Hawkeye Report Podcast Hawkeye Report Podcast

Time to get the podcast machine fired up again to start the month of June. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann get you caught up on the latest news in the world of Iowa athletics. This week there is plenty to cover when it comes to Iowa baseball, Hawkeye men's and women's hoops, an update on Caitlin Clark and the abuse she is taking in the WNBA, and we have a lot of football news as well.
We open the show discuss the news this past week regarding Iowa baseball and Rick Heller is looking for a new pitching coach. What's the latest on that front? Also the portal for baseball opens this week. Which players could be return for the Hawkeyes and what might the starting rotation look like for Iowa next season?
Then we turn our attention to Iowa women's basketball. Jan Jensen could be making the hire of an assistant coach as soon as this week. What do we think that assistant might be like and what skill set do they need? We also talk about Jensen making a couple of new offers and hosting a 2026 visitor and we get a status report on the Class of 2025 recruiting. 
We then discuss the ugly play by the Chicago Sky towards Cailtin Clark this past weekend and how that whole situation is getting messy in the WNBA and how petty some of the players are being towards the former Hawkeye. 
After that it's Iowa football talk. We discuss the release of start times late last week and how the Hawkeyes now have start times for half their regular season games. We discuss the addition of another walk-on quarterback, Ben Kueter winning a U20 title this past weekend and what that could mean for his football season early on this fall, and a big Iowa Swarm event coming up June 17th at the I-80 Truckstop in Walcott. 
Finally we wrap up the pod talking Iowa hoops. Payton Sandfort is back, which is huge news for the Hawkeyes NCAA Tournament chances this season. And we update recruiting in the Class of 2025 after Fran McCaffery handed out a bunch of new offers in the middle of last week.

It's an annual tradition for us on the podcast this time of year. We are joined by former Hawkeye football standout Jake Gervase, who is holding his fourth annual Rally for Reid Football Camp coming up on June 21st. 
You can learn more about the camp here at the link: https://www.rallyforreid.org/
It also includes a cheer camp for girls on the same day. Gervase discusses how he became friend with Reid while in college and the impact he had on his life. We also talk about his star studded list of former Hawkeyes serving as coaches for the event. 
We also catch up with Gervase about his potentially last football game, which was for Minnesota where he was signed on  Thursday for a preseason game and then played over 90 snaps with basically no training camp. We talk about his time with the Rams and the surprising retirement of Aaron Donald and how good he was as a player.
Finally we wrap up discussing Phil Parker winning the Broyles Award and how great of a coach he is for defensive backs at Iowa. 

It's another edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast and this time, unfortunately, we are wrapping up a very frustrating Iowa Baseball season. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann discuss Iowa's controversial loss on Thursday to Illinois. Kyle was in Omaha and was actually the pool reporter who spoke to the Big Ten head umpire about the interference call that essentially ended the Hawkeye comeback in the tenth inning and the Iowa baseball season. 
We look back at the missed opportunities in the last two games of the season and go in-depth on the season, which is filled with what if's all over the place. We discuss the season and how the pitching, particularly the bullpen, struggled a good portion of the season and how the team gave up too many walks. 
Then we look at the hitters and how two key injuries late were essentially a final blow to the season. Finally, we look ahead to next season, at least as much as we can. Brody Brecht is moving on, but beyond that a whole lot of question marks that we explore. 
We wrap up talking about Payton Sandfort, who met with the media earlier on Thursday following a workout at Golden State. With less than a week until he has to make a decision, what did Sandfort have to say about his workouts, his performance at the NBA Combine, and when he might make his decision about the future. 

It's a rare solo Hawkeye Report Podcast. Tom Kakert flying solo to discuss the latest news in the world of Iowa athletics. 
First we once again pub the Chuck Long Charity Auction that wraps up on Saturday night. You can register and bid at this link: ctcqc.home.qtego.us/
We also give some early pub to the Rally For Reid football camp coming up on June 21st in Davenport. More on that event, hopefully next week. 
Now the news of the week. We do a little housekeeping getting everyone caught up on what turned out to be a very busy and eventful week in Hawkeye sports. We first discuss the start for Caitlin Clark in the WNBA. She's being guarded closely and tighter than any player in the league. What should be take away from the start she has had and is there glimpses of progress? 
Then we stick with Iowa women's hoops and talk about hte Jan Jensen hire. What did she have to say about recruiting? What about hiring an assistant coach to replace herself on the staff? They will be on the road this weekend, how was that addressed? And after talking to Iowa AD Beth Goetz, how were they able to keep this massive news under wraps for a few days?
We move on to Iowa men's hoops and the signing of Manhattan transfer Seydou Traore. What is Iowa getting in Traore and how did he perform against high major foes? How does this impact the Iowa frontcourt this season? We also look at how Payton Sandfort performed at the NBA Combine? Is he expected to return for one more season? When does he have to decide?
Finally we discuss the Iowa football team adding a wide receiver, who happens to have been the roomate of new Hawkeye QB Brendan Sullivan.

EMERGENCY PODCAST!!! Massive news for the Iowa women's basketball program. Lisa Bluder has announced her retirement. That's huge news, but Iowa also announced that associate head coach Jan Jensen will be taking over as the new head coach. 
Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann dive into all of this. We start with Lisa Bluder announcing her retirement and try to put her career in perspective. From her humble roots coaching at St. Ambrose to 24 seasons leading the Iowa program, Bluder did it by building a great culture at every stop. We discuss her legacy and how she was able to take the program to a level no one thought was possible going to back to back national title games. We also talk about how it is fitting that Bluder and Caitlin Clark end their Iowa careers together. 
Next we look at the immediate hiring of Jan Jensen. It should have been a surprise, but we talk about the quick decison and the impact that decision will have on the Iowa program moving forward. What could be some of the assistant coach options for Jensen as she looks to complete her staff? What about the recruiting impact? Jensen led the recruitment of nearly every prospect, but what will their reactions be?
We also do a few minutes on Iowa baseball heading into post season play next week in the Big Ten Tournament and what they may do with their rotation. 

A special edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. On this show we are joined by J.R. Koch and his son Cooper, who will be headed to Iowa City to play for the Hawkeyes this fall. We catch up with both of them for a joint podcast to discuss Cooper and his development as a player. How does he compare to his father in terms of a game?
We discuss Cooper starting to come to Iowa camps when he was in fourth grade and how he eventually earned the full attention of Fran McCaffery, who offered him a scholarship before his ninth grade year. We also talk to J.R. about his relationship with McCaffery and how he actually recruited him when he as at Notre Dame. 
We also discuss how J.R. Koch looks back at when he arrived on the Iowa campus. We also discuss with Cooper about how excited he is to get to campus and be with his new teammates in the month of June to start working out as a Hawkeye.