Hawkeye Report Podcast

A wide ranging Hawkeye Report Podcast to begin the week. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann open the show with an update on the Iowa baseball program. Huesmann runs down the latest from the NCAA transfer portal with a couple of players leaving and maybe a couple of potential players heading to Iowa and the crunch of the roster getting smaller also in play.  Then we turn to women's basketball and a look at the non-conference schedule for the squad this year. Will it be another challenging non-con schedule for the Hawkeyes? After that we update women's and men's Iowa basketball recruiting. We discuss the top targets and visitors coming to campus in the next few weeks for official visits.  Finally we have some fun draft of women's basketball players from the Lisa Bluder era. We pick eight person teams of players from the Lisa Bluder era of Iowa women's basketball. Tom and Kyle bounce back and forth with their picks and discuss the top players of an amazing era of basketball, including back to back trips to the nationa

Our string of podcasts during the month of June continues with a very special guest. We are joined by our great friend of the pod, Zach Johnson to talk golf, Iowa hoops, Hawkeye football, and the state of college athletics today.  We open talking about Johnson's upcoming event held at Elmcrest Country Club on Monday June 30th. It includes former Hawkeyes Cooper DeJean and Keegan Murray hitting the course at that event. More details here: https://zachjohnsongolf.com/zjf-classic/ Also, we discuss the upcoming John Deere Classic in early July and talk about Lisa Bluder and former Hawks Riley Moss and T.J. Hockenson playing at the event.  Then we dive into Iowa athletics talk. We discuss the Hawkeyes stealing a basketball coach away from Drake. Johnson is very close with the Drake program and he talks about what he saw last year from Ben McCollum and get his opinions on the change in leadership within the program.  After that we get Zach's thoughts on the new era of college athletics that is officially underway f

It's another special edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast during our summer run of shows. We are pleased to be joined by former Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder. It's been 13 months since Bluder retired from coaching, we catch up with the legendary head coach and find out what she has been doing.  We look back at Bluder's amazing coaching career, starting with her time at St. Ambrose back in 1984 fresh out of college and a great story on how she ended up landing the job leading the Bees program. Then we talk about landing the Drake job and then finally when Dr. Grant from Iowa called her to offer Bluder the Hawkeye job.  We talk about developing a culture in a program and how she was able to do that during her career. Did she ever consult with or talk about culture and team development with Kirk Ferentz during their tenures?  One topic that was also talk is Bluder's ever expanding coaching tree. It's growing year after year with former players and assistant coaches entering the coaching profession.

Our summer of podcasts continue with one of, if not the best special teams coordinators in the country in LeVar Woods. We hit on quite a few topics on the podcast, but open with him being a parent this past weekend and dropping off his son, Mason, who will play football at Iowa, at the dorms on Sunday. What was that like as a parent? We also talk about Mason rooming with Iose Epenesa and the long time relationship that Woods has with the family, having played a role in recruiting all three of the Epenesa boys to the Hawkeye football program. Also, we discuss on the podcast if Woods asked Kirk Ferentz for advice on coaching his son and what he expects it to be like this year and beyond. He also shares a great story about being in a team meeting yesterday and writing down notes from Ferentz and see his son do the same thing in the same meeting.  We then discuss growing up in the northwest corner of Iowa and the incredible influence of his high school coaches in his life and how they helped prepare him for being

We continue our summer series of podcasts catching up with former Hawkeyes and this time it's one of the best players in Iowa basketball history, Aaron White.  We talk to White about his recent journey playing in Japan and what that has been like. We look back at his Iowa career and deciding to be a Hawkeye and how he was able to help lead Iowa to their first win in the NCAA Tournament in over a decade. We discuss that 2014-15 season and how White put that team on his back in the last six games of the regular season to not only make the tournament, but win a game and what that meant to the program.  We discuss his coach, Fran McCaffery being let go recently by Iowa and how that felt for him, a sa former player. He talks about his relationship with McCaffery and how they always kept in touch over the years and how he appreciated that he had faith in him out of high school.  Then we talk about White and his family living overseas while he continued to play after college all over the world. What has that been li

We get the week started with a fun and entertaining new Hawkeye Report Podcast. This one opens with the start of workouts for Iowa men's basketball coming up on Monday and what we are looking to see in the coming weeks from the new look Iowa squad.  We talk about the Iowa roster and if Ben McCollum is done building it or could they continue to add players? How are they going to approach the next week with regard to figuring out what they might need as far as a roster?  Then we jump over to football for a few minutes and talk start times that were released last week along with when the Hawkeye football players will start to report to campus next week for summer workouts.  Finally the biggest portion of the podcast is Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo doing the Fran McCaffery era draft. We pick nine players each in a snake draft format from the McCaffery era and see who had the best draft of the two of us? Give us your thoughts on if Tom or Matt had the better player draft.   

We continue our new assistant basketball coaches series with a name that will be familiar to Iowa fans joining us. Josh Sash, who is the older brother of former Iowa football standout Tyler Sash, joins the pod. He joined Ben McCollum's staff last year at Drake and is now continuing as an assistant coach at Iowa.  Starting the podcast, we talk about his journey in coaching. He discusses his start at William Penn and then being a video coordinator at Providence and then assistant coaching at the junior college level and then eventually being the head coach at Indian Hills Junior College. What did those experiences teach him over the years? How did it prepare him for the current environment in college basketball?  We discuss how he ended up on Ben McCollum's staff and we dive into several of the players that are coming over from Drake and what he has seen in their develop. We get his thoughts on the pace that Bennett Stirtz plays at, the new addition of Joey Matteoni and what he brings to the Iowa roster. Plus,

We start your week with a special edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann are joined by the new women's basketball assistant coach Lasondra Barrett.  The podcast opens with getting to know more about the coach and the hiring process with Jan Jensen. How did they connect and what was the process like to land a job in Iowa City? What are her initial thoughts on the job and what were her perceptions of the program given the success that it has enjoyed in the four or five years? We get Barrett's thoughts on the two portal additions for the Iowa women's team in Chit Chat Wright, who she coached at Georgia Tech and Emely Rodriguez, who she knew about as a recruit coming out of high school.  Also, we discuss her coaching influences and the input and thoughts she has given to head coach Jan Jensen and how she thinks they will play this season. What has it been like for Barrett to be on the road recruiting with the Iowa logo on her shirt and what's the reaction that she gets from prospects

It's another special edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast as we get to know the new coaches for the University of Iowa men's basketball team. This week we are pleased to be joined by Xavier Kurth. He is the new player development coach for the basketball program and we have a great conversation with him about his daily work.  We open talking about his early years in basketball starting at the high school level in St. Joseph, MO and the influence his high school coaches had on his playing and coaching career. We talk about playing with the Mo Kan program in AAU basketball as well and what that experience was like for him.  Then we discuss his college career and playing for Ben McCollum. What was it like to be part of his program. What about the impact that that he has had on him. Then getting into coaching and what a player development coach has to do on a daily basis. We dive his workouts with Cooper Koch and what he has seen from him this spring and how he can help Iowa hoops this year. We talk about a new

It's another very busy edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. We have Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann breaking it all down to start your week. We open the with Iowa Baseball and the Hawkeyes getting swept by a red hot Oregon Ducks squad. The Hawkeyes had one chance on Friday to win and get a share of the Big Ten title, but let it slip away in the final three innings.  We get Kyle's view on the what happened in the last three games and the end of the regular season. Did the Hawkeyes simply run out of gas? Did a couple of injuries compound Iowa coming up short in their chase for the Big Ten title? Will they regret a couple of losses this season that got away late? We also look at what Iowa needs to do this week in Omaha in a new look Big Ten Tournament to possible get into the NCAA Tournament. Do they need to win the tournament to get in or could a trip to the championship game be enough?  Then we talk some Iowa women's basketball and the latest on the recruitment of portal prospect Emely Rodriguez. She looked lik

The biggest Iowa baseball series in the last 35 years is taking place at Banks Field starting on Thursday evening. It's Iowa hosting Oregon and there is a chance that the Hawkeyes could win an outright or share a Big Ten title for the first time since 1990.  Kyle Huesmann and Tom Kakert spend just over 30 minutes on some breaking down the series and some breaking news for the Iowa baseball team that suggests that they will be without a key hitter this weekend against the Ducks. What will the impact be of this potential loss and who will have to step in? What will it do to impact the batting order? Then we look at the overall Big Ten race and what Iowa needs to do in the three team race for the top spot with UCLA right behind the Hawkeyes and Oregon also in the mix. We also discuss the unique format for the Big Ten Tourament and some interesting decisions that coaches of the higher seeded teams could potentially have to make to conserve pitching later in the week. Finally, we also discuss if Iowa is still in t

We continue our series of interviews with the new Iowa men's basketball assistant coaches by visiting with Luke Barnwell. He's one of the assistant coaches that was not with Ben McCollum when was at Drake, but they have a long history together, going back to when Barnwell was coached by him when he was in college. First we open by talking about how he came to Iowa from Texas Tech and the decision that Barnwell had to make to join McCollum's staff after the Red Raiders had ended their season in the NCAA Tournament. Barnwell also had the scout for the second round game against Drake. What did he see from the Drake game and what stood out to him about their squad? We talk about his journey had a coach, starting with coaching at Sunrise Christian and also coaching in the MoKan AAU program as well and what those experiences taught him. As the son of a pair of coaches, basketball was always going to be in his future, as was coaching. We discuss his coaching career as a whole and eventually moving to the college lev

Sunday was a very special day in Iowa City as the great Caitlin Clark returned to Carver-Hawkeye Arena with her Indiana Fever teammates to play the Brazilan National team. It was a one-sided result in favor of the Fever. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann were there and look back at what was a special day for Iowa women's hoops.  We look back at Clark's performance and even in a blowout, she made it into a special game, particularly when she drilled a three from beyond her 22 spot on the floor at the end of the third quarter. We also talk about how she takes time to sign autographs for all the boys and girls that she can and also, this Fever team could be a threat to win the WNBA title.  Then we flip over to Iowa baseball. The Hawkeyes are coming off a tough weekend, losing 2 of 3 at Washington and likely letting one game get away from them. Huesmann discusses what happened with the Hawkeyes this weekend and shared Rick Heller's thoughts from the game. Then we look ahead to a huge series this weekend in Des Moines

It's another special edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. We continue our series with the new Iowa men's basketball assistant coaches. This time we are joined by new assistant coach Connor Wheeler, who is in his second year with Ben McCollum after joining his staff at Drake.  We talk to Wheeler about growing up as the son of a coach in the Carbondale, Illinois area. The influence of his dad, who was a Hall of Fame coach and also his mom, who coaches softball at the high school level. We look back at his playing career, starting at John Logan on the junior college level and then at SIU-Edwardsville to wrap up his playing career.  After that, we talk to Wheeler about getting into coaching and grinding his way up from graduate assistant and video coordinator to player development and finally to a full time assistant coach at SEMO, where they made the NCAA Tournament.  Then we talk about how Wheeler ended up last August getting an opportunity to coach at Drake for Ben McCollum and how that team was so successfu

The Hawkeye Report Podcast is back and we have a lot of things to cover this week from football to basketball recruiting, along with the NFL Draft.  We open promoting the Chuck Long Charity Auction, which benefits the Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities. Bidding is open until 8 pm on Saturday, May 3rd. You can get a look at the items up for bid and place your bids at this link. https://www.ctcqc.org/chuck-long-charity-auction Then we officially open the podcast discussing what we saw and learned at Iowa's open spring football practice on Saturday. We saw Mark Gronowski throwing an actual football. How did the quarterbacks look overall? We rave about several wide receivers as well. We also discuss the defense and the emerging players that impressed us, particuarly on the line and at linebacker.  We also discuss a pair of new transfer portal additions, including a quarterback from Wake Forest and a defensive back from cornerback. Are the Hawkeyes done in the portal?  After that we jump into the other b

It's another jam packed edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. Tom Kakert, Kyle Huesmann, and special guest John Evans talk Iowa baseball, men's and women's hoops, and a little Iowa football ahead of the final spring practice on Saturday.  We open with Iowa baseball where the Big Ten leading Hawkeyes host Indiana this weekend. Evans, who calls the Hawkeye games on radio, gives his thoughts on this remarkable season thus far and how they have bounced back this year after high expectations last season. When did Evans know that this team was heading in a potentially special direction?  After that we talk with Kyle about the Iowa women's basketball team adding a key player in the transfer portal who goes by the name of "Chit Chat". What will she bring to the Iowa roster? Who does Kyle see as the possible starting lineup for the Iowa women's team this season? Then we move on to Iowa men's basketball and the latest official editions of the pair of players from the transfer portal, including a key power forward edit

It's a special edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. We are joined by new assistant basketball coach Bryston Williams. He has a long history with new head coach Ben McCollum, going back to when he was his first recruit at Northwest Missouri State.  We open discussing being McCollum's first recruit and a great story on how he landed him, with credit to Williams father. We talk about McCollum as a coach and the process so far of building the roster. What did they learn last year at Drake that helped them with building a roster? How important it was last year to have success against high level teams last year helped them with figuring out the right players this year.  Williams discusses the time that he played for Northwest Missouri State against Iowa in 2011 and what he remembers about the game.  Then we dive into his journey as a coach and what he learned during his time coaching in the G-League with Memphis and the Detroit Pistons and what he learned from the NBA Players. We dive into why he ended up coming

The portal news never seems to stop and we try to get you updated on the Hawkeye Report Podcast. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo fire up the podcast machine to give you the very latest on the Iowa basketball team and where things stand on the roster building front.  We have the latest on three prospects, two from the portal and one from the high school ranks that are down to Iowa and another school. Which players do we think are most important for Iowa to land? Which players do we think that Ben McCollum and his staff will land? We give our thoughts and the needs left as McCollum continues to build his first Hawkeye basketball roster.  Then we slide over to Iowa football, where Iowa is about one week away from wrapping up spring ball. But, the transfer portal is also open, which means the Hawkeyes are seeing a few players, like Brendan Sullivan, hit the portal and we have seen a few players visit, including a big offensive lineman who could join them this fall.  We also talk about some of the comments from the I

It's a special edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast as we are joined by Payton Sandfort. It's a nearly 45 minute conversation with the former Iowa great about his career, this past season, his injuries, his brother transferring to Nebraska, and a whole lot more.  We open the podcast with the end and Sandfort discusses being named the winner of the Chris Street Award this year and what it means to him. He also discusses being able to meet Street's parents and getting to know them over the  years. Then he goes into great detail about the number of injuries that he played with this past season and how he has told at one point that he might have to shut things down during Big Ten play and how he actually was able to finish up the season and leave everything out on the floor against Illinois.  We discuss the very emotional end to the season and know that it would be the last time that he would play with his brother, Pryce, and what it was like in the locker room following that game against Illinois.  We talk abou

It's a special weekend edition of the Hawkeye Report podcast talking about one of our favorite events of the year. We are joined by our good friend former Iowa great Chuck Long and Angie Peterson from the Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities to discuss the upcoming Chuck Long Charity Auction.  This will be the 28th edition of this great event that benefits the Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities and is their biggest fundraiser each and every year. Iowa fans, specificially Hawkeye Report followers, have been a huge part of the success of this event since 2020 and we want to keep that momentum going.  This year is another great event and Chuck Long has donated several one of a kind items to the auction, including his Rose Bowl ring from the 1982 Rose Bowl game, along with several other one of a kind items, including three things that involve the great Caitlin Clark. We discuss the upcoming event and some of the great items and tell you how you can get involved in a few short weeks.  Bookmark th