Hawkeye Report Podcast

It's another jam packed edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast this week. We open previewing the Hawkeye women's basketball team and Kyle Huesmann guiding us through that discussion. This weekend, Iowa hosts UCLA. Can Iowa pull off another upset against a national ranked team from Southern California?

After that we discuss some Iowa baseball and preview their series starting Friday down at Stetson, which includes a contest against Notre Dame. What needs to go well for Iowa to emerge with at least a 2-1 record this weekend?

Then we move on to Iowa men's basketball coming off a hard fought loss to Oregon on Wednesday night. Tom Kakert gives his thoughts on the loss and the missed opportunity. More importantly moving forward it looks like the Hawkeye path to even make it to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament is becoming even more complicated. We dive into that discussion and explain why it's challenging.

Finally we wrap up on the wrestling mat with Tanner Lafever discussing a huge weekend for the Iowa men and women. First we dive into the meet on Sunday night in Iowa City when the Hawkeyes host the Oklahoma State Cowboys. We break it all down weight by weight with a couple of potential surprises in the Iowa lineup. Then we move on to the Hawkeye women, who start their path to another national title this weekend. Tanner runs down what to expect from the Hawkeye women.

It's a Monday podcast that's jam packed with Iowa Hawkeye news and commentary. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann open the podcast dicussing the overtime loss by the Iowa women's hoops team on the road at Ohio State.

We look back at the game and how Iowa fought back late to tie the game and send it into extra time before the Buckeyes pull away for the victory. What did we see from the Hawkeyes as they saw their winning streak come to an end? How did they battle back after being down by double figures in the first half and again at times in the second half? How have we seen Lucy Olsen really grow in the player many expected her to be this year? How important were Syd Affolter and Kylie Feuerbach in today's game and how well have they been playing in the last few weeks?

We also dive into where Iowa might be seeded in the NCAA and Big Ten Tournament and what their path might look like.

Then we move over the Iowa men's basketball team and their loss to Maryland on Sunday afternoon. Why was that game a tale of two halves and did the Hawkeyes perhaps just get worn down with the limited numbers and why they almost need to have their top players play almost a perfect game to beat a team like Maryland. What will the Hawkeyes have to do in theif final few games to be one of the 15 programs to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament.

Finally we wrap up gettting Kyle's takes on the opening of the Iowa baseball season. The Hawkeyes were 1-2 in the series against South Florida. What were his thoughts on the starting pitching? The bullpen? And what about the overall performance of the offense?

A huge road win for the Iowa men's basketball team means it's time to fire up the podcast machine and get things rolling. Tom Kakert, Matt Randazzo and Kyle Huesmann break down the huge win over Rutgers and how the Hawkeyes were able to go on the road and beat the Scarlet Knights.

We discuss the great performance by Josh Dix, who led the way. We talk about the huge shot down the stretch by Payton Sandfort and the strong play from Brock Harding and Pryce Sandfort, plus a huge contribution from Ladji Dembele.

After that we dive into the world of Iowa women's basketball. The Hawkeyes have gone from losing five straight to winning five in a row heading into their game against Rutgers. What has changed with the Iowa women's team? How much of an impact has the lineup change had on this recent success? What about the really strong play from Lucy Olsen and Syd Affolter in the last two weeks? Iowa is now in the NCAA Tournament, but could they rise to as high as a six seed?

Finally we have our mega baseball preview. Kyle breaks down all the positions and the key players to watch. We start with the pitching rotation and bullpen and move from the infield to the outfield and look at Rick Heller's squad, along with the schedule, which gets underway this weekend at South Florida.

It's another jam packed edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. This week Tom Kakert, Kyle Huesmann, and Tanner Lafever break down what turned out to be a very busy and exciting weekend in Iowa athletics.

We open the show discussing the news of the day, which is the season ending injury to starting center Owen Freeman. What does it mean for the Iowa basketball team and the rest of the season? Who will have to step up for the Hawkeyes moving forward at the center position and what might they do with the lineup? What about the rumors that Freeman could enter the transfer portal?

Then we move on to a lengthy conversation about the Iowa women's hoops team and their upset win on Sunday afternoon over USC. We look back at the hot start from the Hawkeyes, the strong finish from Lucy Olsen and Addie O'Grady. We also talk about the way Iowa was able to figure out the pressure from the Trojans on defense. Then we talk about the highly ranked recruits that were at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday and if the Hawkeyes improved their position with them after the game.

After that we talk about Caitlin Clark being honored and seeing her number 22 retired to the rafters. What was the moment like to be there and how great was that moment honoring the best player in program history.

Then we move on to discuss the Iowa wrestling team and their loss to Penn State. What went wrong? How big is the gap between Iowa and Penn State? We also update a major recruit about to decide and if he could be headed to Iowa.

Finally we talk a little football recruiting and wrap up with Iowa baseball talk the season just a little over a week away.

It's a busy weekend coming up for Iowa athletics on a couple of fronts and the most famous women's basketball player in the world will be back in Iowa City. Tom Kakert, Kyle Huesmann, and Tanner LaFever hop on the podcast to discuss the return of Caitlin Clark, Iowa women's hoops playing USC on a huge recruiting weekend and we preview the Iowa wrestlers traveling to Penn State.

Yeah, it's a busy weekend. We open the podcast discussing Clark and her return for her number being retired from Iowa women's basketball. We look back at her amazing career at Iowa and reflect back on when things all changed on their road to the Final Four in her junior year and where it went from there.

Then we discuss one of the biggest recruiting weekends in women's basketball history with several top ten players in the Class of 2026 being on campus for the game against USC. Who are the visitors and what are the Hawkeyes chances with them? We also preview the Hawkeyes and the Trojans on Sunday and if Iowa can pull the massive upset.

We move on to wrestling where Iowa will travel to State College to face #1 Penn State, who might have their best team in school history. We breakdown all the weight classes and the individual match-ups for the dual on Friday evening. We also try and build any sort of path for the Hawkeyes to pull an upset. What is the path for a surprise and could it happen?

Following another road loss by double digits, it was time to fire up the podcast machine. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo are back and discussing the Hawkeyes 82-65 loss to Ohio State on Monday night.

It was different than the previous two losses that saw the Hawkeyes fall behind by huge margins in the first half, but the result was close to the previous three road games. We look at the woes for the Iowa offense, which struggled to score the basketball consistently for most of the game. We examine the fact that for most of the game Iowa had only four players score a point and that didn't include Brock Harding and Josh Dix, who really struggled on Monday night in Columbus.

We look at the road ahead, which continues in about eight days when Iowa hosts Purdue and then they host Wisconsin. Those two games become must win in a lot of ways as the Hawkeyes hope to not be left out of the Big Ten Tournament, which only invites 15 of 18 schools this year.

We then wrap up the quick podcast with a look at very good football recruiting news that arrived in Iowa City after a big junior day this weekend. Iowa picked up three offensive line commits this weekend. What does it mean for the class and specifically the position group for the Class of 2026.

The struggle is real for the Iowa men's and women's basketball teams, particularly on the road. Both teams are on losing streaks with one team not able to get any stops and the other struggling to score points.

Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann open the podcast talking about the Iowa women's basketball team that has dropped five in a row in conference play. The latest loss was at Oregon in a game where Iowa built a double digit lead in the first half before dropping the game.

What has gone wrong with the Iowa women's team in recent weeks? Is it worth noting that they could have potentially won three of those games? What has gone wrong with the Hawkeyes lack of offense and in particular the struggle from the field by Lucy Olsen shooting the basketball? Are they officially in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament this year? What could their lineup look like next year?

Then we move over to the Iowa men's basketball team who continues to struggle stopping opposing teams when they are on the road. Iowa is giving up 98.5 points per game on the road in conference games this year and allowed 99 and 94 at USC and UCLA on last weeks road trip.

We dive into what the issues are on defense and just how crazy the numbers are in the analytics community. How important are the games this week at home against Minnesota and Penn State? We also discuss that Payton Sandfort hasn't practiced since they returned from LA and the impact on that front, plus a potential new 2025 recruit could be on the horizon.

A lot of ground to cover on a Sunday night Hawkeye Report Podcast. Iowa athletics was busy and so were Tom Kakert, Kyle Huesmann, and Tanner Lafever covering their beats in Iowa City at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and on the wrestling mat in Cedar Falls and Madison.

We open the podcast with Tanner talking about his busy weekend and we start with what happened on Sunday in Madison as Iowa men's wrestling dominated Wisconsin on the mat. What were his thoughts on the lineup that Tom Brands put on the mat and could there be some key pieces returning soon? What's the state of the team right now heading into the heart of Big Ten season?

After that we move on to Iowa women's wrestling. Last year the Hawkeyes barely won the national dual in their first time at the event. This year they dominated the event, winning it with relative ease on Friday and Saturday. What did Tanner think of the Iowa women's team and their performance and just how dominant were their hammers at the upper weights?

Then we move on to a struggling Iowa women's basketball team. We get Kyle's thoughts on the Hawkeyes losing their third straight game for the first time since 2018. What's gone wrong with this team so far this season and are there any quick fixes for head coach Jan Jensen. We ask Kyle if he would make any changes to the current starting lineup and are Big Ten foes settling a few scores with Iowa women's hoops after the last few years?

After we finish that discussion we move on to Iowa men's basketball where after giving up 116 in a loss to Wisconsin, Iowa has won two straight, inlcuding a dominating performance on Saturday night beating Indiana by 25 points. What do we make of this Iowa team and are they starting to find their footing? We have thoughts on how good Josh Dix is and the impressive second half performance in the last two games by Payton Sandfort. Also, does Fran McCaffery play eight and trust six right now?

Finally we wrap up touching on the news that new transfer quarterback Mark Gronowski needing shoulder surgery that will sideline him for approximately six months. How does it impact the Hakweyes moving forward? Does this make retaining Brendan Sullivan for the 2025 season more likely?

(Note: This podcast was recorded a few hours before the Mark Gronowski surgery news was released)

Another edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast with a portal flavor to it. We are joined by the CEO of the Iowa Swarm, Brad Heinrichs to discuss a pretty successful transfer portal period for the Iowa Hawkeyes and the role that the Iowa Swarm played in it. We go over Iowa landing quarterback Mark Gronowski in the portal and what he will bring to the table for the Hawkeyes. How big of a role did Tim Lester play in his recruitment? Is there a current college quarterback that he compares to?

We go over the other signees, including Hank Brown at quarterback, Jonah Pace, who might be the starter at defensive tackle, the addition of the wide receiver Sam Phillips, and fellow defensive end Bryce Hawthore. We go over the impact each player will have on the program.

Then we talk about the portal process and the frustrations for coaches and collective leader when it comes to tampering in college football around the portal. Brad shares stories regarding this huge issue in college football today as schools try to get players to enter the transfer portal.

We wrap up talking about the potential two deeps for the Iowa football team next fall and what they might look like. Are there any surprise players to watch?

It was a busy day for news on the Iowa football and basketball front. We open the podcast with Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo discussing the huge win by the Iowa men's basketball team. After falling behind by 15 points in the scond half, the Hawkeyes rallied for a for an overtime win over the Cornhuskers.

We dive into the massive performance by both Josh Dix, who scored 31 points, and Payton Sandfort, who scored 30 points after halftime. We look at both of their performances in this game and key plays that were involved in Iowa's rally.

Then we discuss the big news on the football side of the equation and that is the signing of Mark Gronowski from South Dakota State. What's the impact of his decision on the quarterback room this year and how will Gronowski fit into the Hawkeye offense. How big of impact can a quarterback have on the Iowa offense? Should we be concerned that Brendan Sullivan might leave? What will the initial depth chart look like at quarterback this spring?

Finally, we talk about the Iowa Swarm and how while many Iowa fans are very supportive, a vocal minority have been hyper critical and took issue with their fundraising and what they call lack of transparency. Why are those critics wrong in their statements?