The 2025-’26 ‘BTPowerhouse Season Preview’ series will take an in-depth look at all 18 teams in the Big Ten heading into the 2025-’26 season with analysis on each program’s previous season, roster overhaul,
and top storylines. Each post will also include predictions on each team’s postseason potential.
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Last Season
It’s almost a full program rebuild in Iowa City. Almost.
Out with longtime head coach Fran McCaffery and in with up-and-comer Ben McCollum. McCaffery led the Hawkeyes for 15 seasons, becoming Iowa’s all-time winningest head coach, but never won a Big Ten regular season title or made it to a Sweet Sixteen.
Last season’s Hawkeyes were a game above .500 in the regular season with a 16-15 finish, 7-13 in Big Ten play, before winning a game in the conference tournament to stay above .500. It was enough to close the book on the McCaffery era at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Roster Overlook
I said “almost” for a reason. The Hawkeyes have all of one (1) returner from last season’s roster: Cooper Koch, who missed most of last year with a medical redshirt. He’s back as a redshirt freshman. The rest of the roster is of Ben McCollum’s doing, with plenty of transfers from Drake and a few from other schools. Iowa managed to land a handful of freshmen as well.
Transfer Portal
- G Bennett Stirtz (Senior, Drake)
- F Alvaro Folgueiras (Junior, Robert Morris)
- G Brendan Hausen (Senior, Kansas State)
- G Tavion Banks (Senior, Drake)
- F Cam Manyawu (Junior, Drake)
- G Isaia Howard (Sophomore, Drake)
- G Kael Combs (Junior, Drake)
- F Joey Matteoni (R-Freshman, Drake)
Freshmen
- C Trevin Jirak (NR)
- G Tate Sage (NR)
- G Peyton McCollum
- 3-star F Trey Thompson
Unlike several other teams, Iowa did not play an open exhibition in the preseason. We know Stirtz will start at point guard, but most of Iowa’s additions from Drake came off the bench for the Bulldogs. It’ll be a new-look five in Iowa City.
Schedule
Non-Conference
- 11/4 vs Robert Morris
- 11/7 vs Western Illinois
- 11/14 vs Xavier
- 11/18 vs Southeast Missouri
- 11/20 vs Chicago State
- 11/25 vs Mississippi (Palm Springs)
- 12/11 at Iowa State
- 12/14 vs Western Michigan
- 12/20 vs Bucknell (Des Moines)
- 12/29 vs UMass Lowell
There’s definitely worse noncon slates out there but this really doesn’t move me. Iowa State is gonna be great, but that’s a must-have in-state rivalry. Mississippi will be great, but after that this non-conference doesn’t offer all that much. Xavier has a first year head coach of its own, but Richard Pitino wasn’t able to bring a lot of his New Mexico roster with him to Cincinnati like McCollum was able to do in Iowa City. Gotta win one of Iowa State or Mississippi, I think.
Big Ten
- 12/2 at Michigan State
- 12/6 vs Maryland
- 1/3 vs UCLA
- 1/6 at Minnesota
- 1/11 vs Illinois
- 1/14 at Purdue
- 1/17 at Indiana
- 1/20 vs Rutgers
- 1/28 vs USC
- 2/1 at Oregon
- 2/4 at Washington
- 2/8 vs Northwestern
- 2/11 at Maryland
- 2/14 vs Purdue
- 2/17 vs Nebraska
- 2/22 at Wisconsin
- 2/25 vs Ohio State
- 2/28 at Penn State
- 3/5 vs Michigan
- 3/8 at Nebraska
Going right from facing Illinois to a trip to Mackey Arena to play Purdue certainly isn’t fun. Playing just one of Illinois Purdue and Michigan twice is good, but Purdue is almost certainly the best of the three and that’s Iowa’s draw. McCollum vs Painter and Stirtz vs Smith will be fun matchups, but it’s hard to see the game going in favor of the Hawkeyes.
Biggest Obstacle
Stirtz is going to be one of the very best players in the country, a surefire all-conference selection. I’m really curious to see how the rest of the conference handles McCollum’s slow-paced offense. It’s not like longtime coaches around the league haven’t faced teams that slow things down before, that was sort of the Big Ten’s whole thing (and to some degree still is) but the sheer flip from McCaffery’s all the points as fast as possible all the time approach should be interesting.
McCollum has beaten high-majors before at Drake. I think it’s likelier than not that he not only survives, but thrives, especially with Stirtz in tow. I want to see how the newcomers pick up on that system though, that’s probably the biggest obstacle in theory.
Realistic Expectations
Iowa might have a bit of a t0ugher road in the Big Ten than most. McCollum is a winner, but high-major basketball is just different on a night-in-night-out basis. I wouldn’t be surprised to see these Hawkeyes in the Field of 68 at the season’s end, but you simply never know.
