When the 2025-26 NCAA season begins, the Iowa Hawkeyes will have a new face at the helm with the hiring of Ben McCollum as head coach. McCollum made sure to tamper expectations for the upcoming season amid a roster overhaul with ten players leaving via the transfer portal. But Iowa will have an unexpected reinforcement for the upcoming season as four-star recruit Trey Thompson opted to reclassify to play for the Hawkeyes this year, as per Joe Tipton of On3 Sports.

Trey Thompson’s decision to reclassify gives Iowa three incoming recruits from the class of 2025 on the roster for the upcoming season. Thompson committed to the Hawkeyes over other top Division 1 programs such as Kansas, Tennessee, UConn and Vanderbilt, among others.

Thompson’s reasoning for choosing Iowa was about immediate need and playing for McCollum.

“I chose Iowa because there was a need for me now. I wanted a significant role and I wanted to get better this year. They gave me both of those so I decided to say yes,” Thompson said. “I wanted to reclass up to get better this year. I want to be the best basketball player I can possibly be and going to Coach McCollum and doing this now is the best way for that.”

Thompson will forgo his senior year in high school at Greenville. The Hawkeyes are getting a power forward who is able to space the floor with his three-point shooting and is a good off the ball player especially in transition.

In addition to three freshman, Iowa will also be bringing in eight new players from the transfer portal. That group includes forward Alvaro Folgueiras, guard Brenden Hausen, forward Tavion Banks, guard Isaia Howard, forward Cam Manyawu, guard Kael Combs, guard Bennett Stirtz and forward Isaiah Johnson-Arigu.

This past season, the Hawkeyes missed the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year, and the program opted to part ways with longtime head coach Fran McCaffery.