Iowa Hawkeyes, Ben McCollum Slammed With Crushing Recruiting Blow

It has been a hectic first couple of months for new Iowa Hawkeyes coach Ben McCollum, as he has essentially been tasked with rebuilding the roster from the ground up.

Iowa saw a mass exodus of players enter the transfer portal following the firing of Fran McCaffery, and its top recruits also decommitted.

This has obviously put McCollum in a tough situation, but he has done an admirable job thus far, especially via the portal where he has already put together what appears to be a solid starting lineup for next season.

However, the Hawkeyes have a long way to go on the recruiting trail, and they were just dealt a rough blow in that capacity, as in-state wing Jaidyn Coon has committed to Creighton, via Jacob Padilla of Hurrdat Sports.

Coon is a four-star 2026 prospect out of Storm Lake, Ia. and is the 41st-ranked small forward in the nation, via 247 Sports' composite rankings. He is also the second-ranked player in the state of Iowa, making his decision to choose Creighton — which resides in Nebraska — over the Hawkeyes that much more demoralizing.

The 6-foot-6 swingman is a dynamic two-way player who also received interest from Drake, Iowa and Iowa State.

While this certainly isn't the end of the world for Iowa, as there will obviously be other recruits, it demonstrates just how difficult of a job McCollum has heading into his first season at the helm.

Last year, McCollum coached Drake to a 31-4 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance, but coaching in the Big Ten is a different animal. We'll see how he handles it.

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