Iowa Loses Another Player in Transfer Portal Nightmare

The Iowa Hawkeyes have watched yet another player decide to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Dec 30, 2024; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes forward Chris Tadjo (34) reacts against the New Hampshire Wildcats during the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Iowa Hawkeyes may have a new coach in Ben McCollum, but that has not stopped them from bleeding out more players to the transfer portal.

Forward Chris Tadjo has decided to enter the portal, making him just the latest Iowa player to announce his departure following the firing of Fran McCaffery, via Tyler Tachman of The Des Moines Register.

Tadjo arrived at Iowa this past season and had a very limited role during his freshman campaign, playing in 11 games and averaging 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds over five minutes while shooting 50 percent from the floor.

The 6-foot-8, 240-pound big man was a three-star prospect who was one of two scholarship members to join the Hawkeyes last year, with the other being Cooper Koch. Unfortunately, both players decided to enter the transfer portal.

Tadjo is the eighth Iowa player to make the jump to the portal since McCaffery's dismissal, so McCollum certainly has his work cut out for him heading into his inaugural campaign.

It should be noted that McCollum has already brought in a big transfer from the Drake Bulldogs, where McCollum had previously served as head coach. The Hawkeyes landed Bennett Stirtz in the portal, who led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring this past year.

McCollum led Drake to a 31-5 mark and an NCAA Tournament appearance, where it ultimately fell to Texas Tech in the second round.

Iowa went just 17-16 this season, going 7-13 in Big Ten conference play. It also failed to make the Big Dance for the second straight year, which came on the heels of three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

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