Hawkeye Report Podcast

It's another jam packed edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast with Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo. We open this podcast with a lengthy discussion on Iowa women's basketball. What are the thoughts on this team heading into the Big Ten Tournament this weekend in Minneapolis? is there a key injury to the Indiana team that could be significant to Iowa if they meet in the semifinals?

To the surprise of no one, Caitlin Clark was named Big Ten Player of the Year for the third straight season. We discuss he honors as well as those for Hannah Stuelke and Kate Martin. Plus, can Iowa still be a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament?

Then we move over to the Iowa men's basketball team. It will be senior day for the Hawkeyes and we talk about the future of two of those players who could come back in Patrick McCaffery and Tony Perkins. We also talk about McCaffery's comments about the bad crowd this season. We also discuss the match-up this Sunday against Illinois. We also discuss Iowa's chance to make the NCAA Tournament.

Then we wrap up talking about the Iowa football team picking up a verbal commitment from a 2025 tight end. We look at entire 2025 class so far and where the Hawkeyes are ranked.

It was a busy weekend for Iowa Basketball and Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann have you covered from both the Hawkeye men and women are concerned. We open the pod with a long discussion of our day at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday watching Caitlin Clark and Iowa knock off Ohio State. We talk about Clark setting the all-time scoring mark for a player in NCAA D1 competition and what it means.

We also dive into the game and the unfortunate injury to starting guard Molly Davis. If she is out, how will Iowa fill that void? Who can step in and who needs to step up? Then we look at Iowa's road in the Big Ten Tournament, which will get underway for the Hawkeyes on Friday late afternoon.

Then we move over to the Iowa men, who picked up a huge road win on Saturday afternoon at Northwestern. We look at how the Hawkeyes were able to hold off the Wildcats down the stretch and the strong development of Josh Dix as a scorer in the last couple of weeks and how that has helped Iowa in their recent run. We also talk about the three key possessions down the stretch for Iowa in the victory. Finally we wrap up looking at what it will take for the Hawkeyes to get off the bubble and firmly into the NCAA Tournament once again this year.

Finally we finish up talking about the struggling Iowa baseball team. They dropped two of three at Ole Miss this weekend once again it was the bullpen that was the cause of their struggles. Can this be fixed in the short term and what do we think about the hitting so far this season? We also look at the upcoming schedule for Iowa, starting with a home game on Tuesday.

It's a special edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast with a great guest joining Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo. We have former Iowa basketball player Nicholas Baer on the pod to talk men's and women's basketball on the podcast.

We open the podcast talking Iowa women's basketball with the news that Caitlin Clark will be wrapping up her college career with the Hawkeyes and head to the WNBA at the end of the season. Was this the right decision? What it a surprise? We get Baer's thoughts on her playing career and the impact that she has made on the program and all of women's college basketball.

Then we turn our attention to the Iowa men's basketball team as they make a late push for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. We get Baer's opinions on what he has seen from this Hawkeye team and how they have grown to play their best basketball late in the season. We also discuss the play of freshman Brock Harding and Owen Freeman and the career of Patrick McCaffery.

Finally we wrap up talking about the changes to the NCAA structure, specifically wtih name, image, and likeness, which was something that Baer and Jordan Bohannon were vocal about during their careers at Iowa. What does he think about all of the changes and where might things be headed?

It's another jam packed Hawkeye Report Podcast. We are joined by Kyle Huesmann and we open the show with an extended discussion on Iowa women's basketball. Caitlin Clark with a triple double and the Hawkeyes have four players in double figures in a comfortable win over Illinois. How important was it to get more balanced scoring? What about Lisa Bluder's comments about her bigs?

We then move over to discuss the Iowa men's basketball team and their loss at Illinois. The Hawkeyes were right there and then let it slip away late on the road. What did we learn about the Iowa team and do they need continued performances like this from Josh Dix? We also dove into the NCAA Tournament chances for the Hawkeyes, who are now moving up the charts in the final weeks. What type of finish gets them into the NCAA Tournament?

Then we wrap up talking about a tough weekend for Iowa baseball. The starting pitching was good. The hitting was good, but the bullpen work was not great. It is time to panic for the Iowa baseball team? What can be done in the short term to fix the bullpen? How important is the series this weekend at Ole Miss? We also drop in a short conversation on court storming and if the NCAA is officially just about done as an organization?

The Hawkeyes and the Fighting Illini will tangle on the basketball court twice this weekend. With that in mind we had to bring on our good friend Kedric Prince on the podcast this week to talk about it. As usual, when we have Kedric on with us, the show goes off the rails early and often in the 30 minutes that went on the podcast.

We start with the men's side of the equation, which takes place on Saturday. We argue about the Illini fans complaining about officiating in the Big Ten after losses and what that defeat at Penn State means for the game on Saturday and if Iowa is in trouble because of it. We also discuss why we expect that Saturday's game will be high scoring because both teams struggle on defense.

Then things get controversial with Kedric discussing what he likes and doesn't like about Caitlin Clark's game and why the Fighting Illini women's team has struggled this season and what to expect on Sunday.

We have a jam packed podcast this week. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann open the show discussing the Iowa Basketball team suddenly picking up their two biggest wins of the season. That includes a win at Michigan State. We look back at the victory over the Spartans on Tuesday night and how Iowa was able to pull the upset.

Iowa is now potentially seeing a shot at the NCAA Tournament in the distance. We dive into the Hawkeyes resume after the wins over Wisconsin and Michigan State. How does it stack up when compared to other potential programs being mentioned as being on the bubble?

Then we discuss the Iowa women's basketball team hitting the road for a huge game on Thursday night at Indiana. Kyle previews this massive game that Iowa will likely need to keep their hopes of a Big Ten title alive. How does Iowa match up with the Hoosiers? We also look at the remaining games for Iowa and their competition for the title, Ohio State.

Finally we wrap up discussing Iowa baseball. We look back at the three game series and the win on Tuesday over Loras. What have we learned so far about the Hawkeye baseball team? We also dive into a massive series in Jacksonville this weekend where Iowa will face Auburn, nationally ranked Virginia, and Wichita State.

It was a historic night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and that means we had to do a podcast to talk about it. The history was made by All American Caitlin Clark, who not only scored eight quick points to become the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women's basketball history, but she also set a program record by finishing with 49 points.

Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann were at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday evening to discuss the incredible performance from the All American guard and the post game celebration that brought out emotions from Clark and her family.

Then we wrap up the podcast with a quick preview of the opening weekend for the Iowa baseball team and what we are excited to watch from the Hawkeyes squad, who is favored to win the Big Ten this season.

The Hawkeye Report Podcast is basketball heavy on a Wednesday night. First, Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo look back at Iowa's loss on the road to Maryland. The Hawkeyes built an early lead and held it until the middle of the second half before seeing their offense go sideways.

What did we see in the second half that was cause for concern? What about the disparity in foul shooting in the second half? Was that a factor in the outcome? Is Iowa basically down to playing six players most of the minutes and a few random minutes for the rest of the bench? Finally we discuss the upcoming schedule and if Iowa could make it into the field for the NIT this year.

Then we talk about a couple of local Quad City prep players, including one that visited Iowa City on Sunday and a freshman hoops players that fans will want to keep tabs on in the future.

We then move on to discussing Caitlin Clark and the history that she will make on Thursday night in Iowa City when she becomes the all-time leading scorer in women's college basketball. What did Clark say on Wednesday and why is she able to be so relaxed about this accomplishment? Will Lisa Bluder call a timeout once Clark scores her eighth point against Michigan?

Finally we discuss Jon Budmayr being named Iowa's wide receivers coach. The reaction has been mixed at best, but should it be?

It's a special edition of the podcast. We preview the most anticipated season of Iowa baseball in decades. The Hawkeyes are nationally ranked with one of the top starting rotations in all of college baseball and we tap into the knowledge of our baseball beat writer Kyle Huesmann and John Evans, who is on the call for the Iowa baseball radio broadcasts.

We start with the the pitching staff, led by the potential All American Brody Brecht and including Marcus Morgan. We discuss the entire staff and who might be helping out in the back end to close out games.

Then we discuss the situation at catcher with the starter out to begin the season. After that we go around a very strong group of infielders. How good can that group be and are they one of the best fielding groups in the conference?

After that we take a look at the outfield group and how there are some stars that are emerging in those three spots. Finally, we look at the schedule, which is pretty challenging, especially in the non-conference slate of games and then wrap up with how this team and Rick Heller are handling the massive expectations heading into this season.

Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa football program has hired Tim Lester to lead the Hawkeye offense in 2024. We had our first chance to talk to Ferentz since the hire and meet Lester for the first time and ask him plenty of question. We review what happened at the Tuesday press conference with our good friend from the Des Moines Register, Chad Leistikow.

We dive deep into what Ferentz had to say on Tuesday and how it was somewhat different than the interview he gave Gary Dolphin late last week. How did that improve how Iowa fans are feeling about the hire of Lester.

We also look at what Lester had to say in his time at the podium. What it was important that he said he would be in the press box calling plays and what he said about the offense he plans to put together this fall in Iowa City.

Finally, we also discuss the news late today that Special Teams Coordinator Levar Woods interviewed with the Tampa Bay Bucs about their open special teams coaching position. What could it mean that he took that step?