of how quickly one area can spill into the rest of the attack. [Read more 🡒]