Three Former Waukee Northwest Basketball Standouts In Sweet 16

Peyton McCollum, Pryce Sandfort, Cade Kelderman still dancing in men’s NCAA Tournament.

Peyton McCollum, Pryce Sandfort and Cade Kelderman are all graduates of Waukee Northwest. | Waukee Community School District

One Iowa high school boys basketball program will be well-represented when the men’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 tips off Thursday.

Peyton McCollum, Pryce Sandfort and Cade Kelderman are all graduates of Waukee Northwest High School. McCollum and Sandfort will square off when Iowa faces Nebraska while Kelderman is at Iowa State.

The Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers square off Thursday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m. Iowa time live on TBS/truTV in a South region contest. The Cyclones, meanwhile, take on Tennessee on Friday, March 27 at 9:10 p.m. on TBS/truTV in the East region.

Ben McCollum's Son Finished High School Career In Iowa

McCollum, the son of Iowa head coach Ben McCollum, joined the Wolves for his senior season when his father was hired from Northwest Missouri State. In his lone season at Waukee Northwest, the Wolves went 22-4 and appeared in the Class 4A Iowa High School Athletic Association Boys State Basketball Tournament championship game.

After scoring over 1,000 career points while in Missouri playing for Maryville High School, McCollum posted 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal per game at Waukee Northwest, earning all-state honors while shooting 51 percent from the field and 41 percent from the 3-point line.

Sandfort started his high school career at Waukee High School, playing alongside top prospects Tucker DeVries, who is at Indiana, and Omaha Biliew, who is at Wake Forest. He joined Waukee Northwest his junior season, earning 2023 Iowa Mr. Basketball honors.

As a junior, Sandfort posted 26.6 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, three assists and a steal per game while averaging 25 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals as a senior.

Pryce Sandfort Has Found His Groove With Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska

Sandfort started his college career at Iowa before transferring to Nebraska. He is averaging 18 points, five rebounds and two assists per game for the Cornhuskers, who won their first NCAA Tournament game in program history this year.

Kelderman started all 51 games as a junior and senior with the Wolves, reaching the state tournament twice. He averaged almost 17 points per game in his final high school season with six assists, over three rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

McCollum is a 2025 graduate while Sandfort and Kelderman both graduated in 2023 from the school.