Iowa Hawkeyes Athletics had a busy week during the last full week of March. An upset in Softball, Iowa Men's Basketball hired a new head coach, and Iowa Women's Golf won big during this week in Hawkeye Sports.
Iowa Softball upsets No. 5 UCLA
Iowa Softball welcomed the UCLA Bruins to Bob Pearl Field for a two-game home series on March 23 to begin Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes dropped the opening game 8-0, and aimed to get back on track in game two.
Freshman pitcher Talia Tretton (5-3) started her 12th game and retired the first six batters she faced. Both teams would strike in the third inning.
The Bruins loaded the bases in the top of the inning, but only managed to score one run. The Hawkeyes scored two runs in the bottom of the inning, courtesy of a Soo-Jin Berry two-run home run.
Iowa would take a 2-1 into the fifth inning. In the top of the inning, UCLA loaded the bases and scored three runs on a hit-by-pitch and an RBI single. The Bruins would take a 4-2 lead into the sixth inning.
The Hawkeyes' offense exploded for six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Iowa loaded the bases with one out and managed to score six runs on a Tory Bennett bases-clearing double. Berry drove her in on her second home run of the day to push the score to 7-4.
Iowa would hold on in the seventh to earn the victory. This was the Hawkeyes highest ranked win in 10 seasons. Iowa would carry its momentum into a two-game series with South Dakota on March 25.
The Hawkeyes won both games against the Jackrabbits and are currently in Madison, Wisconsin, for a three-game weekend series with the Wisconsin Badgers.
Iowa Women's Basketball season ends in the Round of 32
The 2025 Iowa Women's Basketball season ended in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. The Hawkeyes lost 96-62 to the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners dominated the Hawkeyes in the pain from start to finish.
The Sooners out-rebounded the Hawkeyes 68-33, including 28-7 on the offensive glass. Iowa could not overcome the Sooners' size and had 20 turnovers in the 34-point loss.
The Sooners had five players with double-digit points and six players with five or more rebounds in the dominating win.
Senior Lucy Olsen led the Hawkeyes with 20 points, five rebounds, and two assists. A day later, Olsen was named a finalist for the 2025 All-America Team.
Ben McCollum was named as the new Head Coach for Iowa MBB
Iowa Men's Basketball got their guy. The Hawkeyes hired Drake Bulldogs Head Coach Ben McCollum on March 25 after firing long-time Head Coach Fran McCaffery. McCollum went 31-4 in his first and only season with Drake.
Before coaching at Drake, McCollum was a successful head coach at Northwest Missouri State. McCollum tallied 394 wins and four Division II National Titles.
McCollum takes over an Iowa basketball program in shambles after finishing the 2024 season with a 17-16 (7-13 Big Ten) and missing the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. McCollum's biggest challenge is rebuilding a decimated roster.
After Fran McCaffery was fired, Iowa lost nine players to the transfer portal, and two top recruits decommitted from the program.
Drake Bulldogs star guard Bennett Stirtz will follow McCollum to Iowa City, but McCollum still has a lot of work to do to rebuild the roster.
Stirtz was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in his first and only season with Drake after averaging 19.1 points, 5.6 assists, and 2.2 steals per game.
Hawkeyes win the Nashville Invitational
Iowa Women's Golf traveled to Hermitage Golf Course in Nashville, Tennessee to compete in the Nashville Invitational from Sunday, March 23, through Tuesday, March 25.
The Hawkeyes finished with a 54-hole total of 893, two strokes better than second-place Washington State. Iowa's team total of 893 was the Hawkeyes' second-best score of the year.
Sophomores Ximena Benites and Maura Peters led the Hawkeyes after finishing in the top ten. Benites finished in fourth place with 219 points, and Peters finished in seventh place with 221 points.
The biggest story from the tournament was Iowa freshman Lily Huether. Huether shot one-over-par on Tuesday and finished with 226 points (20th place). She moved up 12 spots between the second and final rounds.
This is Iowa's second team title of the year and the first time they have won two tournaments in a season since 1999-2000.
Iowa Football spring practices begin
Iowa Football began spring practices on March 26. The Hawkeyes will have 15 spring practices in preparation for the 2025 season. Spring practices give the coaches time to develop and teach the players without the need to talk strategy.
Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz spoke to the media after the first practice and discussed the main storylines.
Ferentz stated the program had a quiet offseason, but that was fine with him. The program added five mid-year transfers and 10 freshmen to the 2025 roster. Ferentz stressed the program will not rely on the transfer portal to build a roster.
The program only wants players who appreciate the ultimate team experience.
Ferentz was also asked extensively about the health of transfer quarterback Mark Gronowski. Fernetz noted Gronowski is not with the team, but should begin throwing soon. He also stated that he is not worried about Gronowski missing spring practice.
Ferentz said Gronowski has played a lot of football and is smarter than the whole training staff combined.
Ferentz was also asked about the quarterback depth chart. Ferentz would not commit to a set depth chart, but Gronowski is the anticipated starting quarterback.
Upcoming Events
Saturday, March 29 (Minneapolis, MN) - Iowa Soccer open scrimmage versus Iowa State (2:00 p.m. Central Time)
Tuesday, April 1 (Peoria, Illinois) - Iowa Baseball versus Bradley (6:00 p.m. Central Time)
Friday, April 4 - Saturday, April 5 (Palo Alto, CA) - Iowa Women's Track and Field at the Stanford Invitational (all day)