Lukas Van Ness is headed to Iowa

After earning a scholarship offer from the Hawkeyes this past week, Lukas Van Ness is headed to the University of Iowa. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Barrington, IL native gave his verbal commitment today after wrapping up his official visit to Iowa City.

"I felt comfortable because from the minute I stepped on campus it felt like home to me," Van Ness told HawkeyeReport.com. "Iowa represents exactly what I aspire for in my life through hard work and good relationships."

While Van Ness has grown up in Illinois, his family has roots in the Hawkeye State and his older sister is already in Iowa City.

"We have a long line of connections to Iowa," said Van Ness. "My sister is currently a sophomore at the Tippie College of Business. Also, my dad grew up a Hawkeye fan in a small town just south of Des Moines. Most of my dad's side of the family currently resides all over Iowa and they love Hawkeye football."

A three-star prospect, Van Ness chose Iowa over scholarship offers from Minnesota, Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State, Wyoming, Air Force, Navy, Memphis, Tulane, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Lehigh, Holy Cross, Tennessee-Martin, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Southern Illinois, South Dakota, and Western Illinois.

Overall, Van Ness is commitment No. 18 for the Iowa coaching staff in the Class of 2020.

See highlights from Van Ness' junior year at Barrington in the video below.