Iowa Hawkeyes, Ben McCollum Suffer Tough Recruiting News

Ben McCollum and the Iowa Hawkeyes were just dealt a tough blow on the recruiting trail.

Ben McCollum, Iowa's new head men's basketball coach, speaks during his introductory press conference Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ben McCollum has certainly had his work cut out for him since taking over as the Iowa Hawkeyes' new head basketball coach in late March, and now, things just got a bit more challenging.

McCollum and Iowa were just dealt some rough recruiting news, as three-star guard Navon Shabazz has decommitted from the program, via Tyler Tachman of The Des Moines Register.

Shabazz's decision does not come as a complete shock, as he committed to the Hawkeyes while Fran McCafferey was still the coach. Shabazz is still considering Iowa in his recruitment, but it's obviously not looking for for the Hawkeyes in the wake of this announcement.

What makes it even tougher for Iowa is that Shabazz was an in-state commit for the class of 2026 and was the third-ranked player in the state, per 247 Sports' composite rankings.

He is currently playing his high-school basketball at Iowa United Prep after transferring over from Assumption High School, where he guided the team to a Class 3A state championship.

Shabazz initially chose Iowa over Wake Forest and Iowa State and decided to commit to the Hawkeyes back in September. Now, things have obviously changed.

Iowa went just 17-16 this past season, going a paltry 7-13 in Big Ten conference play. That came in spite of a 12-4 start to the campaign.

The disappointing year resulting in the firing of McCaffery, who had spent a decade-and-a-half at the helm in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes opted to hire McCollum, who just led the Drake Bulldogs to a 31-4 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

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