Hawkeye Report Podcast

The edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast is a jam packed one. Tom Kakert, Tanner Lafever, and Kyle Huesmann are talking hoops, wrestling, football, and baseball for the Hawkeyes on this show.

We open by updating the latest on Iowa basketball and what is happening in the transfer portal with new head coach Ben McCollum. A couple of Drake players entered the portal today and we assess where things stand with Iowa players who could be considering staying with the Hawkeyes. Plus, we react to Owen Freeman to Creighton news.

Then a brief update on the start of spring football in Iowa City and a few thoughts on what Kirk Ferentz had to say about his team.

Next we move on to getting the assessement from Kyle about the end of the Iowa women's basketball season. What went wrong for the Hawkeyes against Oklahoma in the season ending loss? Then we look ahead to the next season. What will the starting lineup look like at this point in time? Does Jan Jensen need to get into the portal to find help for next year and what positions do they need to fill?

After that we update a red hot Iowa baseball team that heads into this weekends three game series at Minnesota tied for the top spot in the Big Ten with a 7-2 conference mark. What's been going right for Iowa in this hot streak.

Finally we have Tanner running down anything and everything talking Iowa wrestling. We wrap up the NCAA Tournament run and the championship for Stephen Buchanan, along with other strong performances and then we we look ahead to the Iowa lineup next year.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have a new men's basketball coach. His name is Ben McCollum and he was actually born in Iowa City and grew up worshiping Iowa basketball. Tuesday afternoon was his introductory press conference at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and Tom Kakert was there for full coverage.

He and Matt Randazzo break down everything we learned in the press conference from Iowa athletic director Beth Goetz and the new head coach, Ben McCollum. We get the details on the contract and some basic ideas on the state of the name, image, and likeness commitment that Iowa is making to the program.

We look at his potential staff decisions that he has made. Which coaches are coming from Drake? Will there be more players from Drake headed to Iowa City. What is the impact of getting Drake star guard Bennett Stirtz to Iowa to play?

Also, will there be any Iowa players who are in the transfer portal think about returning? Who might those players be and how important is it to get one or two back? Also, McCollum seems to be on a mission to get fans back in the stands. How is he planning on helping to get more students back supporting the team?

It's an NCAA Wrestling and basketball coaching search extravaganza . Tom Kakert and Tanner Lafever for an extra long podcast!

We open the podcast with Tanner breaking down the entire NCAA Wrestling Tournament that starts on Thursday morning. We start at 125 pounds and work our way to 285 pound. We break down each class and discuss the path for all the Iowa wrestlers this weekend in Philly.

Which Hawkeyes have the best chance to get to the finals and win an individual championship? Could we see Iowa get their first individual title since 2021? Will they be able to place three wrestlers in a title match? Which Iowa wrestlers might be able to finish higher than their seed heading into the tournament?

What about the team race? Everyone is chasing Penn State and no one will catch them, but can the Hawkeyes finish in second place?

Then we turn our attention to what turned out to be a long discussion on the Iowa basketball coaching search and the state of Iowa basketball in general. Who is the top choice now for Iowa now that Darian DeVries has taken the Indiana job? Are there any other names that we should be watching?

What about Iowa basketball in general? Does the entire program from the in-game atmosphere need a complete overhaul? What can be done to breath more life into the games from a fan perspective?

It was Selection Sunday in college basketball.and for one Hawkeye team it was a night to celebrate. For the other, it was a day to continue a search for a new leader of the program. We cover both of them on the podcast tonight.

First, Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann discuss the big news of the night and that is the Iowa women's basketball team is a six seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes won't be at home this time around. They will be headed to Norman, Oklahoma to face Murray State in the first round and then potentially they will face Oklahoma for a possible trip to the Sweet 16. We take an early look at the first round match-up with the Murray State, who shoots the three ball more than just about any team in the country.

Then there was some interesting news in the Iowa men's basketball search. West Virginia was left out of the NCAA Tournament. What could that mean for Iowa potentially pursuing their head coach Darian DeVries? Could it mean that Iowa will have a new head coach sooner than expected or are we still operating on the expected timeline?

A rare Friday edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. Probably term it an emergency edition as well with the University of Iowa parting ways with Hawkeye men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery on Friday afternoon.

Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo discuss the departure of McCaffery from every angle possible. What led to his dismissal as Iowa's head coach? What was the tick tok of how things went down today in Iowa City following the Hawkeyes loss in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday night to Illinois? Would McCaffery have likely survived for one more year if not for a steep decline in attendance at home games? We also look back at McCaffery's tenure in Iowa City and the success that he enjoyed leading the program.

Then we move on to the next step which is who the next head coach for the Hawkeyes will be? We look at what are thought to be the top two candidates for the job and how they compare to each other? Should a buyout number for one coach impact the hiring process? Who else is on the list of coaches that Beth Goetz might be looking to consider for the job?

Finally we discuss the roster moving forward. The transfer portal is now open for Iowa players and it's going to be changing, potentially drastically, heading into next year. We discuss how the hiring process is so different than it was 15 year ago, largely because of the transfer portal and why Iowa needs to act fairly quickly.

It's a post season podcast coming your way in this episode of the podcast. First, we are joined by Tanner Lafever, who takes us around the world of Iowa men's and women's wrestling, who had two very different results in their post season events.

We open with a look at the Iowa men's wrestling team and their performance at the Big Ten championships. It was a third place performance for Iowa and zero individual titles once again this year for the Hawkeyes. What happened in their three title matches, including two top seeds that lost? Which Iowa wrestlers had stronger than expected performances? Which wrestlers are we concerned about heading into the NCAA championships.

Meanwhile the Iowa women's wrestling team won their second straight national title over the weekend in Coralville. Iowa won the team title and crowned three individual champions. While Iowa didn't have as many titles it was still an impressive performance. We discuss the Hawkeyes struggled on Saturday in the semifinals, but came back strong in the next session. We also discuss what might happen with the event next year when it becomes an NCAA event.

Finally we are joined by Matt Randazzo to discuss the Iowa basketball team and their win over Nebraska and their prep for Ohio State. What went right for Iowa at Nebraska and what was it like to be in Lincoln for the game? What about the future of Fran McCaffery? What is the latest regarding his future and when can we expect a decision from Iowa athletic director Beth Goetz? Why is it important that she say something sooner rather than later? Also, could Iowa be headed to Las Vegas for post season basketball?

It's a massive wrestling weekend for the Iowa Hawkeyes men's and women's squads and we have your full preview of the action coming up on the mat. But, before we start talking about wrestling, we have some Hawkeye football news.

We have a new Iowa football commit to discuss. As we started to record, Iowa picked up a 2026 wide receiver commitment. We discussed the new addition. Then we talk about an interesting offensive analyst hire for Iowa and what that could mean for the offense. Plus, we give you a name to watch for the Iowa running back coach.

Then we dive into Iowa women's wrestling. They are competing for their second straight title this weekend in Coralville and Tanner Lafever has your full and complete preview of what to expect. Will the Hawkeyes roll to a second straight title? Which weight classes will be the most interesting to watch?

Lastly, we turn our attention to the Iowa men's wrestling team and their battle to win the Big Ten title this weekend in Evanston. What do we expect to see from the Hawkeyes this weekend. They go into the event with a pair of #1 seeds. Can both of them win their weight class? Is Penn State the clear favorite? Which Iowa wrestlers could pull a surprise and potentially rise above their seed heading into the event?

Welcome to March and that can mean only one thing, conference tournament season for the Big Ten. We open the month with the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament coming up this week in Indianapolis.

Kyle Huesmann and Tom Kakert open the podcast looking back at the Iowa women pulling away in the second half for a comfortable win over Wisconsin. By the way, they will play the Badgers in their first game in Indy and we discuss that angle of the game. But, we breakdown what we learned from Sunday's regular season final game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. What have we seen in the last month plus in terms of growth from this Iowa team? What were our takeaways from the victory on Sunday?

We look at the Big Ten Tournament bracket and Iowa's path to a potential fourth straight title. We discuss not only Wisconsin, but what happened in the Hawkeyes only meeting this year with Michigan State, who they could potentially face on Wednesday. Which team is the favorite to win the crown this year?

What about Iowa's seed in the NCAA Tournament? Are they a six seed on paper heading into this week? Could they get any higher or drop any lower? We also discuss potential players who could make the All Big Ten team this year for the Iowa women's team.

Finally we get Kyle's update on Iowa baseball after dropping three of four to Washington State over the weekend in Texas.

Back by popular demand, Matt Randazzo returns to the podcast. Tom Kakert and Randazzo open the pod talking about the topic that Iowa fans are itching to hear their thoughts on and that's Iowa basketball and Brock Harding.

We look back at the loss at Illinois and also Harding's tweet from over the weekend calling out the social media comments that have been made towards the Iowa point guard. We assess his sophomore season so far and what's gone well and where he has struggled this season.

Also, we assess the overall season and the fact that Beth Goetz went to Champaign with the Iowa men's basketball team. Does that mean anything about the future? What could the next few weeks look like for the Iowa basketball team and what are their chances to even make the Big Ten Tournament at this point? What has to happen for them to make it to any post season play?

Then we discuss the surprising news from earlier this week that Ladell Betts has left the program to become the running backs coach for the New York Giants. Why would he make this move at this time? What direction will Kirk Ferentz look to fill this opening and are there any logical candidates out there for the Hawkeye to hire?

A very special edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. We are joined by our great friend Scott Dochterman from The Athletic to discuss a wide variety of topics dealing with Iowa athletics and the future of college sports.

We open the pod with a brief discussion of the Iowa women's basketball team dropping a game to UCLA on Sunday and how impressed we have been with their play in the last month.

Then we move to Iowa men's basketball and the Fran McCaffery era. Scott and Tom Kakert have covered the entire McCaffery era in Iowa City and discuss the state of the program and the complicated history of Hawkeye men's basketball overall dating back to the days of Dr. Tom Davis. It's a lot to unpack as we look at what might be next for the Iowa basketball program and why it needs to be stronger in the coming years.

From there we move on to the state of college athletics and the House Settlement that is expected to be officially coming in a few months. Scott was in New Orleans last week for Big Ten and SEC meetings and shares what he learned from the leaders of both conferences and how the enforcement part of this settlement will be complicated at best and unlikely to be enforced.

We also dive into the potential new look to the College Football Playoff with it expanding to either 14 or 16 teams. We also look at the new look that the Big Ten might opt to in their playoff weekend with the league potentially given four playoff teams every year. If that were in place this past year, Iowa would have been playing another week with a chance to get to the College Football Playoff. If the SEC and Big Ten do a challenge series who would we like to see Iowa play?

Finally the NFL Combine is coming up and Scott will be there later in the week. We look at the seven Iowa players who have been invited and which one will see their stock rise the most and what are the chances that Kaleb Johnson could move into the first round of the NFL Draft?