Iowa has hired former Drake assistant Connor Wheeler to Ben McCollum's new men's basketball staff in Iowa City.
“Connor is a great up-and-coming coach,” McCollum said in a release. “His career path has been fast and rightfully so. He’s very talented and will continue to hone his skills at the University of Iowa. He will help us get to a championship level.”
Wheeler has eight years of coaching experience at Drake (2024-25), Southeast Missouri State (2022-24), Southern Illinois (2019-22), Southern Miss (2018-19) and Missouri (2016-18).
Prior to his lone year at Drake, where the Bulldogs set a program record with 31 wins and won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles, he spent two seasons at SEMO. While there, he helped guide the program to its first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament berth. It was their first NCAA appearance in more than 20 years.
Before his two years in Cape Girardeau, Wheeler spent three seasons on staff in his hometown of Carbondale, Illinois, working with Southern Illinois under Bryan Mullins, who is now an assistant at DePaul.
During the 2018-19 season, Wheeler was video coordinator at Southern Miss and he also coordinated video as a graduate assistant at Missouri from 2016-18.
As a player, Wheeler was a member of the Final Four team in 2011-12 at Illinois Wesleyan, he was an all-conference and all-region selection at John A. Logan College, he won a Division II National Championship in 2014 at Central Missouri, and he finished his career at Division I Southern Illinois Edwardsville in 2015-16.
“My wife and I couldn't be more excited to join the University of Iowa family,” Wheeler said. “This program has a rich history, an incredible fan base and a culture of hard work and dedication. I'm excited to recruit and develop exceptional young men that will make Hawkeye nation proud. I'm honored to be a part of this program and can't wait to get to work."
