Ben McCollum’s recruiting push at Iowa is already reaching into the 2029 class, and the latest name on the board is a promising South Dakota forward.
Noah Woods announced on social media Sunday that Iowa has offered him. The Sioux Falls, S.D., native plays at Washington High School and checks in at 6-foot-8 and 200 pounds. He also competes on the Adidas 3SSB circuit with D1 Minnesota.
The Hawkeyes were among the first programs to jump in on Woods, following a June 24 offer from South Dakota State. Nebraska then offered him Monday evening. Woods is viewed as possibly the top prospect in South Dakota’s 2029 class, and as more film circulates, more schools are expected to join the chase.
That early offer matters for Iowa. It gives McCollum the first real shot to sell Woods on the Hawkeyes before the recruitment gets crowded. It doesn’t lock anything in, but it does put Iowa in position to build an advantage before the rest of the field piles on.
McCollum has already stacked up some major recruiting wins this offseason in the 2026 and 2027 classes, landing Jaidyn Coon, Ethan Harris, and Keller Daugherty. There’s still work ahead in the 2027 and 2028 cycles, but Iowa is clearly not waiting around to get involved with the next wave of talent.
For McCollum, this is the kind of swing that fits the way he’s operated so far: identify talent early, move fast, and try to stay ahead of the pack. Woods is the latest test of that approach.
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