Author: Nathan Bloechl

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

IW Observes D3 Week:

Iowa Wesleyan athletics will celebrate NCAA Division III Week from April 13-April 19.

Division III Week is a positive way to observe and celebrate the impact of athletics and student-athletes on campus and in surrounding communities, per the NCAA.

D3 Week was introduced in 2010 to sharpen the division’s identity and enable schools, conferences, and student-athletes to consistently explain why they prefer to compete in Division III.

The goal is to describe how Division III is a place where student-athletes can “follow their passions and develop their potential” through an approach that combines rigorous academics, competitive athletics, and an opportunity to pursue other interests. ​

The Tigers made the leap from NAIA to NCAA Division III following the 2012 year.

Iowa State Adds 3-Star Corner:

The Iowa State football program picked up a huge commitment from Floridian three-star cornerback Noah Biglow, yesterday.

The Seffner, Florida native announced his pledge on social media, choosing the Cyclones over other reported offers from Army, Buffalo, Florida International, Georgia State, Marshall, North Dakota State and Virginia.

The 6-foot-0, 175-pound prospect is ranked No. 67 at cornerback in the 2021 class.

Biglow is the eighth known commit in the class.

Drake Officially Inks Burns:

Bryceson Burns, a 6-5 standout from Houston, Texas, has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Drake University men’s basketball team, head coach Darian DeVries announced this week.

Burns has been enrolled at Strength N’ Motion International Academy for the last year after graduating from Houston’s Westfield High School, where he was the team’s offensive MVP.

Burns joins Drake’s early signee, Jordan Kwiecinski in the Bulldogs’ class for the 2020-21 season.

Drake finished 8^th in the Missouri Valley Conference with a record of 20-14.

They did lose star big man Liam Robbins to the University of Minnesota, however.

Dresser, Clones Add To Recruiting Class:

Iowa State wrestling head coach Kevin Dresser announced an addition to the 2020 recruiting class on Thursday.

Kysen Terukina, a four-time Hawaii State Champion, and No. 95 recruit overall in the class of 2020, has officially signed on to join Dresser’s program.

In February, Terukina became just the sixth wrestler in Hawaii history to win four state crowns, joining future-teammate Corey Cabanban in reaching this accomplishment.

Projecting to wrestle at 125 or 133 pounds, Terukina is a three-time NHSCA National Champion.

Terukina is the latest installment in the class of 2020 that includes the likes of Cody Fisher, Ben Monroe, Zach Redding, Cam Robinson and Drew Woodley.

Wesleyan Announces Honor Athlete, Athlete of the Year Candidates:

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics have announced both their Honor Athlete and Athlete of the Year candidates as a part of their Virtual Wesley’s.

In order to be nominated for the Honor Athlete of the Year, student-athletes must be a junior or senior, have a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher and show involvement or leadership in events or organizations.

The nominees on the men’s side include:

• Austin Ferguson
• Jake Neubauer
• Elijah Perez
• Marco Ventura
• Ryan Hutchinson

The nominees on the women’s side are:

• Jenna Murphy
• Kayla Ford
• Lida Landre
• Morgan Christner
• Allie Massner

The men’s and women’s Athlete of the Year award consists of student-athletes who have received All-Conference recognition or is projected to be an All-Conference recipient in 2019-20 and must exemplify outstanding character.

The women’s nominees are:

• Allie Massner
• Morgan McCrea
• Lida Landre
• Sierra Howardson
• Teresa Diez Dorta
• Morgan Christner

And for the men:

• Carlos Lopez
• Francisco Saldana
• Jaheem Hampton
• Jarryd Fernandes
• Sebastian Armenta

The awards will be announced next Thursday on Iowa Wesleyan’s Facebook page.

Carton Finds New Home:

Former Iowa Mr. Basketball DJ Carton has committed to transfer to Marquette.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound former five-star point guard played 20 games at Ohio State this past season, averaging 10.4 points, 3.0 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game.

The former Bettendorf star then decided to sit out the rest of the season and announced his transfer following the year.

Under current transfer rules, Carton will need to sit next season and have three years of remaining eligibility.

UNI Announces Two Signings:

The UNI men’s basketball team has signed George Mason University transfer Goanar Mar and Dowling Catholic’s Drew Daniel during the 2020 spring signing period.

The newest members of the Panther family will join a talented recruiting class consisting of Bowen Born, Nate Heise and Tytan Anderson.

Goanar Mar joins the Panthers via George Mason University where the 6-7 forward played three years.

He started every game for the Patriots as a freshman averaging 10.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG and shot 35 percent from beyond the arc.

Mar played in 19 games as a sophomore due to injury and competed in 31 games as a junior.

He played prep basketball for DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Drew Daniel is a 6-6 Dowling Catholic High School product from West Des Moines, Iowa.

Daniel led the Maroons to back to back State Tournament appearances in 2019 and 2020.

He was named a Second Team All CIML forward after averaging 8.7 PPG and 5.8 RPG while shooting 37 percent from beyond the three point arc.

Four Clones, One Hawkeye Named to NFF Honor Society:

Four Iowa State football players made the 2020 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society, announced today by the NFF.

Seniors Collin Olson, Ray Lima, Steve Wirtel and Connor Greene represented Iowa State in this year’s membership.

Student-athletes to make the team must have completed their eligibility and have maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.2 throughout their career.

Meanwhile, Iowa’s Nate Stanley was named to the list.

Stanley, a native of Menomonie, Wisconsin, carried a 3.56 GPA, earning a human physiology degree. He was named Academic All-Big Ten for the third year and was an honorable mention All-Big Ten (coaches) selection in 2019.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com

Iowa Adds 3-Star Corner:

Iowa picked up their ninth commitment in the 2021 recruiting class on Tuesday.

Three-star cornerback Jordan Oladokun of Tampa, Florida announced his commitment to the Hawkeyes over Instagram.

He chose Iowa over other finalists Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Oladokun is the 61st ranked cornerback in the class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Oladokun joins a class so far that is ranked #3 in the Big Ten and #9 overall in the country.

The class is headed up by Cedar Rapids Kennedy guard Connor Colby and Minneapolis’ prep athlete Justice Sullivan of Eden Prairie.

Iowa’s 2020 class ranked 35^th overall in the country and 8^th in the Big Ten.

Former Iowa State Forward Finds New Home:

Former Iowa State guard Terrence Lewis has committed to South Alabama per reports.

The 6-foot-6 transfer averaged 6.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in 23 games this past year for Steve Prohm’s bunch.

Lewis played in 71 games in three seasons and averaged just 4.5 points and 11.4 minutes per game for his career.

He was a 4-star recruit out of the Milwaukee prep ranks in the 2017 signing class where he picked Iowa State over other high major programs such as Georgia Tech, Auburn, Illinois and Minnesota.

Cyclones Fennelly: “Look Back at Our Success in [20]”:

Iowa State women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly says his team is focusing on what it accomplished and not what was lost with the cancelation of the post season.

The Cyclones were 18-11 and finished the regular season on a three game winning streak.

“As a coach, as a parent, if you do the right thing and work hard you’ll be rewarded. Unfortunately our team, you know, playing in the Big 12 Tournament, playing in the NCAA Tournament – our reward – did not happen” Fennelly explained.

Iowa State’s final game was a stunning upset of Kim Mulkey’s second ranked and defending national champion Baylor Lady Bears.

“We’ve always been a group that controls what we control we celebrate the way the season and the win over Baylor. We’re disappointed but it’s understandable the way the world is, we are going to celebrate what we accomplished and not worry about what didn’t happen.”

The Cyclones will return All-League and All-Region selection Ashley Joens of Iowa City to next year’s cast of characters.

PGA Expected to Announce Plans to Resume Tour by June:

In an unprecedented report, PGA officials are expected to make the first big splash in the post-COVID-19 sports landscape by resuming the tour season by June 11 for the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Fans are not expected to be allowed at the first tournament back.

Last week the Tour sent players a memo that was hopeful for a return on May 21^st but has now pushed the schedule back to the second week of June.

The truncated schedule will also see majors such as the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Masters all played in the fall of this year.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Former Cyclone Griffin Finds New Home:

Former Iowa State guard Zion Griffin has announced his intentions to transfer to the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Griffin picked U-IC Monday evening.

The former 4-star recruit transferred from Iowa State nearly one month ago after playing sparingly this season, averaging just 3 points and 2 boards in just over 10 minutes per game.

The 6’5 guard will not be immediately eligible for the Flames, who did not originally recruit Griffin out of the Indiana prep ranks.

Cyclones Lose Out on Turner, Back to Transfer Market:

Iowa State received a double dip of bad news yesterday when first-team all-MAC performer Justin Turner — ESPN’s #2 ranked graduate transfer — announced that he would be returning to Bowling Green for his senior campaign.

Iowa State, Marquette and Missouri were all vying for the combo guard’s services.

Turner is just another on the list of near misses for Steve Prohm’s group, which includes Harvard’s Bryce Aiken who settled on Seton Hall and Terrell Gomez of Cal State-Northridge who decided on San Diego State after both considering Iowa State until the bitter end.

The Cyclones still need to fill four scholarship positions after several transfers, graduations and Tyrese Haliburton’s early entry into the NBA Draft.

Iowa State did however land the biggest fish of the Iowa recruiting scene in Oskaloosa big man Xavier Foster.

They are also believed to be in the mix for former Bettendorf star and Ohio State transfer D.J. Carton.

Garza: “Encouraged to Enter NBA Draft by Fran McCaffery”:

Iowa star Luka Garza will test the NBA Draft process but is not hiring an agent.

That leaves open the possibility of a return for his senior season.

Garza averaged over 26 points per game in Big Ten play in being named the Player of the Year.

The big man from Washington D.C. says his head coach was the one who encouraged him to test the NBA waters.

“He wants best for me and my family. And when you have a coach like that who knows the possibility of what it means for him and his career means a lot and that is something that is very dear to my heart” said Garza.

However, Garza says he is keeping his options open in part because the Hawkeyes could have a special team next season, one in which many analysts believe Iowa has a legitimate chance in the national landscape.

“There is something special in this group in Iowa, I came here to play for Coach McCaffery and I would love to come back and make a run and win a Big Ten Championship” explained Garza.

If Garza is selected most NBA analysts believe the Iowa big man will be a second round pick.

Wirfs, Epenesa Drawing Significant NFL Draft Interest:

With just over one week until the NFL Draft, both Tristan Wirfs and A.J. Epenesa look both like locks for the first round.

Wirfs stock is red-hot right now with most draft analysts believing the former Mount Vernon standout will end up in the Big Apple playing for the New York Giants, who currently hold the 4th overall selection.

The range for Epenesa is anywhere from 18-23, with some analysts seeing a fit in New England.

The first round will be conducted next Thursday night.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

New Baseball, Softball Dates Announced:

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and Iowa High School Athletic Association have announced new first practice dates for the summer softball and baseball seasons.

First practices will now May 18th.

First competition then, will be June 1st.

Postseason play and state tournament dates are unchanged.

Regional dates for softball are July 6th through the 14th with the state tournament July 20th through the 24th.

For baseball, district and sub-state tournament games are from July 9th through the 22nd with the state tournament July 24th through August 1st.

Also of note, the new start date for softball and baseball pitching and catching is May 1st with a period of 10 days of batting practice allotted between May 1st and the date of first practices on May 18th.

Iowa State AD: “Losing Football Would Be Catastrophic”:

College athletic departments took a major financial hit with the cancellation of the NCAA basketball tournament.

The loss of the football season would be catastrophic. Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard slashed coaches’ salaries and bonuses after his department lost five million dollars of tournament revenue.

As the economic driving force Pollard says they can ill afford the loss of football.

“There’s nobody in our industry right now that can reasonably forecast a contingency plan that would have them playing zero football games” Pollard explained.

Pollard says flexible options are already being discussed for football.

“Leaders are now modeling different ways for football to start. We are looking at starting in October and playing just conference games. Do we start in spring? Three-to-four weeks from now we’ll have a much clearer view of how the fall will look for football.”

The Cyclones are coming off a season that saw them go 7-6 after a bowl loss to Notre Dame.

Tentatively, they’ll open up on September 5^th at home against South Dakota.

Drake Lands Houston Prep Wing:

The Drake men’s basketball team received great recruiting news yesterday when Houston area prep Bryceson Burns announced his intentions to commit to the school.

Burns, a 6’6 forward, was originally a 2019 prospect but opted for a prep year, where he honed his skills at the Winston School in San Antonio.

One year ago at this time, Burns held just one offer: NAIA’s William Penn out of Oskaloosa.

Now, he’s heading to Des Moines.

Burns selected Drake over Illinois-Chicago and the University of New Orleans.

He joins Chicago land prep Jordan Kwiecinski in Drake’s 2020 recruiting class.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

New Baseball, Softball Dates Announced:

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and Iowa High School Athletic Association have announced new first practice dates for the summer softball and baseball seasons.

First practices will now May 18th.

First competition then, will be June 1st.

Postseason play and state tournament dates are unchanged.

Regional dates for softball are July 6th through the 14th with the state tournament July 20th through the 24th.

For baseball, district and sub-state tournament games are from July 9th through the 22nd with the state tournament July 24th through August 1st.

Also of note, the new start date for softball and baseball pitching and catching is May 1st with a period of 10 days of batting practice allotted between May 1st and the date of first practices on May 18th.

Iowa’s Garza Declares for NBA Draft:

Iowa junior center Luka Garza has entered his name into the 2020 NBA Draft.

Garza announced his intentions via Twitter, Friday morning.

Coming off a season in which he averaged 23.9 points and nearly 10 boards per game, Garza will enter the draft without an agent, meaning he could still come back to Iowa City to use his final year of eligibility.

The big man racked up multiple postseason awards including being named Sporting News National Player of the Year, Consensus first-team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year.

With Garza in the fold next year, many college basketball analysts predicted Iowa to not only cruise through the Big Ten, but be in the hunt for the National Championship.

Cyclones Land S&C Coach Land:

David Land, the only men’s basketball strength coach in NCAA history to lead two different programs to undefeated conference seasons, has been named director of strength and conditioning for the Iowa State men’s basketball program, head coach Steve Prohm announced late Friday.

Land, who spent two years as strength coach for Prohm at Murray State, joins Iowa State after spending the last two seasons under Mike Young at Virginia Tech (2019-20) and Wofford (2018-19).

Prior to joining Young in a rebuilding season in Blacksburg, Land played a major role in Wofford’s best season in program history. The Terriers had their first AP Top-25 ranking, a 20-game win streak, undefeated conference record (18-0) and the first NCAA Tournament win in school history.

Land trained Wofford sharpshooter Fletcher Magee, who set the NCAA Division I record with 509 career 3-pointers and earned All-America honors as a senior.

Iowa State is looking for a bounce back 2020-21 campaign following a brutal 12-20 season this year.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com

Iowa State, Wartburg Wrestling to Meet Up:

Wartburg and Iowa State will square-off for the first time in a quarter century when the 2020-21 college wrestling gets underway.

The dual meet between the 14-time Division III national champion Knights and eight-time Division I national champion Cyclones is scheduled for November 6th at Hilton Coliseum in Ames.

The season-opener will be only the third meeting in history between the teams and the first since Iowa State’s 23-16 win at Wartburg in 1996, the year the Knights won their first national title in program history.

Wartburg finished the 2019-20 campaign with a 16-1 overall record and Iowa State finished second at the Big 12 Championships.

The Knights are 12-11-1 all-time against Division I competition.

The last time Wartburg faced a D-I opponent was in 2011, when the Knights dropped a 17-16 tiebreaker at Wisconsin.

Bees, Other MiLB Teams in Iowa in Limbo:

Stadiums were quiet on Thursday in what was scheduled to be opening day in the Midwest League.

The Burlington Bees were slated to open at Wisconsin but the coronavirus pandemic has left everyone wondering if there will even be a season.

Rob Zerjav is president of the Timber Rattlers, who says without a season teams could vanish.

“It’s been nice to see some of the small business loans, if it comes through that’s about two months of salary for employees and that goes a long way. I wouldn’t be surprised if some teams just can’t survive” Zerjav explained.

Zerjav says playing games without fans is not a viable option for minor league clubs.

“Financially it wouldn’t make sense and I get that these Farm Directors want their players to develop and a year off won’t help that, but if they play before no crowd hopefully that’s in Arizona.”

The Bees are the low Class-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Cyclones Add to 2021 Class:

Iowa State has landed another 2021 commitment in Kansas City area defensive tackle Howard Brown.

Brown – a 6-foot-2, 290-pound 3-star prospect – is the 52nd-ranked defensive tackle in the nation and the 18th-ranked player in Missouri, according to 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Brown had one other Power Five offer from Kansas.

He is the seventh known commit in the 2021 class for the Cyclones.

NFL Draft Insider has Wirfs in Top-5, Epenesa inside Top-25:

The NFL’s top draft insider has a pair of Hawkeyes in his mock first round.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has former Mount Vernon standout Tristan Wirfs being selected #4 overall by the New York Football Giants.

Jeremiah cites Wirfs has the “best tackle” in the class who can either play right or left tackle in the pro game.

For the second consecutive mock, Jeremiah is drawing a connection between A.J. Epenesa and the New England Patriots.

Epenesa didn’t test well in Indianapolis but believes New England can overlook that with tape study.

No Cyclones are considered first round talent this year, however Iowa State long snapper Steve Wirtel is expected to hear his named called on the draft’s final round.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Wesleyan, Daniels Prepare for UMAC Scheduling Changes:

The closure of MacMurray University has left UMAC football officials scrambling as the season rapidly comes into focus.

The solution: schools will play a home-and-home with the institution that was closest to them in the 2019 football standings.

For Iowa Wesleyan, that means a double-dip against Crown College — their homecoming opponent — and their final game of the year.

Head Coach M.D Daniels explains the process.

“We’re going to play Crown College twice, but only one of the games against them will count towards UMAC standings. The first game we play [here] in Mount Pleasant will count towards the UMAC, the other won’t.”

Wesleyan will open up their season on Saturday, September 5^th at 7:00 p.m. at home against Cornell College.

John Deere Classic Remains On for July 9-12:

The PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic will remain July ninth through the 12th near the Quad Cities. The Tour released a revised schedule that includes the Masters moving to November. Clair Peterson is tournament director of the John Deere Classic.

“If we had an earlier date we’d probably be more at risk. We just understand that the Open Championship, where we have traditionally flown people overseas for is postponed our field is going to change too.”

What he means by that: the John Deere Classic expects more of the tour mainstays to play in this year’s tournament.

“Over the years a lot of players have played here but didn’t come back. You can’t predict who’s going to be here but the criteria in their mind of why they will play or why they won’t play is certainly going to change.”

Even still, Peterson mentioned that several tournaments in May and June are in wait and see mode and could be forced to move again.

Brands Honored as NWCA Coach of the Year:

The National Wrestling Coaches Association announced Wednesday that University of Iowa head wrestling coach Tom Brands has been named 2020 NWCA National Coach of the Year.

The NWCA coaching honor is the second of Brands’ career. He first won the award in 2008 following Iowa’s national championship.

The 2020 Hawkeyes were favored to win their fourth NCAA title under Brands.

Iowa entered the 2020 NCAA Championships with three top seeds, including Hodge Trophy winner Spencer Lee, nine wrestlers seeded eighth or better, and another seeded 11th.

A team title would have been the 24th in program history.

The Hawkeyes were ranked at the top of every national poll this season, posting a 13-0 dual record and 9-0 Big Ten Conference record.

The Hawkeyes won the 2020 Big Ten Championships, crowing three individual champions and scoring 157.5 points, its highest total since 1995.

Brands was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, and Lee was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.

The NWCA honor is Brands’ second coach of the year award this season.

He was also named 2020 InterMat Coach of the Year.