Luke Lachey on his decision to return to Iowa: “I love Iowa. I don’t think I could really leave this place... I just felt like there was more I could do here and more I could learn to help myself be better prepared for the NFL.”

Today marked the first time we've heard from Iowa offensive players since before the Citrus Bowl.

If you'd like to know what they're saying about OC Tim Lester and WRs coach Jon Budmayr, here are the most interesting comments, assembled in column form.
hawkcentral.com/story/sports/c…

Here's the quote from today's offensive player interviews that stuck with me the most, via WR Jacob Bostick that everyone is energized: “For sure. I think the fresh start was nice with the different coaching, the different plays. We’re all really excited with what’s to come.”

Kaleb Brown’s goal for the 2024 season: 1,000+ receiving yards.

Luke Lachey says he started reading more while he was injured last season. Read The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon. Still currently working through the Harry Potter series.

Another programming update!

Chad Leistikow🆑 and Scott Dochterman will also be pushing Legends & Listeners to Friday morning at 10:30, presented by Heartland Flagpoles.

Cade McNamara running.

Beth Goetz announces that Caitlin Clark’s #22 will be retired.

Can confirm that Morehead State transfer Drew Thelwell is scheduled to visit Iowa next week. Averaged 10 points, 6.2 assists and three rebounds per game last season. Jon Rothstein reported first.

PODCAST: Reflecting on the last 2 years of Iowa women's basketball and the 5 outgoing seniors: Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin, Gabbie Marshall, Molly Davis & Sharon Goodman. Plus, what's possible now for WBB.

Spring football & MBB updates as well.
hawkcentral.com/story/sports/c…

After a record-breaking season and tournament run, Caitlin Clark is the winner of the 2024 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year Presented By Principal Principal® @caitlinclark22 @iowawbb LAAC

With final Nielsen reporting completed, Iowa-South Carolina officially drew 18.9 MILLION viewers.

Peaked at 24.1 million viewers in the game’s final 15 minutes.

The reality is next year's NCAA Tournament will not draw this number in the title game (and likely not the 2023 number). The viewership interest in Caitlin Clark was a unicorn.

But this sport is a 🚀 — and they will retain people who sampled it for the first time.

Taking stock of where Iowa men's basketball roster currently stands as offseason rolls on: hawkcentral.com/story/sports/c…

The two most stunning numbers beyond the record 18.7M average viewers for Iowa-South Carolina:

✅Peak of 24M viewers!! 🤯

✅Up 89% over last year’s Iowa-LSU title game of 9.9M, which we already deemed incredible.

'24 #NCAAWBB Natl. Championship ended the season with a bang on ABC & ESPN

🏀18.7M viewers, peak 24M
🏀Up 89% from '23 & 285% from '22
🏀Most-watched basketball game (men's or women's, college or pro) since '19
🏀Most-watched sporting event since '19 (excl. football & Olympics)