By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – A come-from-behind win over your instate rival, a verbal commitment from a high school quarterback and an official visit from a five-star point guard; this past weekend provided a combination of hope, thrills and optimism for Hawkeye fans.

The Iowa football team defeated Iowa State 16-13 this past Saturday at Kinnick Stadium as Caden Buhr made a 42-yard field goal with 15 seconds left to play, while just prior to the start of the game, Iowa received a verbal commitment from 2028 Indianapolis quarterback Chase Grove.

The Iowa men’s basketball team also hosted five-star point guard Cayden Daughtry on an official visit this past weekend.

The 6-foot Daughtry, who is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, trimmed his list to 14 schools in late August, but Iowa is widely considered to be one of the favorites to land him.

Iowa advanced to the NCAA Elite for the first time since 1987 this past season under first-year head coach Ben McCollum, and with do-everything point guard Bennett Stirtz leading the way.

Stirtz has since moved on to the NBA after being picked in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies and then traded to Oklahoma City.

But his impact still is being felt in recruiting as McCollum can use Stirtz’s improbable rise to stardom as a way to convince Daughtry that he, too, could flourish in McCollum’s system.

Stirtz had no Division I offers coming out of high school in Liberty, Missouri four years ago, or any Division II offers for that matter.

He signed with Northwest Missouri State, which at the time was a Division III power under McCollum.

Stirtz played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Northwest Missouri State before following McCollum to Drake where together they had a record-breaking season in 2024-25, finishing 31-4 and with Stirtz being named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year.

Iowa then hired McCollum as head coach in late March 2025, and Stirtz was on the move again as he joined McCollum in Iowa City for what would prove to be one historical season.

Stirtz has been very vocal about his belief in McCollum’s ability to develop point guards; the thinking being that if McCollum can turn a no-star recruit such as Stirtz into an NBA point guard, imagine what McCollum could do with a five-star point guard such as Daughtry.

Of course, convincing Daughtry to take an official visit is different than convincing him to commit.

But for Iowa to have made it this far in the recruiting process is certainly cause for optimism.

Daughtry attended the Iowa-Iowa State football game this pat Saturday night at Kinnick Stadium and was greeted with a chant of “we want Cayden” by the Iowa students.

Iowa is among six visits that Daughtry has reportedly set for this recruiting cycle.

He visited Florida State and Tennessee prior to visiting Iowa, and he also has visits set for Connecticut this coming weekend, Florida on Sept. 25-27 and Miami (Fla.) on Oct. 16-18.

So McCollum definitely has his work to do.

Daughtry is widely regarded as one of the top 10 players nationally in the 2027 class.

247Sports ranks Daughtry as the No. 2 point guard and the No. 3 overall player in the 2027 class. The 247Sports Composite has Daughtry ranked as the No. 4 point guard and the No. 10 overall player in the nation.

Rivals has Daughtry ranked as the eighth best prospect in the 2027 class.

Daughtry won’t come cheap in this deep-pocketed age of NIL, but McCollum understands what he’s up against financially.

The entire Iowa coaching staff traveled to Florida last October to visit with Daughtry and his family.

McCollum has made Daughtry a recruiting priority, and right now, Iowa is a serious contender.