by Reece Dolezal
IOWA CITY, IOWA–It’s a crisp November morning in Iowa City, Iowa. A golden sunrise peaks across the horizon and welcomes the college city to a new day.
That same golden sunrise is a reflection of the brand-new start for the University of Iowa men’s basketball program. A new roster, new coaching staff, and even new jerseys. The type of hope and happiness that comes with the beginning of a new day, reflects the same for this new Hawkeye team. It’s time to get up and excited again.
The 2025-26 season marks a turning point in the history of the team. Ben McCollum takes the reins as head coach after Fran McCaffery was let go by the team following 15 seasons in Iowa City.
Out of all potential candidates for the vacant position in the offseason, McCollum made the most sense. McCollum was born in Iowa City and was recently the head coach of the in-state Drake Bulldogs. The Bulldogs posted an impressive 31-4 record with a trip to the Round of 32 in March Madness.
University of Iowa Athletics Director Beth Goetz said it best in McCollum’s introductory press conference in March. Goetz said that McCollum wasn’t just chosen for his local roots, but that success follows wherever he goes.
Before being at Drake for one season, McCollum coached in Division ll, leading Northwest Missouri State to four national championships in his tenure. While at Northwest Missouri State, McCollum was awarded NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) Division ll Coach of the Year five times. He was also awarded MVC (Missouri Valley Conference) Coach of the Year for his lone season at Drake.
This hiring means more because McCollum’s prior success comes after taking some inspiration from the earlier basketball stars and coaching greats at Iowa. Going back to the aforementioned introductory press conference, McCollum said he grew up watching Tom Davis, taking note of how Davis’ teams used to press.
McCollum’s vision for what the new Hawkeyes will look like isn’t so new to some Hawkeye fans.
“Have you ever seen Chris Street play?” McCollum rhetorically asked at his introductory press conference. “Like just with the intensity, the energy, the effort, the enthusiasm, the joy, the servant mentality, the toughness. Everything that Iowa stands for is what our team is going to look like.”
There was a need for a coaching change because the team lacked some of those same characteristics over the last two seasons.
Going into the 2024-25 season, the skies were gloomy for the men’s basketball program after finishing with a 19-15 record the year prior. Any hope was limited. There seemed to be a lack of intensity and enthusiasm which carried on throughout last year. The tough losses piled on one after the other. Perhaps the toughest for a Hawkeye fan to stomach included Iowa State fans chanting “Cyclone State” in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, as time expired in the annual Cy-Hawk showdown.
As the Hawkeyes’ record settled close to the .500 mark when they approached March, the end seemed near for the Fran McCaffery era in Iowa City. That nearing end became true after the Hawkeyes missed out on the NCAA Tournament two years in a row.
After years of the same ending results, Iowa fans knew what to expect. Attendance had waned throughout the last few years.
During McCaffery’s time with Iowa, there was limited success in March. In his 15 seasons, Iowa missed the NCAA Tournament eight times. When McCaffery’s teams reached the big dance, they lost in the first and second rounds three times each, and lost in the third round once.
Sure, there were some good times.
A lot of memorable moments and star players were made during those 15 seasons. Luka Garza dominated teams left and right, becoming a national player of the year. Keegan and Kris Murray were each drafted in the first round of their respective NBA Draft classes. Then of course, there’s the 2022 Big Ten Tournament championship win.
Basketball wasn’t the only entertainment you would get at Fran McCaffery games. Never forget the intense, infamous staredown including McCaffery and an official during a game against Michigan State in 2023. McCaffery, standing outside his huddle and fed up with the officiating that game, stared down the official as he slowly walked toward him, like a true hawk stalking his prey, before he stopped in front of him for a few seconds and turned around. Iowa would then come back from a 13-point deficit with 1:34 left on the clock to win the game.
During McCaffery’s tenure, the ticket prices for seats closest to the court were justifiable. In a matchup against the South Dakota Coyotes in his last year, you got to hear McCaffery howling at his players, while his face rose to the color of the Coyotes’ vermillion jerseys.
In just a year later, the team has a reinvented roster with Ben McCollum at the helm.
Cooper Koch and Jacob Koch are the only returnees to the Hawkeyes, with Cooper having the more meaningful minutes under his belt. Cooper missed most of last season due to injury, but his development with this new team will be something to keep an eye out for.
Six players from Drake are following McCollum to Iowa City, including Bennett Stirtz most notably. The Iowa offense will run through Stirtz, which is something he was accustomed to at Drake. The NABC named Stirtz to their Preseason Player of the Year Watch List, and he was also named to the Naismith Trophy Watch List for the best men’s college player. Stirtz will be the go-to scorer and playmaker in this new offense.
Cam Manyawu, Tavion Banks, Kael Combs, Isaia Howard, and Joey Matteoni are also from Drake and will add some continuity to this new roster. Last season with the Bulldogs, Banks won the MVC Sixth Man of the Year award. All six players from Drake are familiar with McCollum’s system filled with physical and mental toughness.
Incoming transfers Alvaro Folgueiras and Brendan Hausen are poised to make an impact as well.
Folgueiras was a huge get in the transfer portal from Robert Morris–who the Hawks play in their first game–after becoming Horizon League Player of the Year last season. The skilled power forward can score at all three levels and is also praised for his basketball IQ and passing by coaches and players.
Hausen is set to play a vast role in the offense as well. The Kansas State transfer is a certified sniper from beyond the arc, averaging 39.1% from the three-point line throughout his career. Whether it’s off-the-dribble or catch-and-shoot, Hausen isn’t afraid to let it fly from anywhere, which Hawkeye fans loved from Caitlin Clark and Jordan Bohannon.
Trey Thompson, Tate Sage, Trevin Jirak, and Peyton McCollum round out the rest of the newcomers. Coach McCollum and Stirtz both voiced that Thompson, Sage and Jirak have impressed them throughout the preseason.
A huge, needed culture shift has begun in the Iowa men’s basketball program. Players can be seen donning black and gold shirts with phrases such as “Culture Wins” and “Impose Your Will” on Iowa Hawkeyes social media accounts. Ben McCollum and his team are looking to bring Iowa men’s basketball back to the Lute Olsen and Tom Davis days of national prominence.
But McCollum is aiming for better. Not just national prominence, but national championships.
The fresh-look Hawkeyes tip off this bright, new era tonight in Carver-Hawkeye Arena against the Robert Morris Colonials.