Members of the Iowa Women's Basketball team celebrate during a game in Italy on Aug. 6, 2023. (HawkeyeSports.com)
Iowa Hawkeye Athletics Week in Review
The press releases from the University of Iowa Athletic Department are coming at us fast and furiously. The pace stays steady through the spring.
Through the years, HN has sifted through the mass, posting what we felt would draw the most interest. It's been an inexact process, and we've missed too much.
We'll plan to post this roundup on Sunday night/Monday morning, during the busiest times of the year. It will include results from competition, awards/honors and anything else we didn't previously publish.
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Iowa Women's Basketball tipped off the basketball portion of their foreign trip Sunday with a convincing victory in Naples, Italy. The Hawkeyes overwhelmed Team Slammers, 116-46.
Caitlin Clark led seven Hawkeye scorers in double-figures. She netted 17 points to go with seven assists and five rebounds. Coach Lisa Bluder limited her star's minutes and used her bench liberally.
Junior Sydney Affolter contributed 15 points and 13 rebounds for the winners, while teammates Addi O’Grady (16 points, 8-for-8 FG) and Taylor McCabe (14 points, 4 3s) also enjoyed strong performances. Iowa splashed in 16 treys and shot 46 of 78 (58.9 percent) from the floor in the contest.
“I was happy to see our team shoot the ball so well because you don’t know what’s going to happen once you get out here,” Bluder said in a press release. “Everybody played well, and it was nice to see everyone get out there and compete. Tonight, was a lot of fun for our new group.”
Iowa's last two games on the trip will be played Friday and Aug. 13 in Croatia.
Hawkeyes Being Watched
It's preseason watch list time in college football. Plenty of Hawkeyes are in the running for national awards with more announcements forthcoming.
Cooper DeJean has been the most recognized on the roster to date. The junior defensive back was on watch lists released this week for the Nagurski (national defensive player of year) and Hornung (versatility).
Tight ends Luke Lachey and Erick All showed up on the Mackey watch list. Quarterback Cade McNarama (Maxwell Award), Logan Jones (Rimington), Tory Taylor (Ray Guy) and Drew Stevens (Groza) also landed on watch lists this week.
No Time for Vacation
While his dad, Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery, and the rest of his Hawkeye teammates headed out on a foreign trip this week, Patrick McCaffery stayed back in the states. The senior forward accepted an invitation to the Nike Skills Academy this Monday through Friday in Portland. Ore.
Patrick McCaffery will join a talented group of college players working on their skills with past and present NBA players and coaches. He is the fifth member of the program since '14 to take part in the camp, joining Aaron White (2014), Jarrod Uthoff (2015), Peter Jok (2016) and Tyler Cook (2018).
Also in men's basketball news...junior big man Riley Miley also is missing the foreign trip due to a prior family engagement, UI said in a release...redshirt freshman walk-on Amarion Nimmers announced he'd be entering the transfer portal. He turned down a scholarship offer from Eastern Illinois coming out of high school.
Diamond Notes
Iowa Baseball announced this week that Mitchell Boe would be a full-time assistant coach after serving as a volunteer this past season. He spent the previous two seasons at Valparaiso.
Boe, a Naperville, Ill. native, played for the Hawkeyes from '16-19, appearing in 193 career games, tied for the ninth-most all-time in school history. He served as a team captain as a senior and was Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship recipient in '19.
Iowa Baseball also announced this week that it would be competing in the inaugural Jax College Baseball Classic on Feb. 23-25 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Hawkeyes are slated to take on Auburn (Feb. 23, 5 p.m. CT), Virginia (Feb. 24, 3 p.m.) and Wichita State (Feb. 25, 11 a.m.).
More Notes...Hawkeye Mike Stein was crowned champion in the men’s javelin (234’ 2”) at the Pan American U20 Championships this weekend in Puerto Rico. Wisdom Williams finished second in the women’s shot put (49’ 8.25) and Will Ryan took third in the 5,000 (14:52.06). Stein, Williams and Ryan will only be sophomores in '23-24...Women's gymnastics elevated Rachel David from volunteer to paid full-time assistant on Monday.
