Ben McCollum didn’t wait long to make his point this summer: Iowa’s first year under his watch was no fluke, the schedule is being built with purpose, and Cooper Koch is already turning heads again.
That was the picture McCollum painted on “Inside College Basketball” in a conversation with Jon Rothstein, where he touched on Iowa’s Elite Eight run, life without Bennett Stirtz, and the rapid climb that has made him one of the sport’s most talked-about coaches.
The biggest takeaway from McCollum’s comments was how little doubt he had about what his team could do in March. Iowa entered the NCAA Tournament as a nine-seed and then ripped through the bracket, but McCollum said he saw the possibility long before the rest of the country did.
“I knew our process was right, we just weren't finishing games...Given the right matchups, I thought we could make a run in the NCAA Tournament.”
When Rothstein asked why the Hawkeyes looked so different in the tournament than they did during the regular season, McCollum pointed to the way his team approached each game. He said they were better at “grip”ing each matchup on its own and treating every night like win-or-go-home basketball. That mindset showed up in a big way, especially in the upset of No. 1 seed Florida.
McCollum also made it clear that Iowa’s non-conference schedule is about more than just challenge for challenge’s sake. The Hawkeyes have lined up Alabama, Creighton, Iowa State, and Virginia Tech, but the idea was also to make sure fans could actually get there. McCollum said last season’s trip to California was fun, but it would have meant more with more Iowa fans in the building.
“Why don't we make sure we can get as many of our fans to games as possible and just play at neutral sites close to the state of Iowa or in the state of Iowa?”
That theme has been part of McCollum’s message since he arrived. He has repeatedly stressed that rebuilding the program requires fan support, and he said the schedule was shaped with that in mind. The games against those non-conference opponents are all within the state, with most of them set for the Casey’s Center in Des Moines.
The other eye-catching update from McCollum centered on Koch, who has already gone from uncertain future to key piece and now appears to be taking another step. After redshirting his true freshman year and entering the transfer portal following Fran McCaffery’s firing, Koch was brought back by McCollum and became a major part of last season’s team. He started every game as a freshman, shot the three well, and defended the perimeter.
Now, McCollum says Koch has been one of the biggest offseason risers on the roster.
“His summer has been awesome. His conditioning, his leadership, he wins or finishes in the top couple of every sprint.”
For Iowa, that’s the kind of development that matters. Koch was already important during the Elite Eight run, and McCollum’s comments suggest the Hawkeyes believe there’s even more there heading into year two.
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For Iowa State, the bigger issue is not just losing a talented wing, but losing a player whose path had become tied to a far more complicated set of decisions than simple college loyalty. By the time Momcilovic made his move, the Cyclones had already secured five transfers, leaving little room for a reunion even before the next phase of his career took shape. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Landed In A Big 12 Quarterback Ranking Debate
A fresh quarterback ranking for the 2026 Big 12 picture puts Iowa State right in the middle of a debate that will shape how tough next season feels for the Cyclones. The list runs through 12 likely starters and weighs past production, experience and projected impact, giving a useful snapshot of the leagues passing landscape before anyone has actually settled a depth chart.
For Iowa State, the takeaway is less about where one name lands and more about how the schedule stacks up around it. The rankings suggest the Cyclones will see everything from the lower end of the quarterback pool to some of the conferences most intriguing arms, with Iowa standing out as one of the toughest games on the slate even though its quarterback situation is viewed as shaky. [Read more 🡒]