Iowa senior forward, Payton Sandfort has been named honorable mention All-Big Ten by the coaches and media.
Sandfort was the Hawkeyes' active leading scorer and rebounder at the end of the season, posting 16.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for the season -- just short of Owen Freeman, who led Iowa in both categories before having season-ending surgery.
Sandfort has a team-best 13 20-point games this season and ranks fourth in the conference with 74 3-point field goals. This was the third all-conference honor for Sandfort, who was named the Big Ten's 6th-Man of the Year as a sophomore and earned Third-Team All-Conference honors as a junior.
Sandfort was key in Iowa's 83-68 win over Nebraska on Sunday that kept the Hawkeyes' postseason hopes alive. The Waukee native and senior leader put up 22 points and eight rebounds to lead Iowa to victory.
"He's one of the greatest Hawkeyes of all time, so I mean it's big," Josh Dix said of Sandfort and the fact Iowa gets to keep playing.
"I want it for him," Fran McCaffery said after the win. "That's what he wanted, that's what he wanted for his brother, that's what he wanted for his teammates. That's what he wanted to do when he came back to lead his team. So, seeing him enjoy that opportunity, that's what puts a smile on my face."
This season, Sandfort has scored 505 points, eclipsing the 500-point mark for a second consecutive season. He is the first Hawkeye since Luka Garza to accomplish the feat and he’s the 12th Hawkeye to have two 500-point seasons all-time.
The Waukee, Iowa, native currently ranks 13th in the record books with 1,572 career points and is third all-time with 261 career 3-point field goals – two shy of passing Jeff Horner for No. 2 all-time. He is one of two players in Iowa history to have 1,500+ points, 500+ rebounds and 250+ 3-point field goals.
Sandfort is also on track to break the program’s all-time career free throw percentage record. He has made 89.5 percent (263-of-294) of his career attempts, which puts him on track to better Jordan Bohannon’s school record of 88.7 percent.
In addition to the all-conference nod going to Sandfort, Ladji Dembele earned was also named Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient. This season, the sophomore put up 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest.
The Hawkeyes (16-15, 7-13) head to Indianapolis for the 2025 TIAA Big Ten Tournament. No. 15 seed Iowa will face No. 10 seed Ohio State (17-14, 9-11) on Wednesday at approximately 5 p.m. (CT) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The game will be broadcast on Peacock.
