The Iowa Hawkeyes have some real holes to fill after last season’s Elite 8 run, and two freshmen may have the cleanest path to early minutes.
With Bennett Stirtz now in the NBA, Iowa is staring at the challenge of replacing his production and presence on the floor. That responsibility will fall heavily on Kael Combs and transfer addition Ty'Reek Coleman.
But they are not the only departures the Hawkeyes have to account for. March Madness hero Alvaro Folgueiras and Tavion Banks are also gone, leaving more openings for someone to grab.
That is where Jaidyn Coon enters the picture.
The 2026 Iowa Mr. Basketball landed in Iowa City after backing off his commitment to Creighton, then choosing Iowa just days later in April.
The four-star guard from Storm Lake, Iowa, brings the kind of size that could help Ben McCollum right away. At 6-foot-6, Coon gives Iowa a bigger option than it had at times last season, when the team was forced to play small.
His clearest early opening may come in a role similar to the one Folgueiras filled. Folgueiras moved between the wing and the forward spots depending on the matchup, and Coon has that same kind of flexibility.
Iowa lists him as a guard/forward, and he can stretch the floor as a nearly 34% three-point shooter or hold his own against a smaller lineup. That versatility gives him a real shot to crack the rotation early.
Ethan Harris gives Iowa another freshman with a chance to matter quickly.
The Hawkeyes landed a four-star prospect from Washington who checks in at 6-foot-9, adding a much-needed dose of size. Harris played high school ball as a power forward, though Iowa lists him as a guard, which says plenty about the kind of multi-position players McCollum wants in the program. The fit is obvious.
Harris could be the closest thing to Tavion Banks from a role standpoint. The size lines up, and McCollum leaned on Banks’ athleticism last season.
Harris brings that same kind of pop, and his ability to handle the ball better than expected for his frame only adds to the appeal. That skill set could help Iowa create mismatches against smaller teams and give Harris a real path into the rotation early.
In Other News...
Iowa State Just Got Left Out Of The Big 12 Respect Conversation
The Big 12s 2026 preseason football honors landed this week with BYUs L.J. Martin headlining the offensive side and Texas Techs A.J. Holmes earning defensive recognition, but the list also offered an early reminder of where Iowa State stands in the conference conversation. After a coaching change and a major roster reset, the Cyclones were left without a single player on the preseason all-conference team, a notable omission for a program trying to reestablish itself in a league that is already handing out its first round of expectations.
Iowa States absence is easier to understand in the context of the offseason turnover, with more than 60 new players coming in under new head coach Jimmy Rogers after Matt Campbells departure. Even with some returning pieces in place, the Cyclones are starting from a different baseline than many of their Big 12 peers, and the conference will not provide a preseason ranking to soften or sharpen that perception. For now, the respect conversation is being written without them, which only raises the importance of how quickly this group can change it once the season starts. [Read more 🡒]
T.J. Otzelberger Finalizes Iowa State Staff As Cyclones Double Down On Continuity
T.J. Otzelberger has locked in his Iowa State basketball staff for the 2026-27 season, and the latest round of moves says as much about continuity as it does about fresh voices. The Cyclones added Chuck Ruffing as an assistant coach after he spent last season at Western Illinois, while Richardson Maitre and Fletcher McGarvey came aboard as graduate assistants, giving the program a familiar blend of experience, development and internal growth.
The bigger picture is in the reshuffling around the edges of the bench, where Thomas Pollard has been elevated to director of recruiting and Diante Garrett has taken over as director of player development. Iowa State also released background on the new staff members and its full coaching roster, a sign that Otzelberger is setting the table early and keeping the programs structure tight as the Cyclones move into the next phase. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Enters New Era With One Alarming Talent Problem
Iowa State is heading into a reset unlike the one it has faced in recent years, with a new coach in Jimmy Rogers and a roster that has been thinned out by turnover. Rogers has spent the offseason trying to patch things together through the transfer portal, but the Cyclones are still staring at a team that looks lighter on proven Big 12 talent than the one that came before it.
The warning sign is hard to miss: there are no Cyclones on the preseason All-Big 12 teams, a sharp reminder of how much production and recognition Iowa State has to replace. For a program that has built much of its recent success on development and continuity, the path back now runs through coaching, patience and a lot of internal growth if the Cyclones are going to stay competitive in the league. [Read more 🡒]