Fourth former Drake Bulldog commits to Iowa basketball
Isaia Howard announced his commitment to Iowa basketball on Thursday, becoming the fourth former Drake Bulldog to follow head coach Ben McCollum to Iowa City as a new member of the Hawkeyes.
Howard arrives with three seasons of eligibility and dons the black and gold after a freshman season at Drake in which he averaged 4.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. The 6-foot-5, 200 pound guard shot 43.5% from the field, including 31.1% from 3-point range.
Howard played in 30 games and scored in double figures on three occasions, including his career-high 21-point outing against Southern Illinois on March 7 in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinal.
A native of Plattsburg, Mo., Howard was ranked as a three-star signee to Drake in the 2024 class per 247Sports. 247Sports ranked Howard as the nation's No. 67 shooting guard and as the No. 10 player from Missouri.
Howard joins a Hawkeye roster that features a trio of his former Drake teammates in guards Bennett Stirtz and Kael Combs and in forward Cam Manyawu.
Iowa also brings back sophomore forward Cooper Koch, who decided upon a return to Iowa after briefly entering the transfer portal. Koch appeared in 10 games, averaging 4.6 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range.
Stirtz was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year last season after posting averages of 19.2 points, 5.7 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game while shooting 49.8% from the field and 39.5% from 3-point range.
Manyawu averaged 7.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game on 57.8% shooting from the field while starting all 35 games for the Bulldogs last season.
Lastly, Combs played in 31 games last season at Drake, averaging 3.8 points and 2.0 rebounds per game while shooting 51.1% from the field and 80.0% from the free throw line.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF
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