Iowa
Iowa basketball: What’s next for Hawkeyes after Indiana hires Darian DeVries?
Indiana basketball has hired Darian DeVries as its next head men’s basketball coach, the program announced Tuesday.
DeVries will leave his post as the head coach at West Virginia for the job with the Hoosiers.
DeVries had been viewed as a potential replacement for Fran McCaffery at Iowa.
McCaffery spent 15 seasons as Iowa’s head coach and is the program’s all-time winningest head coach. But one day after Iowa’s loss to Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament, Iowa decided to move in a different direction, ending McCaffery’s tenure at Iowa. The Hawkeyes missed the last two NCAA Tournaments.
DeVries has ties to Iowa — both the state and the university. He is an Iowa native, attended Aplington-Parkersburg High School and played basketball at Northern Iowa. DeVries’ brother, Jared, was a consensus All-American for the Hawkeye football program.
DeVries took his first head coaching job at Drake in 2018. DeVries spent six seasons as Drake’s head coach, where he led the Bulldogs to an NCAA Tournament three times, including in each of the last two seasons at the helm. DeVries won at least 20 games in each of his six seasons with the Bulldogs.
DeVries tallied a 150-55 overall record during his time as Drake’s head coach.
In 2024, DeVries left for the opening at West Virginia.
In his first season at West Virginia, DeVries led the Mountaineers to a 19-13 overall record. He helped West Virginia to multiple marquee wins, knocking off Gonzaga, Arizona, Kansas and Iowa State.
In an unexpected turn, West Virginia did not make the NCAA Tournament this year. The Mountaineers were among the first four teams left out of the field of 68.
Combined between his Drake and West Virginia tenures, DeVries holds an overall record of 169-68 (.713). He has been to the NCAA Tournament three times.
DeVries to Iowa would’ve made sense on multiple levels. But that won’t come to fruition.
He will instead take over at a Big Ten foe. Indiana has featured a revolving door of head coaches as the program tries to revitalize the winning ways it achieved under Bob Knight. DeVries will try to be the solution to that.
So where could Iowa go from here?
It’s important to note that coaching searches are not an exact science. If you have been following the developments around Iowa and other college jobs over the last few days, it’s likely you get a sense that the public narrative can change rather quickly. That is the nature of this business.
The two names that have generated the most public buzz for the Iowa opening are DeVries and Drake’s Ben McCollum.
Like DeVries, McCollum has ties to the state of Iowa. McCollum was born in Iowa City and raised in Storm Lake. He started his playing career at North Iowa Area Community College.
In 15 seasons as the head coach at Division II Northwest Missouri State, McCollum tallied an overall record of 394–91 (.812). He helped lead Northwest Missouri State to four Division II national titles in his 15 seasons at the helm.
And McCollum has continued to win at Drake.
This is his first season with the Bulldogs. After the departure of coach Darian DeVries to West Virginia, McCollum hasn’t missed a step. At 30-3 overall, Drake won both the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament championships and is in the NCAA Tournament. Drake plays Missouri in the round of 64 on Thursday.
There is basically one major hole in McCollum’s resume. He has been a head coach at the Division I level for just one season. He has never been at a power conference program.
McCollum proved his winning ways translate from Division II to Division I, but would it also translate from mid-major to high-major?
Few things are guaranteed in coaching searches — if any at all. This means that it’s not certain that Iowa will be able to land McCollum. Or for director of athletics Beth Goetz to throw a curveball. The unknown is the beauty — and danger — of the coaching carousel.
It’s not like there aren’t other intriguing options out there. But the bigger question is how realistic it would be for them to end up at Iowa.
Mississippi State’s Chris Jans has ties to the state of Iowa. Utah State’s Jerrod Calhoun took the program to the NCAA Tournament in his first season at the helm. There is a litany of names that could fit, as we outlined last week.
We’re not going to speculate what might be going through Goetz’s mind at this moment. Because, as history has proven, there isn’t an excess of certainty floating around. Not just at Iowa, but for jobs across the country.
DeVries is out of the equation now. At least on paper, McCollum is a logical target. Beyond that, it gets murkier.
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
Iowa
Iowa High School Baseball Stats: Leaders On The Diamond This Summer
As we work through the month of June, things are starting to heat up on the diamond around Iowa high school baseball.
With the start of postseason play just around the corner in July, teams are working to get prepared for the stretch run.
High School On SI Iowa has a Top 25 state power ranking while the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association releases weekly class-by-class rankings.
Here are leaders as of June 17, 2026 for several major hitting and pitching categories. Stats are from those uploaded to the Bound website.
Iowa High School Baseball Leaders
Home Runs
- Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 9
- Colton Roemmich, West Des Moines Valley, 9
- Brandon Bea, Davenport North, 8
- Kamden Jorgensen, Saydel, 8
- Gabe Blanshan, Urbandale, 7
Running Batted In
- Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 38
- West Cole, Mason City Newman Catholic, 37
- Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 36
- Chance Georgius, Roland-Story, 34
- Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 34
Stolen Bases
- Aiden Ferry, Roland-Story, 38
- Tate Garman, Algona, 33
- Titan Foster, Nodaway Valley, 32
- Tate Moulton, Grand View Christian, 30
- Cael Wishman, Baxter, 29
Runs Scored
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 45
- Aiden Frey, Roland-Story, 43
- Cal Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 41
- Kolton Schiltz, Fort Dodge, 40
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 39
Hits
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 39
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 38
- Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 36
- Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 35
- Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 34
Doubles
- Joe Nilles, Sioux City North, 13
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 13
- Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 12
- Brett Harris, Western Dubuque, 12
- Brooks Bond, Lewis Central, 11
Triples
- Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 7
- Will Nesler, Ankeny Centennial, 5
- Jacob Pierro, Dubuque Wahlert Catholic, 5
- Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 5
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 4
Total Bases
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 68
- Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 68
- Bryce Pauly, Davenport North, 67
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 65
- Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 62
Pitching Wins
- Tyler Etten, Urbandale, 9
- Chase White, Dyersville Beckman Catholic, 7
- Colton Moffit, Baxter, 7
- Connor Mullenbach, Saint Ansgar, 6
- Aidan Nielsen, Don Bosco, 6
Earned Run Average (min. 18 innings pitched)
- Connor Mullenbach, Saint Ansgar, 0.00
- Luke Vestal, Pleasantville, 0.00
- Ryan Stedman, West Des Moines Valley, 0.24
- Will Litton, Iowa City Regina Catholic, 0.25
- Judd Jirovsky, Grundy Center, 0.26
Strikeouts
- Colton Moffit, Baxter, 85
- Brody Wangsness, North Butler, 75
- Lincoln Roethler, Denver, 71
- Owen Klocksiem, Louisa-Muscatine, 67
- Cooper Chizek, Emmetsburg, 65
Opponents Batting Average Against (min. 18 innings pitched)
- Macklin Loftus, Logan-Magnolia, .017
- Jack Wedemeier, Waverly-Shell Rock, .065
- Teagan Brunk, Shenandoah, .069
- Ryan Stedman, West Des Moines Valley, .072
- Bronx Siebersma, MVAOCOU, .075
Saves
- Beckham Simon, West Liberty, 4
- Deacon Kucera, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 4
- Graham Rima, Pleasant Valley, 4
- Gavin de Jesus, Waukee, 4
- Easton Goodwin, Waterloo Columbus Catholic, 3
Innings Pitched
- Colton Moffit, Baxter, 43
- Tyler Etten, Urbandale, 38.2
- Owen Galvin, Denison-Schleswig, 38
- Tallon Crandall, Carroll, 37.1
- Austin Remster, Melcher-Dallas, 37.1
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Iowa
Rain brings second week of relief in Iowa drought monitor map
How much rain does Des Moines get? See the 5 wettest days on record
Wondering how the rainfall total compares? Here are the five wettest days on record for Des Moines, Iowa.
Drought conditions in Iowa improved for a second consecutive week, though areas of moderate drought expanded in parts of the state.
The U.S. Drought Monitor offers a state-by-state tracking of drought conditions nationwide. New maps and forecasts are released each Thursday. What are the current drought conditions in Iowa?
U.S. Drought Monitor map: How much of Iowa is in a drought?
The latest Drought Monitor report, released on Thursday, June 18, showed about 46% of Iowa experiencing some form of drought. This continues the streak of conditions improving week to week in Iowa. The previous report, released on June 11, showed that 63% of the state was experiencing some form of drought.
The most recent report reflects conditions as of 8 a.m. June 16, right as storms were sweeping through Iowa, with parts of eastern Iowa seeing more than 2 inches of rainfall. Light rainfall on June 17 led to areas like Iowa City and Burlington reporting around an inch of rain.
Here is the breakdown of current drought conditions in Iowa:
- 61% of the state of Iowa is experiencing no drought conditions
- 39% of Iowa is experiencing abnormally dry conditions
- 7% of Iowa is experiencing moderate drought conditions
- 0% of Iowa is experiencing severe drought conditions
Even though drought conditions have improved overall in Iowa, the area experiencing moderate drought increased from the week of June 11, particularly in northern Iowa. Much of Cerro Gordo, Hancock and Kossuth counties are under D1 conditions, with nearby Palo Alto, Winnebago, Floyd and Mitchell also in moderate drought.
Pockets of moderate drought also persist along the northwest edge of Iowa in Lyon, Sioux and Plymouth counties. In eastern Iowa, Jackson, Clinton and Scott counties saw their moderate drought status ease week to week.
Most of the U.S. is facing drought conditions
About 73% of the U.S. is experiencing some level of drought, a 2-percentage-point improvement from the prior week. Some of the most intense drought conditions are in the southeast and the mountain west.
Iowa Drought Monitor tracks conditions weekly
The U.S. Drought Monitor offers a state-by-state tracking of drought conditions nationwide. New maps and forecasts are released each Thursday.
The intensity levels range from abnormally dry, or D0, to exceptional drought, or D4.
Typically with D0 conditions, corn can show drought stress. Pond levels start to decline under moderate drought conditions and soybeans abort pods, according to the Drought Monitor. The Drought Monitor also has a look-back chart that compares drought conditions from 3 months ago up to 1 year ago.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
Iowa
Tornadoes reported in Illinois, Iowa as severe weather roils Midwest
Confirmed tornadoes were reported in Illinois and Iowa Wednesday night as severe weather descended on a large swath of the Midwest.
According to the National Weather Service, a confirmed tornado was reported near the small northeast Iowa community of Harpers Ferry at 5:10 p.m., while a second confirmed tornado rolled through Charleston in central Illinois at about 6:40 p.m. local time.
Both tornadoes were flagged by the weather service as a “particularly dangerous situation,” a rare designation used by the weather service for environments in which “strong and violent tornadoes” are possible.
Photos and videos obtained by CBS News showed extensive damage in Charleston, with downed trees and power lines. Hail that measured 2.75 inches was also reported in the Charleston area, according to the weather service.
“There are a large number of trees blocking roadways throughout Charleston at this time,” Charleston police said in a Facebook post. “Unless it is an absolute emergency, do not drive or attempt to go anywhere.”
The city of Charleston later declared a local state of emergency.
One cell phone video captured the terrifying moments what appeared to be a large tornado tore through Effingham, Illinois, located about 40 miles southwest of Charleston.
Larry Thies, coordinator for the Effingham Emergency Management Agency, told CBS News that initial information indicated damaged buildings, trailers, and downed power lines and trees. He said officials were working to set up an emergency operations center, but were facing challenges because internet was down in the area.
The extent of the damage to region was still unclear. There was no immediate word of injuries or fatalities. CBS News senior meteorologist Rob Marciano said there were at least seven reported tornadoes during the weather event.
According to utility tracker PowerOutage.us, at least 55,000 customers were without power in Illinois.
Earlier Wednesday, Marciano reported that more than 125 million Americans were facing severe weather advisories, including the Gulf Coast states, which were under flood alerts due to Tropical Storm Arthur. Speaking on “CBS Evening News,” Marciano said such ripe tornado conditions were rare for June.
“This is unique for June, this is unusual to have such a strong jet stream just screaming across the country, then you’ve got the summertime tropical moisture coming in…and then some cold air coming in,” Marciano said. “And winds coming at different direction, at different levels, creating that spin. So what that equates to is really the high probability of seeing, not just tornadoes, but intense tornadoes of EF2 strength or higher on the ground for a long time. And also damaging winds at 75 mph or higher, and of course big time hail.”
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