Evaluating where Iowa currently stands in transfer portal with football, men’s and women’s hoops
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Now that the spring transfer portal window has closed effective May 1, we can all take a deep breath and wait for the next window to open.
Not much has happened from Iowa’s perspective, and that can be perceived as good and bad news.
The Iowa women’s basketball team needed to add a veteran scorer to help soften the blow from losing the greatest player in program history, and four other seniors, and it was mission accomplished as Villanova guard Lucy Olsen signed with Iowa last month.
She was the nation’s third leading scorer this past season behind Caitlin Clark and USC’s JuJu Watkins, averaging 23.3 points per game. The 5-foot-9 Olsen appears to be just what Iowa needs as a veteran scorer with a proven track record.
The Iowa men’s basketball team also needed help in the backcourt and would go on to land Morehead State guard Drew Thelwell from the portal last month.
Iowa is also in the running for Massachusetts forward Matt Cross, along with Wisconsin, Texas Christian University and Southern Methodist University.
However, the concern is that Iowa might not have enough NIL money to land Cross.
Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said recently on the Hawk Fanatic radio show and podcast that he still was looking to add one frontline player, but if that weren’t to happen, McCaffery said he would make do with his current roster.
While Iowa has added Thelwell, it also has lost senior guard Tony Perkins, senior forward Patrick McCaffery and sophomore guard Dasonte Bowen to the portal.
So, a case could be made that Iowa has taken a step back in the portal.
But on the other hand, Owen Freeman has stayed committed to Iowa, and it’s reasonable to assume the Big Ten Freshman of the Year has had plenty of suitors trying to convince him to join their team.
The 6-foot-10 Freeman is a rising star at a time when men’s basketball players are transferring at an alarming rate.
To have him still committed to being a Hawkeye, along with junior guard Josh Dix, is a victory by itself.
As for Tony Perkins, money is believed to have been a factor in his decision to transfer to Missouri, though, he denied it on social media.
Hawk Fanatic has learned that Perkins received more NIL money from Missouri than Iowa, but it wasn’t a significant amount.
Patrick McCaffery, meanwhile, just wanted a change after spending five seasons playing for his father at the University of Iowa, and after having lived in Iowa City since 2010.
Butler provided the ideal landing spot with its basketball tradition, and with the campus being in Indianapolis where Patrick’s older brother, Connor McCaffery, now lives and works for the Indiana Pacers.
Butler is also considered one of the top schools, if not the top school, to land the youngest of the three McCaffery brothers, 6-9 Jack McCaffery, who is nearing the end of his junior year at Iowa City West High School.
Moving to football where it has mostly been quiet since Kadyn Proctor flipped his commitment back to Alabama after being a Hawkeye for less than two months.
Iowa is looking to add a quarterback to fill the spot created by Deacon Hill’s decision to enter the portal last month.
Walk-on quarterback Tommy Poholsky also entered the portal last month, leaving Iowa with just two current quarterbacks on scholarship – Cade McNamara and redshirt freshman Marco Lainez.
Former Northwestern quarterback Brendan Sullivan has been mentioned as an Iowa target ever since he joined the portal last month, and Hawk Fanatic has learned that Sullivan will visit Iowa beginning on Tuesday.
Sullivan is from the state of Michigan and was recruited by current Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester when Lester was the head coach for Western Michigan.
Last season, Sullivan completed 63-of-99 passes for 714 yards, six touchdowns to two interceptions. He is also a career 68.7-percent passer with a two-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio. He also has ran for 257 yards in his collegiate career.
McNamara is expected to be Iowa’s starting quarterback this fall, but he is also recovering from a second straight season-ending knee injury.
Florida native James Resar will give Iowa another quarterback on scholarship when he joins the team as true freshman this summer.
That would give Iowa three quarterbacks on scholarship, but one of them (Lainez) has only played briefly in one game, while another (Resar) still is in high school.
Iowa needs to add an experienced quarterback that could come in and play right away, or at least challenge McNamara for the job right away.
But that is easier said then done.
Oklahoma quarterback General Booty told On3sports that he has been in contact with Iowa since entering the transfer portal.
Booty transferred to Oklahoma in 2022 after throwing for 3,115 yards and 25 touchdowns in junior college.
And while the loss of Proctor, a former five-star offensive lineman, was a sobering blow, the number of players returning on defense is reason for hope and optimism.
Iowa certainly has its challenges in raising NIL money, but that didn’t prevent several proven players on defense, including All-Big Ten linebacker Jay Higgins, from sticking with the Hawkeyes.
In addition to Hill and Poholsky, Iowa also lost tight end Cael Vanderbush, defensive back A.J. Lawson and receiver Jacob Bostick to the portal last month.
Tight end Johnny Pascuzzi has also entered the portal, but a person close to his situation told Hawk Fanatic that Pascuzzi would prefer to stay at Iowa, and that he has a good relationship with Kirk Ferentz and tight end coach Abdul Hodge.
By entering the portal, Pascuzzi is simply keeping his options open.
Pascuzzi appeared in 11 games last season as a walk-on.
Iowa is also looking to add a wide receiver from the portal, but fell short in its attempt to land Missouri State receiver Raylen Sharpe, who recently committed to Fresno State.
North Dakota State receiver Elijah Green is now reportedly on Iowa’s radar. He finished the 2023 season with 1,197 all-purpose yards, including 877 receiving yards on 45 receptions.
Iowa has suffered from a lack of production at the receiver positions, especially in each of the past two seasons, and that could be a concern for receivers in the portal.