Latest news with #Jirak
USA Today
12-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
In-state Iowa basketball 2026 recruit decommits from Hawkeyes
In-state Iowa basketball 2026 recruit decommits from Hawkeyes After reaffirming his commitment to Iowa in April, class of 2026 guard Navon Shabazz has now decommitted from the Hawkeyes. Hawkeye Insider's Sean Bock broke the news that Shabazz had decommitted from Iowa and that former Hawkeye head coach and current Penn men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery had offered. Shabazz is ranked as a three-star combo guard by 247Sports. 247Sports rates Shabazz as the nation's No. 21 combo guard and as the No. 4 player from Iowa. A member of Iowa United Prep, Shabazz picked up his initial offer from Iowa in February of 2024 before committing on Sept. 16, 2024. With a new head coach in Ben McCollum in place in Iowa City, it's not surprising that either the staff or player might have a different vision about the future as compared to the fit with the previous staff. Shabazz also picked up offers from Iowa State, Wake Forest, Siena and Southern Miss before initially committing to the Hawkeyes. The 2026 guard's decommitment leaves Iowa without a high school pledge in the cycle for the time being. Iowa flipped a pair of high school recruits in the 2025 class in former UNI signee Trevin Jirak and former Drake signee Tate Sage. Jirak is a 6-foot-10 center from Valley High School in West Des Moines, who averaged 16.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.1 blocks per contest while shooting 59.2% from the field, 38.6% from 3-point range, and 71.2% from the free-throw line. According to On3, Jirak is a three-star addition to the program, the nation's No. 27 power forward and the top player from Iowa in the 2025 class. Meanwhile, Sage is a 6-foot-7 guard from Weatherford, Oklahoma, that averaged 11.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game during his junior season. 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
USA Today
20-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
2025 Iowa basketball recruit commits to Atlantic 10 program
2025 Iowa basketball recruit commits to Atlantic 10 program A recent Iowa basketball visitor from the 2025 recruiting class announced his commitment to VCU. Class of 2025 prospect Nyk Lewis visited Iowa at the beginning of last week, but the 6-foot-2 point guard is headed to play his collegiate basketball with the Rams. Lewis is ranked as a four-star prospect, as the No. 55 player nationally, as the No. 8 point guard and as the No. 3 player from Washington, D.C., per 247Sports. Originally a Xavier signee, Lewis requested his release after former head coach Sean Miller took the Texas job. First-year Iowa head men's basketball coach Ben McCollum recently landed his first high school recruit as he and the Hawkeyes flipped center Trevin Jirak from Northern Iowa. A 6-foot-11, 250 pound center, Jirak was the 2025 Iowa Mr. Basketball honoree after averaging 16.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.1 blocks per game. Jirak shot 59.2% from the field and 38.6% from 3-point range. Jirak was also recognized as the 2024-25 Iowa MaxPreps High School Basketball Player of the Year. McCollum and the Hawkeyes have been busy in the transfer portal, bringing in Bennett Stirtz, Kael Combs, Isaia Howard, Tavion Banks and Cam Manyawu from Drake and former Kansas State guard Brendan Hausen. After entering the transfer portal, forward Cooper Koch elected for a return to Iowa City and the black and gold. 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
USA Today
12-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Iowa basketball flips 2025 UNI signee
Iowa basketball flips 2025 UNI signee Iowa basketball landed its first high school commitment of the Ben McCollum era on Friday night, flipping UNI signee Trevin Jirak. The 6-foot-10 center hails from Valley High School in West Des Moines where he helped lead the Tigers to three consecutive state championships from 2023-25. Jirak contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds in this year's state title game victory over Waukee Northwest. Jirak is coming off a stellar senior season during which he averaged 16.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game on 59.2% shooting from the field, 38.6% from three, and 71.2% from the free throw line while adding 3.5 assists and 2.1 blocks per contest. In addition to the team successes, Jirak took home Iowa Mr. Basketball honors from the Iowa Basketball Coaches Association and the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association this season. Jirak was also named the 2024-25 Iowa MaxPreps Player of the Year. Jirak is ranked as a three-star commit, as the No. 40 power forward and as the top player in the state of Iowa according to On3. While the Hawkeyes will certainly have a different look from years past in the first year under McCollum, adding Jirak is a major win for Iowa as the program builds its future beyond the 2025-26 season. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kansas food banks, produce farmers blindsided by USDA's $1B funding cut
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The United States Department of Agriculture cut $1 billion of federal funds dedicated to two programs. The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program is geared toward Kansas schools. Meanwhile, the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) targets local food banks. The goal was to incentivize local organizations to purchase from Kansas farmers. In the case of the Kansas Food Bank, it kept them buying produce in-state. The LFPA helped to open additional markets for Kansas produce. Because of the state's climate, fresh fruits and vegetables are difficult to grow. With the program hitting the chopping block, Kansas produce growers will likely be a rarer sight, and the locally stocked shelves of the Kansas Food Bank may soon need a new source. 'There's nothing better for a healthy diet than fresh produce, right? And you take that away,' Kansas Food Bank CEO Brian Walker said. The program, which started in 2023, has been paying dividends in its two-year lifespan, according to Walker. In 2024, the food bank spent $1.7 million in federal funds on Kansas-grown produce. 'We'll try to do our best to purchase them locally, but it's just not feasible because they're not going to grow any extra product because they know that we're not here to buy it this year,' Walker said. USDA cancels $1B funding for local food programs and schools, will hit Kansas farms He says the LFPA succeeded in its goal of enriching Kansas farmers. Keeping those dollars within state lines also encouraged those farmers to diversify their crops or grow a surplus. 'We were able to get a real fresh product to them. Most of the time, we picked it that morning,' Ron Jirak, with Jirak Brothers Produce, said. For Jirak, the surplus is around 10% of his crop. 'If we'd have known, say, back in October, November that this program wasn't going to be there, we just wouldn't have ordered plants and seed and materials for production in the Spring,' he said. The program's cancellation leaves food banks without the funds to buy the excess, putting producers into limbo. 'I have to find a place for the 10% now because I'm kind of locked into my production at this time,' Jirak said. Having extra products and nowhere to put them away hurts a supplier's bottom line and a distributor's clients. 'In the past, we were able to put that food on the table, they didn't have to buy it at the grocery store, and they could spend those dollars on other things,' Walker said. He says the food bank will have to ramp up its fundraising efforts without the additional federal funds. Jirak says that even though he's disappointed and expects to feel the loss, he's confident they'll pull through. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
