Iowa Hawkeyes Slammed With Devastating Transfer Portal News

Ben McCollum and the Iowa Hawkeyes were just dealt a major blow in the transfer portal.

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

Last week, it appeared that the Iowa Hawkeyes had swung a major coup in the transfer portal, as former Florida International guard Ashton Williamson had committed to Ben McCollum's squad.

Well, it seems like we can forget about that.

Williamson is no longer committed to Iowa and will not be playing basketball for the Hawkeyes next season, via Tyler Tachman of The Des Moines Register.

This is brutal news for Iowa, which absolutely needed all of the help it could get in the transfer portal this offseason thanks to a mass exodus of players from its roster following the firing of head coach Fran McCaffery.

The Hawkeyes certainly thought they were landing a terrific pickup in Williamson, who enjoyed a very impressive freshman season at Florida International last year. In 33 games and 16 starts, the 6-foot-2 guard averaged 7.3 points, 2.7 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals over 24.2 minutes per game.

Yes, Williamson's efficiency wasn't the best, as he posted 39.4/32.9/67.6 shooting splits, but it was obvious in his debut campaign that he was a gifted scorer with the potential to become a force, even in a conference as loaded as the Big Ten.

We'll see how Iowa pivots after losing one of its most significant pieces in the portal. McCollum has spent plenty of time poaching players from his old Drake Bulldogs squad, including Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Bennett Stirtz.

The Hawkeyes went 17-16 last season, going a meager 7-13 in conference play. That resulted in the dismissal of McCaffery after a decade-and-a-half with the program.

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