Iowa’s Cam Manyawu (4) tries to knock the ball away from Bennett Stirtz (14) during practice June 19, 2025 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa Earns High Spot in Preseason Power Rankings

Originally posted on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI | By Lane Mills | Last updated Sep 17, 2025 7:00 AM ET

In the wake of their coaching change and program overhaul, the Iowa Hawkeyes' basketball regime was set to enter the 2025-26 season with little to no expectation regarding what a year-one team would look like. Fans may have been ready to cut a new leader some slack, given the aforementioned change marked the first of its kind since Fran McCaffery was hired back in 2010.

Yet, in Ben McCollum's very first year behind the wheel, the Hawkeyes are reputably projected as a top five team in the B10. That is, one of the most competitive, tight-knit basketball conferences in the country.

According to 247Sports' ongoing B10 power rankings for the 2025 season based on incoming talent, Iowa, with 11 total commits, comes in at fifth place among the conference's 18 total teams. 247 notoriously grades teams based on a composite "points" system, based on a team's recruits and their pooled, average grade once taken as a whole.

Iowa's roster specifically scored 63.12, just narrowly above the Michigan State Spartans (63.06), and a mere four points behind USC and Michigan, who hold the top two spots with 67.74 and 67.56, respectively.

While the Trojans and Wolverines are widely expected to lead the conference with two of the most high-profile transfer additions in the NCAA in Chad Baker-Mazara and Yaxel Lendeborg, Iowa's Drake-driven roster is built to compete in a conference that takes no prisoners.

With Bennett Stirtz, a former Bulldog that came to the team with McCollum upon his hire, set to lead the charge, the Hawkeyes will look to pile up scoring against a slate of teams better known for their defensive proclivities. Coach McCollum's offense is what led Drake to upset Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season.

A tournament that Iowa didn't make last season, which, in large part, is a big reason why McCollum is in the black and yellow now. Given his updated arsenal of resources - which he's already used to build a strong roster - the new coach has checked every preseason box for fans to get excited about men's basketball in Iowa City once more.

And with tipoff now less than 50 days away, Iowa City won't have to wait long to pack out Carver-Hawkeye arena to usher in a new era. Top five in the B10 sounds nice, but rest assured: McCollum and the Hawkeyes are coming for the top.

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This article first appeared on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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