Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - GAMECHANGER? Hawkeyes SECURE Jaidyn Coon, Ben McCollum REDEFINES Iowa Basketball With BIG Moves

Episode Date: April 4, 2026

Iowa Hawkeyes land Iowa’s Mr. Basketball, Jaidyn Coon, signaling a bright future for Ben McCollum’s squad. With Coon's athleticism and dynamic playmaking ability, Hawkeye Hoops continues to stockpile elite talent, aiming for another deep NCAA Tournament run. Can McCollum’s focus on athletic wings, including standouts like Trey Thompson and Ethan Harris, reshape Iowa’s approach and give the Hawkeyes an edge in the Big Ten? Host Trent Condon and Tom Kakert dissect Iowa’s evolving roster, spotlighting portal priorities at point guard and rim protector. The conversation explores Kael Combs’ development, Alvaro Folguerias' uncertain future, and Cam Manyawu potential positional shift. On the women’s basketball front, fallout from Addie Deal’s departure sparks debate—with Jamie Pollard’s recent comments on Iowa’s program fueling rivalry talk. Spring football updates round out the episode, including buzz on Cam Buffington, Tony Diaz, and under-the-radar Hawkeye storylines. Follow Trent Condon on X: https://twitter.com/trentcondon LISTEN TO THE PODCAST: APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-hawkeyes-daily-podcast-on-iowa-hawkeyes-football/id1441592240 SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/0GTyz5ygevcGXdTF6QSoEo YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnHawkeyes Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! 5-Hour ENERGY Have your cake & drink it too. Birthday cake-flavor is back, no fork needed. Vanilla-y cakey flavor, caffeinated kick, and no sugar. It's party time. Order Now at https://5-hourENERGY.com or Amazon. Mazda Like our players, we’re driven by the details. Highlights make the reel. But the work behind them makes it count.
The all-new Mazda CX-5. More to move every side of you. TurboTax This year you’re getting a major upgrade — Intuit TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. Visit http://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today. Robinhood You’re no longer just a spectator. Play by play. You decide. Trade Every Play with Robinhood. Now available across the U.S. Download the Robinhood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC., a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm. SupplyHouse Visit https://SupplyHouse.com/tm to learn more about becoming a Trade Master. Use promo code S-H Five College for 5% off your first order at https://supplyhouse.com. SupplyHouse. Real people. Real service. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. During the tournament FanDuel is offering $300 back in Bonus Bets every day for ten days. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Iowa basketball coach Ben McCollum does it again, landing in commitment from Iowa's Mr. Basketball, Jaden Coon, why the future is so bright for Hawkeye Hoops. You are Locked-on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Goodman, I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast, your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast. Today's episode is brought to you by Fianwold. During the tournament, Fanduil is offering $300 back in bonus bets every day for 10 days. Head to fendule.com to get started.

We're going to talk a little basketball, the latest from the transfer portal, get some thoughts on that. And Jamie Pollard, the Iowa State Athletic Director with some shots, you could say, at the Iowa women's basketball program. We'll talk about that coming up here in a little bit. We're also going to be joined by Tom Kakert from hawkeyearport.com. The latest, we'll talk men's basketball, we'll talk some football and some women's basketball as well with the proprietor at hawkeye report.com. We begin today's conversation, though, with the commitment of Jaden Coon. And as we've talked about here now, for quite a while, the possibility of this becoming

a reality for Iowa, not just after he reopened his commitment after the departure and the retirement of Greg McDermott. But we talked about this, the possibility that there were rumblings out there. Now, he had already signed his letter of intent. It would take a whole lot to make that happen. But regardless, this is something where the relationship, didn't die when he made his commitment, Jaden Coon, to Creighton. Still back-channeling happening, conversations that were out there.

And alas, it happens where Iowa lands a pretty big target here. So, Jaden Coon, as a player, you start there. And what Ben McCollum is building, and you look at the prototype that he wants. He wants athletic guys, guys between 6'4 and 6'4-9, that group of what we, in the old way of thinking, small forward, power forward, shooting guard, 2-4s, That's what he's building here. You look at obviously Trey Thompson, who redshirted this year, but the great things that we've been hearing about him in practice,

bringing in a top 100 player in Ethan Harris at 6'9 and what he's going to be able to provide. And now the latest with Jaden Coon. If you didn't have an opportunity to watch Jaden these last couple of seasons, he is an outstanding athlete, and that's where you start. The dunking ability is big time, something we don't see very often here in the state of Iowa. He is a guy that is a high flyer, some highlight level dunks, dunks in traffic, able to have one step drop and just flush over guys, certainly has that good size,

6 foot 6, thick build too. He is a big guy strong already at this level. And a lot of people have looked at him and you see recently the shooting percentages from a year ago, shot 29% from the three point line. As a junior did shoot 34% back there. Also, he was a guy in the late clock situations, though, that had to take a lot of those three. A lot of those deep shots late in the shot clock and had to do plenty of that. I think he is a guy, though, you look at the shooting stroke. It doesn't look broken.

It doesn't look like a guy that is always going to struggle to shoot from the outside. And, you know, I just point to the improvement that we saw this season out of a guy like Tate Sage. Obviously, beginning of the season, that three-point shot wasn't beautiful by any means, but really smoothed out. We saw the way that he ascended, certainly during the NCAA tournament. Another guy, Cooper Koch, and it was never about the mechanics with Cooper Koch. but after what we saw in the back half of the season from him shooting behind the three-point arc. And I don't have major concerns that he's not going to become at minimum a very good shooter, a solid shooter, a guy that, you know, you can go out there and shoot 34%,

but maybe even more upside for that. But with the athlete that he is, the defender that he can be taking Storm Lake two years ago to their first state tournament since 1994, going back to back, a great game against Solon. He played really well in their loss to ADM. I was able to watch both of those games down at the KC Center in Des Moines as they both preceded the games that I was broadcasting at the 4A level. Really impressed with what we saw from Jaden Coon. This is another home run. And we know now the transfer portal what I was going to be looking for.

It is that lead guard. It is a point guard, somebody that can handle. I think you're going to see Kail Combs still there in the starting lineup. We saw him inserted in and the improvement we saw from Kiel Combs a year ago. This is a guy still think that can become even a more impactful player on the offensive. end. We know what he can do, certainly on the defensive end, but they do want that lead guard, another guy that can be the person running the offense, doing many of the Bennett-Sturt's things. To think that you're going to just find a replacement for Bennett-starts, a guy that

is going to be plug and play and give you the same level of productivity, that's going to be incredibly hard to find. But they're going to be fine there. I go back to one of the articles I read leading into the Sweet 16. And as all the national articles were starting to come out, there was a coach that Ben McCullum coached against at the Division 2 level. And he said they're going to have the best point guard every year. They might not recruit the best point guard every year, but they're going to have the best point guard because he's going to build that guy into the best point guard in their league.

And that gives you a lot of excitement. He knows what he wants. He knows what he's looking for. He's going to be able to pull it out of him and he's been able to do it. Well before Bennett starts, this was something that happened on a yearly basis for Ben McCollum of finding a great guy, finding elite guy, at the point guard position, and I'm very confident that he's going to be able to find that in the transfer portal.

You couple that with what they need, that rim protector. And what that's going to mean for Cam Manow going forward, what it's going to look like, is he a backup guy, is he a guy that's coming off the bench? Is he a guy that maybe even moves over to power forward? We see him more in that role playing with a more traditional center. A lot of moving parts, a lot of pieces. We know that the center position is the most expensive in the transfer portal.

The good news is, though, according to reports, including from On 3 and Jamie Shaw over there. I was in good shape. They're not at the top of the sport, but they're in that next tier as it pertains to spending and what they're going to have available for them to go out there and get that rim protector, go out and get a point guard coupled with the young talent that is coming here.

And we know that run to the elite aid is certainly going to help Ben McCullum what he is selling for this Iowa basketball program. It is an exciting time to be a Hawkeye Hoops fan, no doubt about it. We're going to talk about this a little bit more coming up with Tom Kaker from hawkeye report.com. A lot of great insight into men's basketball. We're going to talk spring football after the press conference this week with Tom Kaker, with Kurt Farrant, six years

me, Tom Kaker was there for that one. And then we're going to wrap things up with a little talk about Jamie Pollard, the Iowa State Athletic Director, taking a shot at Iowa and the concerns that are out there after the departure of Addy deal. A lot of people with a lot of thoughts on that. And going after the head coach, Jan Jensen, all to come here as we continue, this is the Lock on Hawkeyes podcast. I'm Clea Butler, host of Lockdown Women's Basketball, and this is Mazza's Women's Basketball Snapshot, celebrating the work no highlight reel can ever capture. The NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Elite 8 wrapped up with the Yukon Huskies, staying undefeated at 38 and oh after a decisive win over Notre Dame, while the UCLA Bruins rallied past Duke behind a dominant

second half performance. On the other side, the remaining one seeds in South Carolina and Texas will be determined after their matchups against TCU and Michigan, respectively. Next up, the final four is set for Friday in Phoenix with the winners advancing to the national championship on Sunday. These moments are earned off the clock, those long before the lights ever come on. The sweat, the fakes, the doubt, the scrapes, and coming back for more every time. Mazda puts that same drive into every detail. Wins defined the moment, putting in the work, that defines you. There's more to a Mazda because there's more to you.

Today's episode is also brought to you by TurboTax. It's tax time, but for a lot of us, the old way of doing taxes is a lot. Trying to book an appointment when it's not the most convenient, sitting in a waiting room with a stack of papers, emailing back and forth and wondering if they really get your situation. But this year, you're getting a major upgrade. Intuit TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. You can meet face to face with the real tax expert and your documents get uploaded straight to your TurboTax app on the spot.

Just like that, you're done. Your TurboTax expert works to get you every dollar you deserve while you get real-time notifications as you go on about your day. It's the relief of walking in and meeting a real person and walking out knowing your taxes are being handled right. Head to turbotax.com slash local to find a store near you and book your appointment today. Trent, I'm back with you once again here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for being with us and making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Also want to let you know going on right now, you can get your first month of the Every Day or Club for free when you use the code March.

I know we flip the calendar still available for you. You're going to unlock ad-free episodes of your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast, plus entry into our private listener group where I'm hanging out. Check out the link in our show notes or you can just go right now. Locked on Hawkeyes. Dot Supercast.com Locked on Hawkeyes. Dot supercast.com

to claim your first month free with the code March. Now let's hear from Tom Kakerd from hawkeye report.com. A portal is about to open. We'll get to that in a second. Jane Coote is a Hawk by all accounts by his own Instagram.

He kind of made that official yesterday. Six, seven, Tom, do I have that right? Obviously, a wing player. What kind of players McCollum getting? Yeah, a really athletic wing player from Storm Lake where Ben McCollum grew up. He was born in Iowa City, but he kind of grew up in Storm Lake. So kind of neat that Iowa gets to Mr. Basketball.

And, you know, they missed out on him. He made his decision in May of last year and decided to go to Creighton. And then with Greg McDermott deciding to retire at the end of this year, he opened up his recruitment. And he sent me a message last night just saying it was an awesome visit. And he's real to be a Hawkeye. So, yeah, he's really athletic wing, average 22.9.5, three bounds, three assists. almost two steals game last season, latest team is semifinals in the Iowa State tournament.

Not a great three-point shooter right now, just under 30% last year from three. But he's got a nice-looking shot. So I think it's one of those where if he works on it, it's going to get better and he's going to improve from that area. The interesting thing to me is that Ben McCollum is collecting these guys, from 6-5 to 6-9-ish, and he's just going to deploy them in the two-through-four positions on the basketball court and just kind of play all these guys with length, athletic ability,

and some of them with really good shooting ability, as we saw in the NCAA tournament with like a Tate Sage and Cooper Koch. And, you know, I talked to Thompson during the one of the locker room sessions. And he was saying that he shot 47% from 3 this year in practice. So that kind of picked my ears up a little bit that that kid can shoot it too. So they're gathering a lot of talent in those wing positions. Now they've got to find a rim protector and a point guard to go with it. So those are the two obvious.

need positions that are there. There's been speculation. I know Coach Barnwell's already been following guys going back to January, including, I think, the kid from Colorado, the point card that is there. Do they have a good idea? Is it you always say every year this is going to be speeding, it's going to go fast, but because the calendar is a little bit different, and we don't have this happening while the NCAA tournament is happening,

do they have a pretty good idea at minimum? Hey, we got a shot at getting a visit out of this kid. maybe this guy will have some interest. How different is it compared to past years? Well, especially last year where they were just getting a job and then they had to jump into the portal and not knowing that they were going to get this job probably because you don't want to assume anything.

So they had to really go hyper fast and just try and fill spots as quickly as they could and they were behind April a little bit. The way this works now is, it's crazy but like agents are like shopping kids since January they just are and they're just like saying hey if my guy goes in are you interested and just reaching out to people and and you just so you kind of know who's going to be out there you think you know who's going to be out there and a lot of those guys are in the portal now and I just feel like they have a much better handle and they don't have to rebuild

almost an entire roster this year it's only going to be probably two spots. So, yeah, I think they've got a good grasp on this and I think they've already got some people in mind. But until we get to that point where they can have direct contact with the kid, you just never know. So we'll start seeing all this start to pop on Monday and Tuesday, I would guess, where we'll start seeing names associated with schools because you just, you haven't seen a lot of that on the men's side yet with players being associated with specific. school. Well, next time we speak a week from today, will we know any new additions to the roster? Do you think, Tom? Does it go that quickly? It might. If they get a kid on campus right away

and things are kind of already agreed upon and then everybody kind of meets and says, yeah, let's get married. Then they'll get them on campus and get things going. So yeah, it could it could work out that way or they could be coming in that, you know, this, a week from today, they could be coming in on visits for the weekend and spending some time with the coaches and the program. So, yeah, it's going to, it's still going to go fast, I think. And, but I think they've just got such a better grasp on who the, who the players that they want this year.

And they've got, the other thing they've got, guys, proof of concept. Yeah, exactly. Huge. It's something that's just so important. They're not selling hope and dreams and, hey, we did this at Northwest Missouri State or, hey, we did this at break. Hey, we did it here. Come be a part of this. And that elite eight run is going to certainly resonate with prospects as well.

No doubt. When you look at the point guard position or a lead guard, I guess, and maybe you want to put it that way, because you got Keel Combs back. And I thought we saw real growth out of Combs this year. Always a good defender, but we saw a little bit more pop, at least offensively from him. Got to be more consistent. is a three-point shooter, but another ball handler back there. What kind of lead guard are we talking about here?

Are we talking about getting back to hopefully can find a guy with a little bit of size? Would they be fine with a, you know, 5-11, 6-foot type of guy? What's the prototype that they're looking for here for the guard that they're going to be looking at? I think some guy with toughness, shooting ability, can be coached up by McCollum, and we'll take the coaching. is, you know, he's the point guard whisperer kind of guy. So I think it's just more of the intangible stuff. But I think they've got to be a good shooter.

He likes to play the two point guard kind of thing. That's why he likes having Combs out there because it feels like he can handle it a little bit and run the offense a little bit and give them some scoring punch. So that's why they moved Combs into that starting role is just felt like it gave them, give him two ball handlers out there. So I think he's going to stick with that. And, yeah, I'm sure they've got a couple of names already ready to go. But, you know, he coaches up those point cards and works them hard.

So I don't think we'll see a guy that's going to be out there for 40 minutes a game like that was. But you never know with who they get. We'll see what happens. Yeah, I hope they do. It'll be great. but I find it somewhat unlikely. What about Fulgaris? What kind of future does he have?

What's his decision? Any news percolating there, Tom? There's been a lot of speculation that he might hit the portal. So we will see if that's to date. That has not happened. So we'll see if that happens next week. You know, it was very apparent, being around them all year. especially during this run in the tournament that Ben and Alvarro don't see eye to eye sometimes.

And Ben doesn't like guys that are kind of up and down, kind of yo-yo's, maybe a little on the moody side. I don't know how many times Ben said, I don't do moody. He just doesn't do it and it doesn't work with him. And not that Alvaro was moody, but just he was up and down in his performance. I mean, you look at the season. The end was sort of like a microcosm of his year. You saw all the excitement, the great plays that he made against Nebraska and against Florida. But then you see the Illinois game where he disappeared.

He did not play well and was limited in nine minutes and sat on the bench and his body language is not great. So that's just sort of in a microcosm what kind of drives Ben crazy sometimes. So the talent's there. But we'll see. if they continue their relationship or if Alvar decides to move on. A question I have big guy. The rim protector, certainly something that they're looking for. It leads to the two big guys coming back.

Cam Maniow, what kind of his role looks like going forward? If they do get that rim protector, is it a backup big? Is it playing more power forward? Kind of what that looks like. And then your thoughts on Trevor, you're out going forward. Yeah, Cam would be, it's going to be interesting because he was obviously kind of overmatched at center position at times. And that was very apparent in the Illinois game where they just pounded it in the post.

And that stretch where they kind of created some separation where they just dumped it to a Vich. And he was two feet from the bucket. And he just turned around and shot the ball and was going in. And that jump, that lead jump from one to seven real quick. So I could see him still being kind of a starter, but I think you'd see another guy coming in there. Your X really interesting because I think he's got ability, and I think he can help this team. I think this summer is going to be really important for him from a conditioning and put speed and just overall fitness development. He made a lot of strides going into his freshman year, getting on campus early,

and getting that work in. There's still a lot to work on there, but he's definitely skilled and gives him a guy who can step out and shoot threes and handle the ball a little bit. So I think he's, I just wonder if it's maybe a year away before we really start to see him assert himself even more.

Any more basketball, T.C. Let's go to football Tom Ferrence. He postponed his spring availability would do to the run of the man. understandably so. You guys finally got with him earlier in the week. Just a takeaway or two. It's been two or three days removed.

What has stuck with you from listening to Coach Ferrence earlier this week? Yeah, it was, we haven't seen him since the bowl game, which was a while. And he even noted that. It's been a minute. We haven't even talked about it. Did he miss you? Did he say? Sometimes maybe he does.

I think secretly he does. Yeah. I think maybe the interesting things, because everybody wants to talk about quarterback, and he said it is a, they're both split in time with the ones. So I think that was a takeaway. And just talking about the running backs, too, it was interesting. You know, moving Jay Norvell into that position. It's two straight years.

They've got a new running backs coach. So that's unique. I had a couple departures there. and he seems to really like the L.J. Phillips kid. I sure did. Made a comparison to Norm Granger, which, you know, that's your, get your drink up when you, Kirk goes back into the archives of an old Iowa player.

You're supposed to drink. I love that. Yeah, when he threw the Norm Granger, I was like, oh, drink. Yeah. So we got it. Back to the 80s. Yeah, I think the thing that I'm fascinating, by this team is they've only got eight starters coming back and only three on defense this is a

entirely new defense and talking to some of the guys on the defensive side specifically defensive backs it seems like Phil is just like a jigsaw puzzle and he's trying to fit pieces and trying to figure out who goes where having all those guys play corner safety and some guys dipping into cash a little bit and playing there too. So I don't think he has a handle on what the starting defensive backfield is going to look like. And I know he'll figure it out eventually. And also the era of Cam Buffington is coming very soon for middle linebacker.

I think that's that arrow is firmly pointing up. So you got Buffington and that group of three that came in together. And they got young talent in the linebacker room too. That's certainly exciting. Now, Tom, I brought it up the last three days. and maybe it's just because we've seen wide receivers for a long time, but Iowa struggle. I'm excited, Tom.

Tony Diaz, hearing Kirk, not just talk about a guy, talk about a new guy like that. Speak about very uncirk like, yes, bringing up Norman Granger. Of course, we anticipate that. Talking about a new guy like that, oh, man, I started salivating. Should I be, should I maybe pump the brakes a little bit? No, I think let the brakes go, right? This kid is the real deal. The boogeyman.

The boogeyman. The boogeyman is his nickname. So I think we need to, there's some NIL opportunities there for sure with the boogeyman. But he's got to go do it on the field, but he is a big time player and a real fine for Iowa. And I think they may have found somebody that can stretch the field. God knows they were due. Yeah, they're due to have, when's the last time Iowa had like a real kind of legit, big time receiver.

They had to speed, but they could catch. Amir Smith Marseille, yeah. Yeah. And that wasn't even consistent. No, no. Probably Amir. Yeah, Brandon Smith, those guys, you know, this kid's got some wheels on him and toughness.

You can go up and make a play. So, yeah, I'm anxious to see these guys. We get into, I'll be able to talk next week. We're going to get in practice. and get to watch the few minutes of it. So, yeah, we'll get to see some hunting and some stretching. Every time. Well, that's okay because, you know, maybe a little special teams.

Intel wouldn't hurt, especially this year. You know what? I mentioned this early in the week with Trent, and I just stuck with me. The fact, somebody asked him about the schedule, the 2026 schedule. I did. Wasn't you? Yeah.

And he said, and I'm paraphrasing here, I really didn't know. He had no idea. As fans, as media members, that's one of the things that's our go-to, right? Well, the schedule's this. But for Ferris just another year, and we're going to have to play some really good teams at some point. I'll get to that at a later date. But I was kind of surprised by that at the same time I wasn't. Yeah, I was kind of surprised.

That's why I asked it because I was like, he didn't even seem to know who they were playing before the schedule even came out. And we all knew that. Yeah. We knew they were going to have to play all these teams. and he's just like, yeah, I don't really pay attention to it. Because I'm like, that's stretching, you know, when you're going at Michigan, Ohio State, at Washington, that would get me out of my chair a little bit. And he's just like, oh, we're going to have to play out of them anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

So he doesn't seem to be fazed by it. Tom, we have all that happening, and then we move through and we got the women's basketball. the Addy Deal decision to move on reading between the lines or maybe at times not between the lines with Kyle Huesman who covers things over there. Is Eddie Deal getting some bad advice? Yeah. I think so. I think she just got some bad advice. Maybe be a little more patient, but that's not the world we live in these days, especially when you're four or five-star player, the expectations overwhelm.

you and it's just a different world now. And she's got an agent. I think the agent may have encouraged this and that's, that's unfortunate. But yeah, she had a, I wouldn't, I don't, a disappointment is not the right word, just kind of underwhelming season. She had some really good moments. The Ohio State game jumps out at me as, you know, a really good moment. but, you know, when she had that opportunity after McCabe goes down to jump in the starting lineup, it just didn't go.

It just didn't happen. And it did for Stremlow, and she was probably thinking, boy, that was my shot to start. And now it's gone and now she's going to move on. It's unfortunate, but, you know, Jan's going to have to hit the portal. That opens Monday for the women. And the hard sell for Jan is going to be, I don't know that there's a starting position out there that you can offer somebody. That's tough. It's going to have to get players who are going to have to come off the bench.

And we still don't know what's going to happen with Emily Rodriguez and Pagan Malaney. And keep Peegan in your prayers too. She lost her boyfriend in an auto accident recently. And that's just tragic. I mean, that's just horrible. what she's going through and her family and her boyfriend's family. But, yeah, there's, you know,

potentially to more players that could leave. We don't know. But they're going to have to reload a bench, and that's sometimes a tougher sell because a lot of players go in the portal and they've got one thing on their mind, and that's going someplace to start. And I just don't know where those starting jobs are.

You look at the Iowa roster. That's Tom. acreed hawkeye report.com joining us here as we break down a little football, women's basketball, and men's basketball. Great work as always and always great information over at Hawkeye Report. We continue here. Jamie Pollard, the Iowa State Athletic Director, taking a shot at the Iowa Women's Program. That's next, locked on Hawkeyes.

The tournament continues one of the best times of the year. Brackets, buzzer, beaters, upsets, nonstop action from tip to final cut down. And right now, Fandual is giving new customers away. to stay in the action all tournament long. Here's the best part. You get up to $300 back in bonus bets every day. That means 10 chances to stay involved throughout the entire tournament. You can mix it out however you want.

Game picks, futures, even same game parlies for potential bigger payouts. It's the perfect for the tournament because every day there's something new. Different matchups, new storylines, more ways to get involved as the bracket unfolds. You think we're going to get an all Big 10 final? Put it together. Illinois against Michigan. On the money line, that one pays out pretty well. You can put that together, find that same game parlay, whatever you want, and take some bonuses with you.

Visit fanduel.com to sign up today. That's fanduel.com to get in on the action. Today's episode is also brought to you by Robin Hood. What if sports were traded like markets? Now you can put your sports IQ to work in real time with Robin Hood prediction markets. It's not you against the house. It's you participating in a live event. You can buy or sell your positions live.

all game long. Use your sports knowledge in the moments that matter. Robin Hood prediction markets changes the game. It's people moving the action. So when momentum shifts, you can move with it. I always knew the game but never had a dynamic way to apply that knowledge. Now I can take part live in a market powered by people. You're no longer just a spectator.

Play-by-play, you decide. Trade every play with Robin Hood. Now available across the U.S. Download the Robin Hood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk. It is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robin Hood derivatives LLC, a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm. Trent, kind of back with you once again here on Lockdown Hawkeyes, your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast.

Thanks for being with us and making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Wrapping things up in the women's basketball program, some work to be done, down to eight players currently on the roster. and as Tom Caker mentioned, potentially down to six, Emily Rodriguez, who it still feels like her time in Iowa City is going to be done after the season and the way that it played out this year. And he also mentioned the sad news with Tegan Malaney and a potential move there. Regardless of that, though, Jamie Pollard talking about his own women's program. At one point it was down to two players. It got back up to three after Adi Crooks made her announcement that she was departing Iowa State and getting into the portal. one of the players eventually went back.

But he took a shot at Iowa, though he didn't outright say the Hawkeye name. He talked about another program that hosted grounds to paraphrase in the first and second round and is down to potentially six players. It's different than three. And when you have your own set of things, I understand it plays well in that fan base. I get it. But another bad look there. And when do you have your house as disorganized as Iowa states is currently,

And to take a shot like that, it's petty, it's small, but it's not surprising. We've seen Jamie Pollard do this a multitude of times throughout his career as the Iowa State Athletic Director from the billboards way back in the day in Eastern Iowa to what we see at different times now sitting there. It's just who he is. And regardless of that, look, I was in great shape. Jan Jensen, I know the frustrations. And we talked about it here. the frustrations, the way the offense got bogged down, certainly the way that they played this season at different times.

Still, they earned a number two seed in the NCAA tournament. We know the gap between the top four and everybody else at women's college basketball. It's substantial. And to look back and see what Caitlin Clark was able to do with her team and getting them to back-to-back national championship games is incredible. Work needs to be done. The offense needs to improve. You need to see more options if you're going to stay with the triangle.

Was that a one-year experiment? because he had two good post players with Anna Stulke and Ava Haydner. Are you going to go back to more of a traditional look this season with Hayden Inside and playing a different way with Lichko coming in and playing that direction? Regardless of what it is, we know there are issues, but to equated the same thing that's going on with Iowa State is short-sighted, not a surprise from Jamie Pollard. That'll do it for today.

Thanks for being with us and making Locked-on Hawkeyes, your first listen every day, your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast. Once again, opportunity for you to join us on our everydayer club. It's built for your everyday listeners. If you never miss an episode, you can get Locked on Hawkeyes ad free. Plus, members only Discord access and a whole lot more. Go to lockdown hawkeyes. Dot supercast.com to get started and use that promo code March for your first month free.

We'll talk to you again over the weekend. Hope you have a great one final four upon us. It is a great time of year. Thanks for being with us. We'll talk to you again soon. Until then, go Hawks.