Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz views Big Ten Media Days as the official end of summer. The Hawkeyes have an experienced team that is coming off a 10-4 season after winning the final Big Ten west division title. With summer workouts ending fall camp is about to begin.

Improvement on offense will be a key to the season. New coordinator Tim Lester is hoping to jump start a Hawkeye offense that was one of the worst in the nation.

Defense has been a staple and this year should be no different. The Hawkeyes may be the nation’s oldest defense after having several players return for a sixth and final season.

Ferentz says experience on defense is a plus.

This season begins a new era for the Big Ten which is adding USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington to become an 18-team league.

The Hawkeyes open the season at home on August 31st against Illinois State.

AMES, Iowa – Eight former Cyclones will participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics starting on July 24. The eight selected included Tyrese Haliburton (Men’s Basketball, USA), George Conditt IV (Men’s Basketball, Puerto Rico), Nick Weiler-Babb (Men’s Basketball, Germany), Marial Shayok (Men’s Basketball, South Sudan), Melvin Ejim (Men’s Basketball, Canada), Bridget Carleton (Women’s Basketball, Canada), Lauren Mansfield (Women’s Basketball 3×3, Australia) and Edwin Kurgat (Men’s Track and Field/Cross Country, Kenya).

Iowa State’s five men’s basketball selections are the second-most participants among Division 1 programs (Kentucky, 6). Along with that, three of the five will be competing in the same group as Haliburton, Conditt and Shayok will be facing off as former teammates in Group C in an attempt to make the knockout stage. Weiler-Babb and Germany will be in Group B, while Ejim and Canada will be in Group A.

Former ISU standout Tyrese Haliburton will be competing for Team USA after making the final 12-man roster that includes the likes of star players LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. In his two years at Iowa State, Haliburton was a two-time Big 12 Player of the Week, 2-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week, set the school record for assists in a game with 17, was a two-time ISU Scholar Athlete and earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors in his sophomore year despite missing the final 10 games of the season. After declaring for the 2020 NBA draft, he was selected in the lottery by the Sacramento Kings, but later traded to the Indiana Pacers where he would become a two-time NBA all-star and lead the team to an Eastern Conference Finals in his first two full years with the team.

Conditt IV will be representing Puerto Rico in the 2024 Olympics. Playing all four years at Iowa State, Conditt never missed a game in his final three seasons, appearing in 91 straight games (117 Total) and starting 36 of them. Conditt contributed to a Big 12 Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2019, along with a Sweet 16 appearance in 2022. In summer 2023, Conditt helped the Puerto Rican franchise Gigantes de Carolina win its first BSN championship in franchise history. In October 2023, he signed with the Portland Trail Blazers before eventually landing a spot on their G-League affiliate Rip City Remix. Conditt will be going against former ISU teammates Tyrese Haliburton and Marial Shayok in the Olympic group stage.

Weiler-Babb will be competing for Germany in the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad. After playing one year at Arkansas and sitting out the next due to NCAA transfer rules, Weiler-Babb played three seasons at Iowa State, seeing action in 92 games while starting 55 of them. Weiler-Babb was a major contributor to a second-round appearance in the 2017 NCAA Tournament and 2019 Big 12 Tournament Title and NCAA Tournament appearance. After playing in the 2019 NBA Summer League with the Miami Heat, Weiler-Babb took his talents overseas to the German Basketball Bundesliga. In 2023, he won the BBL-Pokal with Bayern Munich and was named the tournament’s MVP. On July 10th, 2024, Weiler-Babb renewed his contract with Bayern for two more years.

Shayok will be representing South Sudan in Lille at Pierre Mauroy Stadium. In his one season with the Cyclones, Shayok averaged 18.7 points per game, earning him All-Big 12 First Team honors and Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention. Shayok also led Iowa State to Big 12 Tournament title in 2019 while winning Big 12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player and punching a ticket to the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Shayok was also a Julius Erving Award Finalist and a one-time Big 12 Player of the Week. Shayok was drafted No. 54 by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2019 NBA Draft and most recently played for the Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin for the Chinese Basketball Association. He will be facing off against former ISU teammates Tyrese Haliburton and George Conditt in the Olympic group stage.

Ejim, the 2013-14 Big 12 Player of the Year, will be competing for Canada in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Ejim played all four years of college at Iowa State, racking up countless awards, including ISU Male Athlete of the Year, Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year (twice), Associated Press All-America Second Team, Oscar Robertson Award Finalist, Academic All-Big 12 First Team (3 times) and the aforementioned Big 12 Player of the Year. Along with individual awards, Ejim largely contributed to team success as well, which included three NCAA Tournaments, a Sweet 16 appearance, Big 12 Tournament title and top 10 AP Poll finish in 2014. Ejim played for the San Antonio Spurs in the 2014 NBA Summer League and has played professionally in Italy, Russia, Spain and the NBA G-League. He currently plays for Unicaja of the Liga ACB.

Former women’s basketball player Bridget Carleton will also be representing Canada in the 2024 Olympics on the female side. Carleton played all four of her collegiate years at ISU and started a whopping 121 games in her career. She also had numerous accomplishments such as winning the Cheryl Miller Award, Big 12 Player of the Year, was a Naismith Starting Five Member, NCAA Woman of the Year nominee and three time unanimous All-Big 12 first team selection. She came up eight points short of the ISU all-time career scoring record. Carleton was drafted No. 21 overall in the 2019 WNBA Draft to the Connecticut Sun, eventually earning a roster spot on the Sun during her rookie year. She currently plays for the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA and helped her team win the 2024 Commissioners Cup.

Former ISU women’s basketball player Lauren Mansfield will be competing for Australia in 3×3 basketball. 3×3 basketball is in its second Olympic Games after debuting at the Tokyo Games. Mansfield played two years for the Cyclones after transferring from Midland College (Texas), and started 61 games in those two years. She averaged 8.2 points and 3.3 assists per game her senior year and led the team in scoring four times. Off the court she earned Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honors her senior year as well. After her time at ISU, she returned home to Australia where she signed with her hometown team the Adelaide Lightning of the WNBL. In 2014-15 she signed with the South East Queensland Stars and finished 8th in WNBL MVP voting after being top 10 in points per game and 2nd in assists per game. She most recently played with the North Adelaide Rockets.

Former men’s cross country and track and field runner Edwin Kurgat will be running the 5k for his home country Kenya in the 2024 Paris Olympics. After transferring from UT-Martin after his freshman year, Kurgat spent his final three years with ISU. Kurgat was able to collect many awards and accomplishments in both cross country and track and field, including winning the 2019 NCAA Cross Country National Championship with a time of 30:32.7. He was also a two-time Gary Thompson ISU Male Athlete of the Year winner, 10-time All-American, two-time Big 12 Cross Country Male Runner of the Year, Eight-time Big 12 Champion, 2019 USTFCCA Cross Country Male Athlete of the Year and 2020 USTFCCA Midwest Region Men’s Track Athlete of the Year. Kurgat now runs for UA Mission Run Dark Sky headquartered in Flagstaff, Arizona. On January 26, 2024, Kurgat posted a personal best time in the 5k of 12:57.52 in Boston, earning himself a spot in the Olympics.