Iowa Basketball Seeks Out More Transfer Talent

The Iowa basketball staff has been active in seeking out transfer talent since the portal opened once again early this month. The first domino to fall is likely Belmont center and Iowa City native Even Brauns, who is expected to join the Hawkeyes in 2023-24.

The staff already has a couple of mid-major talents already on their radar, and according to Jake Weingarten of StockRisers.com, several other players have received some attention from the Hawkeyes since they entered.

Pictured above, Myles Stute is a 6'7", 215-pound forward who spent his last three seasons at Vanderbilt. Stute started 56 games over the last two seasons, where he averaged 8.5 points and 4.2 rebounds, and shot 39 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from three-point range.

Stute is more of a catch-and-shoot three-point threat than a shot creator. That skill would be a welcome addition to the 2023-24 Iowa roster, considering Patrick McCaffery led the Hawkeyes in three-point accuracy this season at 34.3 percent, among qualified players.

Stute likely wouldn't be a large difference-maker defensively, but his size and length are an added bonus, as he's active as a rebounder on both ends. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

A big that could step in and fill the void of Filip Rebraca, Jamille Reynolds is a 6'11", 280-pound big who entered the portal on March 15. Playing just one season with the Temple after transferring from Central Florida, he played in 22 games with 11 starts for the Owls. Over the year, he put up 10.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and one block per game while shooting 60.4 percent from the field.

The former three-star recruit is a pure post that can be fed the ball near the basket or asked to clean up the offensive glass — a needed skill when the most efficient offensive rebounder returning to Iowa is likely Payton Sandfort, at 5.7% of missed shots. Also, watching Reynolds and Tony Perkins work in a pick-and-roll could be fun to watch.

A rim-protecting presence and player that can consistently grab rebounds, Reynolds would be a (literally) massive addition to the Iowa roster. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Another talented scorer at the mid-major level, Jordan Minor of Merrimack is the reigning Co-NEC Player of the year and the reigning NEC Defensive Player of the Year. He averaged 17.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.4 steals per game -- all while making just one three throughout the entire season.

In fact, over his career as a four-year contributor with the Warriors, he went just 5-32 from the three-point line. He also struggled from the free-throw line, finishing his tenure at Merrimack shooting 58.9 percent from the stripe.

Despite playing at a "lower level" of D-I basketball, Minor possesses the physical tools at 6'8" and 240 pounds to contribute at a high-major program, and his contact list bears that out. The Kingston, Massachusetts native can serve as a lob threat, force around the rim and defensive stalwart. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

Recruited out of high school by the Hawkeyes, Tyler Nickel had Iowa in his top five before deciding to sign with North Carolina. As a senior, Nickel averaged 34.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 52% from the field, 41% from 3-point, and 84% from the free-throw. A four-star recruit, the Elkton, Virginia native had a slew of other offers as well, including West Virginia, Penn State, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, LSU, Creighton, Butler and others.

In his lone season with the Tar Heels, the 6'7" small forward played in 25 games, averaging just six minutes of playing time. Nickel is a long, versatile forward with a high ceiling as a scorer. He's got a smooth, quick stroke from deep and would be a phenomenal plug-and-play wing for the Hawks. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

Well, if anything, EJ Jarvis could help the team's GPA.

Spending the first four years of his college career at Ivy-League Yale, the 6'8", 220-pound forward is another player that undertook some significant development at a non-Power 6 school and is now seeking to play at a higher level. En route to earning a spot on the Ivy League Second Team, he put up 11.4 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 55 percent from the floor and 40.6 percent from three.

Though he is lacking in athletic ability, Jarvis makes up for it in technical skill around the basket and the ability to consistently hit three-point shots. Though he's not a true center, he could play the small-ball five and space the floor as a member of the frontcourt for the Hawkeyes.

Jarvis has one year of eligibility remaining but only played ten games as a freshman and had his 2021 season cut short due to an injury, so he may have the opportunity to apply for another year.

Clearly, adding a talented forward/center is at the top of Iowa's priority list in the portal. 6'11", 231-pound Virginia big Kadin Shedrick could certainly be that.

A rim-running, rim-protecting big with two years of eligibility left, Shedrick put up solid numbers the last two seasons, with his second year being the most productive. That season he averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in just under 21 minutes per contest. He shot 64 percent from the field and 71 percent from the free-throw line. Both of those improved this season, as he shot 65 percent from the field and 79 percent from the stripe.

This season, 73 percent of his scoring came around the rim, and 84 percent of his field goal attempts were around the rim as well.

Despite that shot chart, Shedrick's free throw percentage and smooth stroke indicate that his game can be expanded outside simply being a lob threat and a back-to-the-basket scorer. Defensively, his shot-blocking timing is excellent, and -- should he get beat off the dribble -- his athleticism and length afford him the opportunity to still attempt at blocking shots around the rim.

A product of Southern Illinois, Marcus Domask spent the last four seasons in Carbondale. This year was his most productive, as he put up 16.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from the line. The 6'6", 215-pound forward was named First Team All-MVC this season and previously named to the second team twice.

Not a freak athlete or elite three-point shooter, Domask is a player that will contribute, but won't take a Power 6 team to the next level. He'll fill a void in scoring and make the right plays but don't expect him to elevate a team from the middle of the road to a conference or national contender. He and SIU never made it further than the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament in his tenure.

He has one year of eligibility remaining.

As previously reported on, two mid-major talents B.J. Mack and Nick Timberlake have also received interest from Iowa out of the portal.

This season at Wofford, Mack put up 16.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 49.2 percent from the field, 33.5 percent from deep and 80.7 percent from the stripe. He was named to the SoCon First Team.

Following Iowa's initial interest, Mack announced that Iowa is among the top ten schools he will choose from out of the portal, and the Hawkeye staff conducted an in-home visit with him.

For Towson, Timberlake averaged 17.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the field, 41.6 percent from deep, and 84.5 percent from the line en route to being named First-Team All-Conference in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Another player Iowa showed heavy interest in last off-season, Fardaws Aimaq, re-entered the portal just under two weeks ago after transferring from Utah Valley to Texas Tech this season. The 6'11", 245-pound big averaged 11.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in only 11 games for the Red Raiders while "playing at 60%" due to injury.