Even Brauns Back Home with Hawkeyes

Belmont Transfer, Iowa City West Grad Commits to Iowa

Belmont's Even Brauns (0) battles for the ball against Iona Gaels forward Quinn Slazinski (11) on Nov 26, 2021, at HP Fieldhouse in ; Orlando, FL. (Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Monday was a homecoming for Even Brauns and his family. The Iowa City native and Belmont basketball transfer announced he was joining the Hawkeye Basketball program.

Brauns graduated from Iowa City West High in 2020. There he played with Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery's son and current Hawkeye, Patrick McCaffery. 

"This is one of the proudest moments of my career for me and my family," Brauns told HN. "Growing up in Iowa City, I have a deep appreciation for the town and community that we have here. I understand how special it is to be a Hawk, and I'm ready to represent the university well

"Me and my family are just so thankful to Coach McCaffery for this opportunity, and I'm ready to commit myself to making this the best two years of my college career." 

Brauns (6-9, 240) spent three seasons at Belmont, becoming a starter in '22-23. He averaged 7.0 points and 5.3 rebounds this past Winter. 

"I'm excited to play with Even again," Patrick McCaffery said. "He's a really athletic big man who is capable of doing different things and will be a great piece for us."

"Off the floor, he's an even better guy to have in our locker room. He's a great friend of mine, so I am excited that we are on the same team again and am looking forward to what we can accomplish this season."

Tony Roe from Prep Hoops Iowa saw Brauns a lot in high school and on the AAU circuit, and then followed his career to Belmont. He offered a scouting report. 

"Even is a bouncy big man who will provide some rim protection for the Hawkeyes. He’s a high IQ player who understands his role and doesn’t try to go outside of it. He should be a nice rotation piece for Fran McCaffery, providing some interior scoring and defense off the bench. 

"Don’t expect him to come in and produce at the level (former Hawkeye) Filip Rebraca provided. They are different types of players. But he should be a valuable piece who can provide 12-15 good minutes a game." 

The addition of Brauns gives Iowa 12 scholarship student-athletes for '23-24. The Hawkeyes have one remaining. They could bank it or award it to a walk-on if they don't find a transfer or prep. 

Iowa is replacing Rebraca, an all-Big Ten third-teamer in '22-23 after averaging 14.1 points and 7.5 rebounds last season. It added Valparaiso transfer forward Ben Krikke on April 10. 

As of today, Brauns, Krikke (6-9, 220) and junior Riley Mulvey (6-11, 245) are the "post" players on the Hawkeye roster with experience with true freshmen Owen Freeman (6-11, 225) and Ladji Dembele (6-9-250) coming in next month. Patrick McCaffery (6-9, 210) also is capable of helping out inside, especially blocking shots on defense. 

“We are excited to have Even back home,” Fran McCaffery said in a university press release. “He was a terrific player at West High School and had an excellent career at Belmont. Even will be a great fit for our program.”