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Français (Afrique)Taking stock of Iowa’s 2025-26 rotation as the portal opens
It’s that time of year again. When the door on the season closes, the window of the portal opens. So far, there’s been no official movement among the Iowa Hawkeyes, though that could change. But the current state of Iowa’s roster is … pretty good all things considered.
As JP noted, the Hawks lose 3 guys through graduation, though Tavion Banks could find another year given how juco seasons have been wiped out with court decisions. Bennett Stirtz leaves a 40 MPG hole, of course, but Brendan Hausen’s on court contributions were small. Credit to Ben McCollum’s roster building for not coming over from Drake with a rotation full of seniors which will require total replacement. So Iowa can be very selective in who they bring aboard.
Point Guard
Kael Combs was one of the unsung heroes of this season. He was among the biggest question marks I had when he came over, as he played just 13 minutes a game at Drake, which was barely a step up from his minutes at Wyoming. While his scoring was at just 6.1 PPG, he did not serve as a true shooting guard alongside Stirtz but often ran the show while Stirtz operated off ball, tallying 2.4 assists/game to 1.4 turnovers.
The biggest step forward Combs can have is simply in consistency. There’s no greater demonstration of this than how filled the gaps in the tournament. His 15 points in the opener against Clemson were perhaps the reason Iowa advanced in an absolute slog of a game. But he scored just 17 points in Iowa’s other 3 games (though he dished 13 assists to just 4 turnovers). He played excellent defense throughout.
With the loss of Stirtz, it’s natural to say this is a position of need in the portal. But where McCollum goes will give us a sense of what he’s looking for out of PG more broadly. Tyler Tachman dove deep into past point guards McCollum has had and the results are substantial. This feels a bit like a season before a season, though, with the Hawks searching for a guy with a year or maybe two who can operate alongside Combs in 26-27 as Iowa chases some of the White Whales of Hawkeye Basketball (elite PGs).
Two names have popped up: Kyan Evans of North Carolina who averaged 10.6 PPG and 3.1 APG at Colorado State in his sophomore season. Crucially, he shot 45% from deep. His production tailed off in Chapel Hill, which is to be expected. The 6’2” senior-to-be hails from Kansas City, an area McCollum knows intimately. This would make a lot of sense.
The next is Finley Bizjack from Butler. At 6’4”, 195 lbs, he’s also got just one year to play and fits more of the mold of Stirtz in terms of size. He’s also more of a scorer with 17.1 PPG on 35% shooting from deep and just 2.5 assists.
Peyton McCollum, Ben’s son, is also on the roster but will likely be a reserve after his redshirt freshman season.
Wing
After getting an Elite 8 recruiting bump with Jaidyn Coon’s commitment, Iowa is absolutely loaded here, even if Banks doesn’t return. Tate Sage, Isaia Howard, and Ethan Harris are all likely to get minutes outside the post.
The biggest questions here is: how deep does McCollum go? Are Coon & Harris quick adapters to what the Hawks want out of their guys? Tachman noted on a recent podcast that D-1 scouts are incredibly high on Coon as a defender while McCollum noted Harris’ ability to defend guards in recent media availability. That’s a quick way to the floor at Ben McCollum’s Iowa.
They’re super young here, with Howard as the old hat as the only junior. Iowa will have a lot of options, too. They can go with two PGs on the floor if they land someone in the portal or get super big by sliding Cooper Koch or Trey Thompson up to the 3.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if we see Sage take a huge step forward. Throughout the season, he increasingly initiated the offense and was playing his best ball in March. Also in perusing past NW Missouri State stat pages, he fits the mold (6’7”, 210 lbs) of non-PGs who led the Bearcats in scoring (2021: Ryan Hawkins at 22.6 PPG; 2019: Joey Witthus, 21.1 PPG). There’s still room on the bus for Sage and as the driver I’m not afraid to fill it past capacity.
Forward
The big question mark here is whether Alvaro Folgueiras returns. The March Madness Hero ran incredibly hot and cold throughout the season and required a lot of coaching through the media with McCollum always referencing “winning plays” specifically to how the Spaniard played. At 8.4 PPG, that’s not what one would expect from last year’s non-Drake portal win.
If he’s not back, Iowa’s still in pretty good shape with Cooper Koch, who was #2 in Iowa’s minutes this season and started every game. He has positional flexibility on defense and often slid down to guard true 5s. There’s also Trey Thompson, the redshirt freshman who missed out on summer workouts and was never able to find a place in the rotation.
No matter, in casual pictures throughout the season, Thompson regularly looked like the biggest guy in the frame. He’s running pick & roll with Sage on the 2s and is defending 1-4. The year of seasoning can only have helped as he got used to the McCollum standard and college life after reclassifying.
Center
This is almost certainly Iowa’s biggest need, as Cam Manyawu could only do so much in those games where teams could run out 7-footers. At 19.2 MPG, he is used to the timeshare and will likely be in the same position next year, no matter who is back.
If Iowa is able to get a big in the portal, it calls into question how important 6’11 Trevin Jirak is. He seemed like an ideal redshirt candidate when he committed but was called into action for 17 games. He played well and consistently received the praise of McCollum for his practicing but definitely looked the part of a heavier-footed freshman.
As for a portal candidate here… Saint Mary’s Andrew McKeever stands 7’2” and averaged 8.2 points and 9.2 rebounds in his sophomore season. Oh yeah, that would do.
Way too early prediction on minutes
PG: Combs 80%; Portal guard 20%
Wing: Sage 60%; Portal guard 40%
Wing: Koch 30%; Howard 40%; Coon/Harris 30%
Forward: Koch 50%, Thompson 50%
Center: Manyawu 50%, Portal center 50%
Sadly, I’m not optimistic about Folgueiras’ return. We’ll always have his March Madness run. Yet there seem to be plenty of guys in line to fill in for the departures.
Bills still have 13 free agents who haven't signed with an NFL team
Bills still have 13 free agents who haven't signed with an NFL team originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Is it a bad sign that more than half of the Buffalo Bills' free agents from last season's roster haven't signed anywhere yet?
Maybe it suggests the 2025 Bills simply didn't have enough talent in the first place.
"The Buffalo Bills believed they had a Super Bowl-caliber roster last season," writes Ryan Miller of the Democrat & Chronicle. "The free agent market hasn't backed that up."
The Bills had 25 unrestricted free agents. Still 13 haven't signed.
Six of them got new contracts with the Bills, and five went elsewhere, while Darius Slay retired.
It's a fascinating list of players still available:
- Joey Bosa
- A.J. Epenesa
- DaQuan Jones
- Larry Ogunjobi
- Jordan Phillips
- Matt Milano
- Shaq Thompson
- Baylon Spector
- Jordan Poyer
- Tre'Davious White
- Brandin Cooks
- Gabe Davis
- Matt Prater
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Epenesa is the one who came most close to signing already. He had a deal agreed to with the Cleveland Browns, but they chose not to go through with it after concerns about his physical.
That list does have a lot of aging, veteran players on it, the type of guys who may sign eventually but only once training camps arrive and team needs become a little more clear.
It wouldn't be surprising to see a few of these guys still come back to the Bills, particularly Brandin Cooks after president of football operations Brandon Beane suggested earlier this offseason that they could still bring the veteran WR back on board.
Still, it's quite the list. The Bills probably should learn some kind of lesson from this as they self-evaluate their roster decisions.
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Yankees make 10-game NYY franchise history not achieved since 1953
Yankees make 10-game NYY franchise history not achieved since 1953 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The New York Yankees have begun the 2026 MLB season in brilliant fashion.
Much of the credit has to go to the Yanks' pitching staff, which has shut down opposing lineups nearly across the board so far.
The pitching coupled with timely hitting has allowed the Yankees to start 8-2, which is great.
But when combined with the fact that they've allowed just 25 total runs so far (24 earned), they're actually making franchise history.
Only once before have the Yankees begun the season with at least eight wins in 10 games while allowing 25 runs or less, according to NY Yankees Stats -- that was in 1953.
For those doing the math at home, that was 73 years ago.
The Yanks allowed three runs on Tuesday night in a comeback win over the Athletics. It was Cam Schlittler's "worst" start of the year and still a very solid one.
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Some of you might be wondering if those 1953 Yankees provide a good omen. Yes, they do.
That team ended the regular season 99-52, winning the American League pennant.
In the World Series, they needed six games to dispatch of the Brooklyn Dodgers and claim a world title for Casey Stengel's bunch.
That Yankees pitching staff was led by Whitey Ford and Eddie Lopat.
The offense included Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Hank Bauer, Gene Woodling, Phil Ruzzuto, Gil McDougald, Billy Martin and Joe Collins.
This year's Yankees have a strong team across the board. Maybe they can claim a world championship, too.
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