Recruiting 2026

[Palmerhawk]

I looked at ESPN top 100 today just to see who is trending:

BIG has 21 commits to 13 different schools .No hawkeyes
13 uncommitted guys on the list.

There are 2 Midwest bottom 50 pgs uncommitted; 1 from sunrise academy Kansas and another from Minneapolis.

Of course no foreign players on the list.

Glanced at ISU roster:
The have 2 top 100 frosh from Wisconsin.
They have 2 foreign frosh.
Franschilla mentioned last nite that ISU has had 13 impact recruits from Wis under TJ.
5 on current roster from Wis.
Wis produces a lot of talent and TJ's ties allow him to beat out badgers and Marquette for good prep players

My question: does Ben have Missouri as a footprint recruiting area?
That would be nice.

We need to get into European players...beyond alvaro, for bigs, like the illini and Wis and ISU.

The ISU and Wis formula work:
Get 2-3 quick guards
Get 2-3 bruisers inside
Get a couple of sharpshooting wings.



Next year cam and kael are our only black players. They will be seniors.
Since Raveling we have struggled to recruit black players.
Do black recruits feel comfortable joining a roster that have few guys with shared life experience?

I like Ben and know he is an excellent x and o coach. But he needs high level talent to work with.
Now, maybe in this era all the above is moot...and money is the only recruiting edge that matters so there is that.

The guys we pursued are on the list: Rice to Creighton and harmon to gonzaga.

The illini, who traditionally has had rosters loaded with Chicagoland black players has completely transitioned to euro guys
So not really a race thing but wagler and Boswell are the quick guard guys that fit the ISU/Wis formula.

Just thinking out loud here...happy with the season but wondering how future for hawks plays out
Go Hawks!

 

[CRHAWK]

I looked at ESPN top 100 today just to see who is trending:

BIG has 21 commits to 13 different schools .No hawkeyes
13 uncommitted guys on the list.

There are 2 Midwest bottom 50 pgs uncommitted; 1 from sunrise academy Kansas and another from Minneapolis.

Of course no foreign players on the list.

Glanced at ISU roster:
The have 2 top 100 frosh from Wisconsin.
They have 2 foreign frosh.
Franschilla mentioned last nite that ISU has had 13 impact recruits from Wis under TJ.
5 on current roster from Wis.
Wis produces a lot of talent and TJ's ties allow him to beat out badgers and Marquette for good prep players

My question: does Ben have Missouri as a footprint recruiting area?
That would be nice.

We need to get into European players...beyond alvaro, for bigs, like the illini and Wis and ISU.

The ISU and Wis formula work:
Get 2-3 quick guards
Get 2-3 bruisers inside
Get a couple of sharpshooting wings.



Next year cam and kael are our only black players. They will be seniors.
Since Raveling we have struggled to recruit black players.
Do black recruits feel comfortable joining a roster that have few guys with shared life experience?

I like Ben and know he is an excellent x and o coach. But he needs high level talent to work with.
Now, maybe in this era all the above is moot...and money is the only recruiting edge that matters so there is that.

The guys we pursued are on the list: Rice to Creighton and harmon to gonzaga.

The illini, who traditionally has had rosters loaded with Chicagoland black players has completely transitioned to euro guys
So not really a race thing but wagler and Boswell are the quick guard guys that fit the ISU/Wis formula.

Just thinking out loud here...happy with the season but wondering how future for hawks plays out
Go Hawks!

Anyone remember the European players that we were targeting last year?

 

[Palmerhawk]

I cannot recall we were on any ...but could be wrong of course Alvaro, but he came from Robert morris

 

[Matt1nb7]

Just view Trey Thompson as a 2026 recruit and you have a top 100 Hawkeye.

 

[Rifler]

Ben has no owned recruiting footprint in Missouri or any other location for that matter,... I think he's a decent coach, capable of recruiting good kids who want to play the game for the right reasons. However, given that this is Big10 ball unfolding in an NIL environment, we shall see how his recruiting actually plays out,... The reality should be fully apparent by 2030 or so.

 

[Smigamorski]

Has it been officially announced Thompon is redshirting?

 

[Hawk48]

Ben has no owned recruiting footprint in Missouri or any other location for that matter, I think he's a decent coach, capable of recruiting good kids who want to play the game for the right reasons. However, given that this is Big10 ball unfolding in an NIL environment, we shall see how his recruiting actually plays out,... The reality should be fully apparent by 2030 or so.

"Decent coach"? do you know many BBall coaches that have 80+ winning percentages? JMO he has/is a very good coach and will be in the future once he has established the program/connections. But agree NIL/buying players is a major problem for most programs other than maybe 20+/-.

 

[kdhawk_rivals345464]

Anyone remember the European players that we were targeting last year?

Thijs De Ridder. I think we were his second school but Virginia has more to offer NIL wise

 

[2432Hawk]

I looked at ESPN top 100 today just to see who is trending:

BIG has 21 commits to 13 different schools .No hawkeyes
13 uncommitted guys on the list.

There are 2 Midwest bottom 50 pgs uncommitted; 1 from sunrise academy Kansas and another from Minneapolis.

Of course no foreign players on the list.

Glanced at ISU roster:
The have 2 top 100 frosh from Wisconsin.
They have 2 foreign frosh.
Franschilla mentioned last nite that ISU has had 13 impact recruits from Wis under TJ.
5 on current roster from Wis.
Wis produces a lot of talent and TJ's ties allow him to beat out badgers and Marquette for good prep players

My question: does Ben have Missouri as a footprint recruiting area?
That would be nice.

We need to get into European players...beyond alvaro, for bigs, like the illini and Wis and ISU.

The ISU and Wis formula work:
Get 2-3 quick guards
Get 2-3 bruisers inside
Get a couple of sharpshooting wings.



Next year cam and kael are our only black players. They will be seniors.
Since Raveling we have struggled to recruit black players.
Do black recruits feel comfortable joining a roster that have few guys with shared life experience?

I like Ben and know he is an excellent x and o coach. But he needs high level talent to work with.
Now, maybe in this era all the above is moot...and money is the only recruiting edge that matters so there is that.

The guys we pursued are on the list: Rice to Creighton and harmon to gonzaga.

The illini, who traditionally has had rosters loaded with Chicagoland black players has completely transitioned to euro guys
So not really a race thing but wagler and Boswell are the quick guard guys that fit the ISU/Wis formula.

Just thinking out loud here...happy with the season but wondering how future for hawks plays out
Go Hawks!

Scratch the PG from Minneapolis (Jayden Moore) from the list, he committed to North Dakota

UND recruit Jayden Moore picks basketball over football, reunites with former Hopkins teammate

Dec. 9—GRAND FORKS — Jayden Moore was faced with a tough decision heading into his senior year at Hopkins High School. Selecting a college is a common experience for seniors. Prep athletes have the added pressure of choosing among multiple schools vying for their talent, but again, it's an...

sports.yahoo.com

 

[Palmerhawk]

Guess that ESPN list was not updated.
Quite a catch for UND, beating out BIG schools is surprising...maybe a little oil money in ND?

 

[2432Hawk]

Just view Trey Thompson as a 2026 recruit and you have a top 100 Hawkeye.

And Ethan Harris is under ranked, he's going to be a star in Ben's system.

 

[2432Hawk]

Has it been officially announced Thompson is redshirting?

basically yes.

 

[CRHAWK]

Is basketball like football where players can play a specific amount of games in a season and still redshirt or can they not play at all?

 

[hawkeyemark18]

Guess that ESPN list was not updated.
Quite a catch for UND, beating out BIG schools is surprising...maybe a little oil money in ND?

I take the view that NIL won't make that much difference if you have a coach at this level who wins and shows he can develop players. This one at least makes you wonder. Ben has to get this train back on the track. He can start here in just a few minutes..

 

[2432Hawk]

Is basketball like football where players can play a specific amount of games in a season and still redshirt or can they not play at all?

can't play at all unless there is an injury than it it's about 10 games roughly (1/3 of season) to qualify for medical redshirt

 

[Pharcyded]

can't play at all unless there is an injury than it it's about 10 games roughly (1/3 of season) to qualify for medical redshirt

Whether legit or not Fran took advantage of that loophole with at least two players that I recall.

 

[Smigamorski]

basically yes.

So no?

 

[herkhatescy2]

So no?

Hasn't been officially announced but it's pretty obvious.

 

[TailgateTom]

So no?

Think about it. Pulling his shirt now would be an egregiously horrid move for Trey. McCollum won’t outright say anything publicly nor should he. But read between the lines with his comments on the matter.

 

[Smigamorski]

Hasn't been officially announced but it's pretty obvious.

I agree but it also does not make sense why it has not been announced.

 

[TailgateTom]

I agree but it also does not make sense why it has not been announced.

Curious--why does it HAVE to be announced?

 

[Smigamorski]

Curious--why does it HAVE to be announced?

Lol nothing HAS to be done but I am trying to understand the logic on not announcing it? Do both parties have to agree to the redshirt? Do Nil benefits potentially hurt the player if he is redshirted? It pretty common redshirted athletes are announced so color me confused.

 

[Hawkangler]

And Ethan Harris is under ranked, he's going to be a star in Ben's system.

Intetesting Aaron White was in Iowa City last night. Harris's game is like his.

 

[TailgateTom]

Lol nothing HAS to be done but I am trying to understand the logic on not announcing it? Do both parties have to agree to the redshirt? Do Nil benefits potentially hurt the player if he is redshirted? It pretty common redshirted athletes are announced so color me confused.

To me, it's nobodies business except the coach and family. Obviously this has been discussed with both Trey and his family, and they're on board with it. Trey understands the process--he's even commented about how he wasn't going to get better playing HS ball, regardless. Both parties don't have to agree, and NIL doesn't change if you do or don't redshirt. BUT any coach who is a good coach, who is also an actual human being, is going to do what is best for for his player and they'll work together on it. To me, when he didn't see action in the pre-B10 schedule, the writing was on the wall. In basketball, if you play even one game your shirt is gone. McCollum felt like he needed to develop certain aspects of his game. He lost A LOT of opportunity over the summer when he couldn't participate, which IMO, was a component I don't think anyone foresaw.

 

[Rifler]

"Decent coach"? do you know many BBall coaches that have 80+ winning percentages? JMO he has/is a very good coach and will be in the future once he has established the program/connections. But agree NIL/buying players is a major problem for most programs other than maybe 20+/-.

Ben came out of a non NIL environment,... he's at the deep end of the pool now.

 

[Hawkangler]

Ben came out of a non NIL environment,... he's at the deep end of the pool now.

Keep thinking that, he was a finacce major in college. I'm sure there is plenty of assistance in-house to work through a balance sheet. Ben and staff are looking for tough minded players first. He is building his kind of team and culture.

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

I agree but it also does not make sense why it has not been announced.

Who has to announce it? If you go to the Iowa Hawkeyes website and look up Trey’s bio it says: 2025-26- - Has not seen any game action… redshirting.
does that work for ya?

 

[Smigamorski]

Who has to announce it? If you go to the Iowa Hawkeyes website and look up Trey’s bio it says: 2025-26- - Has not seen any game action… redshirting.
does that work for ya?

Sure does. Thank you for someone actually confirming, didnt think to look there.