AMES, Iowa – Iowa State defensive back Jeremiah Cooper, wide receiver Jayden Higgins and do-it-all tight end/fullback Stevo Klotz have been named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Football team as voted upon by media representatives who cover the league.

Cooper, a First Team All-Big 12 selection a year ago, returns to lead the talented Cyclone secondary. The El Paso, Texas native started 11 games in 2023 and finished second in the Big 12 and sixth nationally with five interceptions. He tallied 45 tackles and ranked fourth nationally in passes defended per game (1.4).

On the offensive side of the ball, Higgins – an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 selection last season – spearheads an exciting ISU wide receiver room. Higgins made a sizeable impact in his first season as a Cyclone with a team-best 983 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 53 receptions. The South Miami, Fla. native averaged 18.5 yards per catch, the seventh-best single-season average in school history and was second in the Big 12 averaging 75.6 receiving yards per game.

Klotz, a Second Team All-Big 12 fullback in 2023, returns to the Cyclone offense as one of the league’s best blockers. He paved the way for the Cyclone tailbacks in all 13 games last season, making six starts. The Chaska, Minn. native also showed he has soft hands when the ball gets thrown his way, hauling in seven receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown.

Iowa State, which returns 18 starters from a year ago (nine offensive, nine defensive), was picked sixth in the Big 12 Preseason Poll behind the favorite, Utah, and Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Kansas and Arizona.

Football season tickets are on sale now. Seven home games, including games against Kansas State, Texas Tech and UCF, starting at $299. Order now at: https://bit.ly/24FBSeason

To view the full Big 12 Preseason Team, click here.

2024 Big 12 Football Media Preseason Poll

1. Utah (20) – 906
2. Kansas State (19) – 889
3. Oklahoma State (14) – 829
4. Kansas (5) – 772
5. Arizona (3) – 762
6. Iowa State – 661
7. West Virginia – 581
8. UCF – 551
9. Texas Tech – 532
10. TCU – 436
11. Colorado – 400
12. Baylor – 268
13. BYU – 215
14. Cincinnati – 196
15. Houston – 157
16. Arizona State – 141

First-place votes in parenthesis.

Hawkeyes Close 2023-24 Season

University of Iowa track and field concluded its outdoor season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 7. Five Hawkeyes qualified for the final stage in Eugene, Oregon.

• Sophomore Mike Stein became a first-team All-American in the men’s javelin. Stein threw 72.81 meters (238′ 10″) to place seventh in his debut at Hayward Field.
• Senior Paige Magee qualified in the women’s 100 hurdles, finishing 13th with a personal-best and Iowa program record of 12.88 in the finals. With the second-team finish, Magee closes her outdoor career as a six-time All-American.
• Senior Jordan Johnson closed his Hawkeye career as a second-team All-American, placing 16th with a toss of 56.74 meters (186′ 2″) in the men’s discus.
• Junior Rivaldo Marshall qualified in the men’s 800 meters with a third-place time of 1:46.96 at the NCAA Regionals in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
• Senior Austin West was an NCAA qualifier in the men’s decathlon for the fourth time in his career.
• Seven Hawkeyes returned to Eugene, Oregon, for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials from June 21-30. That delegation included Magee (women’s 100 hurdles), Stein (men’s javelin), West (men’s decathlon), senior Gratt Reed (men’s 110 hurdles), senior Kat Moody (women’s discus) and senior Kalen Walker (men’s 100 meters).

HAWKEYES AT THE OLYMPICS

Fourteen Hawkeyes competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials, including seven members of this year’s roster.

• Brittany Brown (’18) qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics with a 21.90 personal best in the women’s 200 meters. Brown is Iowa’s 26th Olympian.
• Other top finishes included senior Austin West taking sixth in the men’s decathlon, a 12th-place showing in the women’s discus for senior Kat Moody and seniors Paige Magee (100 hurdles) and Kalen Walker (100 meters) reaching the semifinals.
• Abroad, senior Austin Kresley became Mexico’s national champion in the men’s 100 meters. Freshman Daniela Wamokpego took eighth in the women’s triple jump at the French trials.

UP NEXT

Athletics events at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be held between Thursday, Aug. 1, and Sunday, Aug. 11.

Practice rounds continue at the TPC at Deere Run heading into Thursday’s start of the John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities. Defending champion Sepp Straka says it is a market that takes great pride in hosting a PGA Tour event.

Straka says it will take a low score to successfully defend his title.

Nate Heise says the chance to play on a bigger stage is why he decided to transfer to Iowa State. Heise spent the past four years at Northern Iowa and led the Panthers in scoring at 13-and-a-half points per game this past season before making the decision to enter the transfer portal.

Summer workouts are underway in Ames and Heise is trying to carve out a roll on a team that has its top four scorers returning from a team that made it to the Sweet-16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Heise says his experience has helped with the transition.

Heise says the chance to join a team that will likely be top five in the preseason polls was intriguing.

Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger felt Heise was a good fit for the program.

Otzelberger feels Heise will be a factor at both ends of the court.

Iowa State sophomore Milan Momcilovic hopes to take his game to another level next season. The six-eight native of Wisconsin was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman after averaging just under 11 points per game and shooting 36 percent from three point range. The Cyclones are going through summer workouts in Ames.

As he said in the above cut Momcilovic wants to be more of a play maker next season.

Momcilovic wants to be more of a factor on the glass.

Momcilovic says strength and condition is a big part of their summer program.

The AHSTW Lady Vikes softball team had a 2-0 victory over the CAM Cougars Monday night in the form of a pitching a duel. Starting Lady Vikes pitcher Etta Partlow was unrelenting retiring the first 3 CAM batters in the top of the 1st. The Cougar’s Ailey Wahlert had a similar response striking out 2 batters and giving up no hits in the bottom of the 1st. This form of pitching tug of war keeping the game at 0-0 finally broke at the bottom of the 5th inning. Bella Lamp started the 5th with a double towards left field. She then successfully stole third and came home off of a sac fly from Graycen Partlow to put AHSTW up 1-0. CAM was ready to respond in the top of the 6th as they had runners on third and second with two outs. But the inning ended with a line fly ball out in right field. Then in the bottom of the 6th the Lady Vikes added on to their lead with a run scoring in from an infield error. AHSTW secured the lead at 2-0 and put away the Cougars in the top of the 7th to hold on for the win.

Emma Follman for the Cougars stuck out with her 2-3 performance at the plate. Etta Partlow though had another solid night pitching 7 innings, with 6 strikeouts, 5 hits, no runs, and no walks. AHSTW Head Coach Katie Pace commended the way her pitcher battled throughout the night.

Games between CAM and the Lady Vikes can be a little more sentimental than other matchups with the history between these two programs.

The win pushes AHSTW to 15-8 on the year with their next game at Harlan on Wednesday night. Coach Pace is looking to see energy from tonight’s game carry into Wednesday’s.

The Cougars drop to 11-9 with the loss and travel to Nodaway Valley on Tuesday.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa fifth-year senior Jay Higgins has been named a 2024 Walter Camp Preseason First-Team All-American, it was announced Monday by the Walter Camp Foundation.

It is Higgins’ third preseason honor as he was also selected as a preseason first-team All-American by Phil Steele and Athlon. He was also named the Phil Steele Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

The Hawkeyes had three Walter Camp All-Americans in 2023 (Cooper DeJean, Tory Taylor, Higgins) and the program has had at least one Walter Camp All-American in each of the last 10 years (dating back to 2014).

The Indianapolis native started at middle linebacker in all 14 games in 2023, leading the team with 171 tackles (79 solo, 92 assists).  The figure tied an Iowa single season school record, led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally.   He finished with 15+ tackles in three games and 10+ tackles in 10 contests.

Higgins earned All-America distinction from eight different outlets a season ago and was Iowa’s Roy Carver Most Valuable Player on defense for a unit that ranked fourth nationally, surrendering 14.8 points per game.

The Hawkeyes open the 2024 season Aug. 31, hosting Illinois State at 11 a.m. (CT) inside Kinnick Stadium.

OTTAWA, CANADA – University of Iowa graduate Cloé Lacasse (‘14) was named to the Canadian women’s national team on Monday. Lacasse will compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics from July 25 to Aug. 10.

The Ontario, native, becomes the first Iowa women’s soccer product to compete at Olympics.

“Congratulations to Cloe on a monumental achievement,” said Head Coach Dave DiIanni. “This is truly an example of her commitment and perseverance to develop, grow and challenge the environments she has been put in along the way as a professional soccer player in order to accomplish her most lofty goals.

“We are so proud of her, as she represents Iowa Soccer with the utmost class and excellence.”

Lacasse is one of six forwards selected to join the 18-player roster. Formerly a two-time All-Big Ten First Team honoree, Lacasse currently plays for Women’s Super League club Arsenal in the United Kingdom.

Canada is one of 12 participating nations at this year’s Olympic Games. The Canadian women’s national team won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and is the only squad to have reached the podium in each of the last three Olympic Games.

Hawkeye history is nothing new for Lacasse, who was part of the first NCAA Tournament qualifying team in program history during the 2013 season. Lacasse is tied for first in Iowa program history for career points (112) and sits atop the Hawkeye record book in career shots (306).