Author: Nathan Bloechl

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Iowa State Improves Again in APR:

The NCAA released its NCAA Academic Performance Rate (APR) metric yesterday and Iowa State student-athletes made incredible achievements in the classroom according to the data.

For the second-straight season, Iowa State recorded one of its highest APR totals in school history with a 986.

This year’s score ranked third in the Big 12 Conference, the second consecutive season where ISU ranked in the top-three in the league.

The APR calculation, a team-based academic metric created by the NCAA, is a measurement of the academic eligibility and retention of student-athletes. The NCAA created it as its primary academic measure for student-athlete performance toward graduation.

The NCAA also uses each institution’s overall APR score to annually distribute a portion of the millions of dollars of revenue generated by the NCAA Basketball Championship.

Iowa State University’s score of 986 means the Cyclone student-athletes earned 98.6% of all available eligibility and retention points.

Four sports (men’s golf, women’s cross country, women’s track & field and swimming & diving) had perfect single-year scores and 12 Cyclone programs improved or maintained their overall ranking from a year ago.

Hawkeyes Soar in APR:

The NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) report for 2018-19 revealed that – for the 10th consecutive year – all of the University of Iowa’s 24 sports programs were well above the 930 threshold that signals a red flag with respect to academic progress. The highlights of results for the UI’s student-athletes include:

• Men’s cross country, men’s gymnastics, men’s tennis, women’s basketball, women’s cross country, rowing, field hockey, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, women’s soccer, and women’s tennis all scored a perfect single year score of 1,000.
• All 24 of the University of Iowa’s athletic programs achieved no lower than a 950 multiyear rate.
• Eleven Hawkeye teams are at or above the national average of 983
• Nineteen Hawkeye teams scored above a 970.

Association Director Still Keeping Door Open for Summer Sports:

Appearing on KWQC-TV, Iowa High School Athletic Association director Tom Keating is remaining optimistic on a return to play scenario for summer sports this season.

“We are built to run seasons and events, we are not built to put them on pause or cancel them. We live to put these events on. Our time has been spent every day to make this happen safely. We are trying to sift through [information] to make this possible. What might work in Indiana might not work in Iowa” Keating explained.

Discussions with member schools, the Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa Department of Public Health, and NFHS are on-going in determining when and how upcoming activities may proceed.

Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Education set June 1 as a deadline date for an announcement regarding the possibility of summer sports and activities at Iowa schools.

The IHSAA and IGHSAU will issue a decision and further guidance following those announcements by Reynolds.

Iowa State’s Bowens Enters Transfer Portal:

Just days after securing a commitment from North Carolina grad transfer Greg Ross, Iowa State safety Richard Bowens III has announced he will be entering the transfer portal.

Bowens, a redshirt junior from Detroit, Michigan played in just six games this past season for the Cyclones after appearing in 12 in 2018.

A three-star recruit out of high school, Bowens choose Iowa State over Iowa, Minnesota, Cincinnati and Syracuse.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Wesleyan Picks Up In-State Commit:

The Iowa Wesleyan men’s basketball team picked up an in-state reinforcement last week when Murray High School’s Reece Held committed to play for Coach Alex Huisman.

The 1,000-point scorer, Held averaged 17.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game for the Mustangs last year, who finished with a record of 16-7.

Iowa Wesleyan finished last season 8-17, but were 6^th in the conference in scoring offense averaging over 83 points per game.

Iowa Tailback to Enter Transfer Portal:

Iowa’s running back depth took a hit yesterday when Samson Evans announced that he has entered the transfer portal.

Evans saw time in Iowa City at both running back and wide receiver but still did not see any snaps.

The Illinois’ Gatorade Player of the Year in 2018, Evans’ 111 career rushing touchdowns still ranks third-best all-time in Illinois High School football history.

Evans originally picked Iowa over other offers from Illinois, Iowa State, Minnesota and Syracuse.

Three Star Defensive Tackle Makes Iowa City Home:

The top-10 class of 2021 continued to get stronger for the University of Iowa football team as Arlington Heights, Illinois prepster Jeremiah Pittman announced his intentions to play for the Hawkeyes, yesterday.

Listed at 6-foot-2, 255 pounds, Pittman, a three-star recruit, picked Iowa over offers from Boston College, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, Northwestern and Iowa State.

Pittman is the 15^th commitment for the Hawkeyes in 2021, which is currently ranked as the third best haul in the Big Ten.

Three Iowa Men’s Golfers Honored by Big Ten:

Three University of Iowa men’s golfers — seniors Alex Schaake and Benton Weinberg, and sophomore Gonzalo Leal Montero — earned Big Ten Conference recognition, the conference announced Monday.

Schaake, last year’s Big Ten Player of the Year, earned his second straight unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten first team. Schaake is the first Hawkeye since Steven Ihm in 2013 and 2014 to earn two consecutive first-team All-Big Ten honors.

Schaake also joins Ihm as one of only two Hawkeyes to earn three career All-Big Ten awards.

Sophomore Gonzalo Leal Montero was second-team All-Big Ten selection, while senior Benton Weinberg was a recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

It is Montero’s first career All-Big Ten postseason honor.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Four Mount Pleasant Panther T&F Athletes Named Academic All-State:

Mount Pleasant might not have had a track season, but four of their athletes were named to 2020 Academic All-State Teams.

From the girls’ side Kendall Dascher, Maggie Cristoforo and future Iowa Hawkeye Abby Ryon were named IATC Academic All-State.

On the boys’ side Konnor Peterson was named to the Academic All-State list, as well.

Congrats to all four Panthers on the honors.

UNI Panther Volleyball Cancels Summer Camps:

In response to the COVID-19 situation, UNI Panther Volleyball is canceling all camps through June 30, 2020.

The main priority continues to be the health, safety and wellness of the camps participants, student-athletes, coaches, administrators and staff and the institution will continue to monitor all developing and relevant information on the COVID-19 virus.

At this time, the program is still planning to move forward with their camps in July and will follow all state recommended procedures to insure the health and safety of all participants.

Panther Volleyball will be issuing a full refund for all previously registered June campers.

Iowa State Adds Transfer Safety:

The Iowa State football team received some much needed secondary depth over the weekend when former North Carolina Tar Heel safety Greg Ross announced his intentions to transfer to the program.

Ross played in 13 games last season with North Carolina, starting five.

The 6-foot, 188-pound safety record 26 tackles and five pass breakups.

Ross committed to UNC out of the Class of 2016.

He’s originally from Temple Hills, Maryland.

Colorado Prep Safety Commits to Iowa State:

Another secondary prospect was added on Sunday to Matt Campbell’s defense as Colorado Springs prep Beau Freyler committed to the Class of 2021 on Sunday evening.

Freyler, listed at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, chose Iowa State over Washington State and Kansas State.

Freyler is listed as a consensus three-star prospect as the 125^th safety in the country and the 13^th best prep player in Colorado.

He’s the 13^th secured commit for Iowa State’s 2021 recruiting class.

Harvick Secures Win at Darlington:

After a ten week hiatus, NASCAR returned yesterday afternoon as Kevin Harvick secured his 50^th career win in the Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway in North Carolina.

Harvick led 159 of the 292 laps holding off Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch.

The race also marked the return of Ryan Newman, who has been out of action since suffering a brain injury in a dramatic crash at the Daytona 500 in February.

Newman finished 15th after starting in 21st position.

NASCAR will return to television next weekend in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

By: Nathan Bloechl —sports@kilj.com 

Cyclones Williams Named Academic All-District:

Iowa State senior Sami Williams was named to the 2020 Academic All-District 6 Softball Team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The Academic All-District teams divide student-athletes into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada.

Williams, who achieved a 3.96 GPA in software engineering, is now a three-time Academic All-District nominee.

The native of Laguna Niguel, Calif. is also looking to become the first three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American in program history.

On the field, Williams is Iowa State’s all-time leader in hits (250), doubles (64) and home runs (46), and was named an Honorable Mention All-American in 2019.

She is also the NCAA DI active leader in doubles.

Williams announced in April that she would be returning for an additional season of eligibility in 2021, due to the cancellation of the NCAA softball season caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

First and second-team Academic All-America honorees will be announced in June.

Iowa Gymnasts Earn All-Conference Selections:

University of Iowa sophomore Lauren Guerin was named first team All-Big Ten, the conference announced Thursday.

The Big Ten named junior Erin Castle the Iowa Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.

Guerin is one of 16 student athletes to be named to the first and is the first Hawkeye to earn the recognition since Mollie Drenth and Angel Metcalf in 2017.

Guerin, an Austin, Texas, native finished the season with a 9.9 national qualifying score (NQS) and recorded nine consecutive 9.8or better scores this season. She set a career high 9.95 at Maryland (Jan. 19) to tie the third best floor score in program history and then matched it two additional times at Penn State (Jan. 25) and against West Virginia (March 8).

Castle broke two career bests during her junior season, scoring a 9.85 on uneven bars and a 9.8 on balance beam against West Virginia (March 8). The Boone, Iowa, native competed as an all-around competitor at the Big Five Meet (Feb. 21), earning a 39.1 score.

NCAA Moves Back Draft Withdrawal Date:

The NCAA has announced it is pushing back the date for college basketball players to withdraw from the NBA Draft.

The deadline was originally scheduled for June 3rd, but the date has been pushed back indefinitely.

The decision comes in the wake of the postponement of both the NBA lottery and NBA scouting combine.

The NBA Draft is currently scheduled for June 25th in Brooklyn, New York.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Iowa Football Communications Office Receives Top Marks:

The University of Iowa football athletic communications staff received a Super 11 Award on Thursday from the Football Writers Association of America.

The award is presented annually to the best performing sports information departments in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The five first-time recipients in the award series, which dates back to the 2009 season, are Iowa, Appalachian State, California, Memphis and North Carolina State.

Iowa’s athletic communications staff for football is led by Steve Roe, assistant athletics director, athletic communications.

This year’s winners were deemed by FWAA observers to have had good accessibility during the week of the game and after the game — with a program’s players, coaches and assistant coaches.

Bluder Given Girl Scout’s Leadership Award:

University of Iowa women’s basketball head coach Lisa Bluder was named the 2020 recipient of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois Leader Award.

The announcement was made Thursday afternoon.

The annual award goes to a member of the community that instills courage, confidence, and character into young women and girls.

Bluder is a lifetime Girl Scout and a longtime Girl Scout supporter.

Each year, the Hawkeyes host Girl Scout Day at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where Girl Scouts participate in team activities, interact with Coach Bluder and her student-athletes, and cheer on the Hawkeyes during a game.

NCAA Dead Period Extended:

The NCAA has announced that the recruiting dead period has been extended to June 30^th.

The announcement was made Thursday.

This is now the second time in as many months that NCAA officials have come out with an extension to the dead period, which was originally scheduled to end April 15^th.

In the past, teams have used June to host camps and official visits.

The NCAA did say they’ll revisit the dead period dates by May 27^th.

Two Collegiate Softballers Named Academic All-District:

UNI senior Sammey Bunch and Drake senior Mandi Roemmich have both been named to the CoSIDA All-Academic teams in 2020.

Bunch has a 3.63 cumulative GPA in Movement & Exercise Science.

The senior shortstop was named a MVC First Team Scholar Athlete in 2019 and 2020 and was named the MVC Player of the Year in 2019.

Meanwhile. Roemmich’s honor is just another in a long line of awards this spring.

Roemmich was named the Missouri Valley Conference’s first-ever Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was also selected to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team for the third time and named Drake’s MVC State Farm Good Neighbor spring award recipient.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

No Answers for Prep Baseball and Softball… Yet:

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has officially begun to loosen restrictions on the rest of the 22 counties after her press conference yesterday, however Reynolds gave no answers to whether or not prep baseball and softball could happen yet this summer.

Reynolds told reporters she has yet to meet with representatives from either the boys’ association or girls’ union.

“We will continue to monitor and look for opportunity to continuing re-opening in a very careful, reasonable and responsible way.” Reynolds said.

Reynolds says the state will continue to monitor data before making an official decision on a summer sports season.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union were told by Reynolds that a decision on a season would be decided at the latest by June 1st.

Spring sports were effectively canceled during Reynolds’ April 24^th press conference.

Virtual Cyclone Tailgate Tour Set for May 20^th

Iowa State’s Cyclone Tailgate Tour, powered by MidAmerican Energy, is now coming to the homes of all Cyclone fans!

In order to continue this popular event during these uncertain times, the Iowa State Athletics Department announced today it will host a 2020 Virtual Cyclone Tailgate Tour on May 20th, bringing the Iowa State coaches into your living rooms for an entertaining, interactive fan experience beginning at 5 p.m. CT.

The Voice of the Cyclones John Walters will emcee the event with live interviews with Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard, Matt Campbell (football), Steve Prohm (men’s basketball), Bill Fennelly (women’s basketball), Christy Johnson-Lynch (volleyball) and Kevin Dresser (wrestling) and other special guests.

The 14th annual Cyclone Tailgate Tour was originally a six-day, 12-stop tour across the state of Iowa this May. However, due to the recent events surrounding COVID-19, the traveling tour was canceled for the health and safety of Cyclone staff, coaches and fans.

Cyclone Wrestling Keep Adding, Picks up NJ Prep:

The Iowa State wrestling team has picked up another big time recruit, adding New Jersey prep standout Jacob Perez-Eli.

Perez-Eli tabbed the Cyclones as his future home over Indiana, North Dakota State and Oklahoma.

A two-time state medalist, Perez-Eli is projected to wrestle at 141-149-pounds.

He was a fifth place finisher in New Jersey this year and ended his high school career with a record of 136-30.

Mount Pleasant Rec Center to Reopen:

The Mount Pleasant Rec Center took to social media yesterday to announce that they’ll be back open, albeit in a limited fashion, starting next Monday.

How they will change their protocol is unknown, however they did announce that more details would be released prior to opening their doors to public once again.

In their release, the Rec Center said they are “taking this very seriously and reopening in a safe and responsible manner is [their] top priority.”

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Bohannon, Nunge Granted Hardship Waivers:

University of Iowa senior guard Jordan Bohannon and sophomore forward Jack Nunge’s hardship waiver petitions have been approved by the Big Ten Conference.

Freshman forward Patrick McCaffery’s hardship waiver is still under review.

Bohannon (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) played in 10 games in 2019-20 before undergoing season-ending hip (left) surgery in December; he had the same procedure successfully performed on his right hip last May. Bohannon averaged 8.8 points and 3.3 assists per game in the 10 games, helping Iowa record seven victories, including wins over Iowa State, No. 12 Texas Tech, Minnesota, and Syracuse.

The Marion, Iowa, native holds the Iowa record with 284 career 3-pointers made, breaking the school record in three seasons. He enters his final season as a Hawkeye with career totals of 1,310 points, 504, assists, 250 rebounds, and 82 steals.

Nunge (6-foot-11, 245 pounds) suffered a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of his right knee versus Cal Pol on Nov. 24. After redshirting his second year of eligibility (2018-19), Nunge saw action in only five games prior to the injury.

He started all five contests, averaging six points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. Nunge was named Academic All-Big Ten on Monday, the second time in as many years that the accounting major has earned the academic recognition.

Bohannon and Nunge are the third and fourth Hawkeyes in three years to receive hardship waivers. (Connor McCaffery in 2018; Cordell Pemsl in 2019).

Iowa’s Lawrence Named Indoor Track Athlete of the Year:

University of Iowa sophomore Wayne Lawrence has been named Big Ten Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday.

Lawrence is the first Hawkeye in school history to earn the honor.

Lawrence had a record-breaking indoor season, clinching three gold medals at the conference meet to lead Iowa to a second place finish in the team race, its highest placing since 1963.

On March 4, Lawrence was named the top track Athlete of the Big Ten Indoor Championships.

Iowa Doubles Up, Tausauga Wins Female Track Athlete of the Year:

University of Iowa senior Laulauga Tausaga has been named Big Ten Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday.

Tausaga is the first Hawkeye in school history to earn the honor.

After earning gold at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in the weight throw, Tausaga was named B1G Indoor Female Field Athlete of the Championships. She also earned Indoor Midwest Regional Female Field Athlete of the Year for the second-straight year.

In the 2020 indoor season, she earned B1G Women’s Field Event Athlete of the Week twice. Tausaga broke her own school record in the shot put (17.96m) at the Meyo Invite on Feb. 7.

She contributed a total of 18 points at the Big Ten Indoor Championships placing first in the weigh throw and second in the shot put.

Tausaga is the fifth Hawkeye this season to earn conference player of the year honors, along with Kathleen Doyle, Luka Garza, Spencer Lee, and Wayne Lawrence.

NBA To Restart Season?

Participants on an NBA Board of Governors call Tuesday felt increasingly optimistic on a return to play this season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarski reports.

Several owners and high-ranking team officials were on the call and were encouraged on the league’s plan to minimize health risks upon the proposed resumption.

The league has had several positive conversations with the Players Association as well, who have stated their desire to eventually resume the halted season.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told those on the call, according to Wojnarski that if one positive test would “shut us down, we probably shouldn’t go down this path.”

The major question for both MLB and NBA officials is how many positive tests would be too many? The league is already planning for a standardized coronavirus test among all 30 teams upon a restart.

The league is also floating a campus environment with the league concentrating its players at one central bubble either Orlando’s Walt Disney World Resort or Las Vegas.

22 of the NBA’s 30 teams will have their facilities legally reopened by next Monday.