The end of October brought a strong run of recognition for Iowa athletes, with one wrestler collecting gold overseas and two basketball players landing on major preseason watch lists.
The biggest international headline belonged to Everest Leydecker, who kept stacking medals before ever wrestling a match at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Competing for the University of Iowa women’s wrestling program, Leydecker entered the Senior World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, at 55 Kg and ran through the bracket to another gold.
Her path started with a 2-1 win over Canada’s Karla Godinez, followed by a victory against Germany’s Anastasia Blayvas that pushed her into the semifinals. From there, Leydecker handled Japan’s Nagisa Harada 6-1 to make the final. In the championship bout, she beat Ukraine’s Nataliia Klivchutska 4-1, giving her a fourth gold medal of the year.
That latest title adds to a year already loaded with hardware. Leydecker has also won gold at the Under-20 World Championships, the Pan American Championships, and the Zagreb Open Ranking series, all while still only 19 years old.
On the men’s basketball side, Andrew McKeever’s size and skill set are already drawing attention. The Saint Mary’s transfer joined Ben McCollum’s Iowa roster, and he gives the Hawkeyes something they plainly needed after last season: a true big body in the middle.
Last year’s starter at center was Cam Manyawu, who stood six-foot-nine and was among the smaller centers in the Big Ten. Iowa wanted more rim protection, and McKeever’s seven-foot-three frame changes that conversation right away.
He’s more than just a large target near the basket, too. McKeever is a strong rebounder and shot-blocker, and he showed another side of his game in an exhibition against Illinois Springfield.
Iowa didn’t simply dump the ball inside, even though the matchup made that possible. McCollum used the game to work on other sets, and McKeever responded by leading the team with seven assists while serving as a key initiator.
That kind of fit has earned him a spot on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award top-20 preseason watch list. The award goes to the best center in Division I men’s basketball, and McKeever is one of six Big Ten players on the list.
Ava Heiden also received preseason recognition, and hers comes after a rapid rise inside the Iowa women’s program. The third-year center moved from reserve duty in her first season to becoming Iowa’s top player in short order. Last season, she was a perfect complement to Hannah Stuelke, leading the team in scoring and finishing second in rebounding.
With Stuelke gone, Heiden is in position to take on even more. She also has a stronger supporting cast around her after Jan Jensen and her staff rebuilt the roster following the departure of nine players. Iowa added four transfer portal players, including Dani Carnegie from Georgia, and brought in two players from the 2026 recruiting class, highlighted by five-star prospect McKenna Woliczko.
Even with all that new talent, Heiden is still set to be a centerpiece. She was named to the Lisa Leslie Award preseason watch list, which includes 20 players and honors the best center in Division I women’s basketball. Heiden earned the spot after a breakout 2025-2026 season in which she averaged 18.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 64.1 percent from the field.
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For Iowa fans, it is another reminder of how far Clarks star has traveled since her college days and how quickly she has become a name that resonates well beyond the WNBA. She just wrapped a strong season with career highs and an All-WNBA First-Team nod, and moments like this only add to the sense that her reach keeps growing every time she steps into a new arena. [Read more 🡒]
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Iowa Just Sent Wisconsin Another Message Fans Wont Ignore
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Hank Brown gave the offense the kind of steady night it has been looking for, completing 20 of 24 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns as the Hawkeyes controlled the game on both sides of the ball. The defense kept Wisconsin from ever finding a rhythm, and the coaching staffs adjustments showed up again, even if ball-security issues like Xavier Williams fumbles still linger as something Iowa will want cleaned up before the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]