Drake guard Kael Combs enters NCAA Transfer Portal

Drake men’s basketball guard Kael Combs has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, On3 has learned. He began his career with Wyoming, but spent the 2024-25 season with the Bulldogs, where he averaged 3.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists.

The guard helped Drake get to the NCAA Tournament, where they defeated Missouri in the Round of 64. He played 17 minutes, and scored seven points against the Tigers. However, the Bulldogs fell to Texas Tech in the Round of 32, and Howard played eight minutes and scored zero points in that one, a 13-point defeat.

Combs played high school basketball at Nixa (Nixa, MO). He did not have a star-rating, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Time will tell where Kael Combs ends up playing his college basketball next season. He’ll certainly take the lessons he learned at Drake with him wherever he suits up, and Iowa, where former Bulldogs coach Ben McCollum has taken over, will be a popular prediction.

His former teammate point guard Bennett Stirtz already is on his way to Iowa City, and more former Drake players are expected to follow. Forward Cam Manyawu and guard Isaia Howard have entered the portal, as well.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

More on the Drake Bulldogs

Moreover, Drake’s success has led to a major coaching change in college basketball. Iowa hired the aforementioned Ben McCollum, who was previously the head coach of the Bulldogs.

McCollum will replace Fran McCaffery, who had been at Iowa since 2010. During that time, the Hawkeyes were able to the NCAA Tournament seven times. That includes three times in the past four seasons and they never made it past the Round of 32. The decision to move on from McCaffery also came following a season where they finished tied for 12th in the Big Ten standings and had a 17-16 overall record.

For his part, Ben McCollum has been seen as a rising name in the college coaching ranks. From 2009-2024, he led Northwest Missouri State, a Division II program. While there, he had a 395-91 record, which is a .813 winning percentage to go along with four national championships. Those came in a six-season stretch that included a pandemic-impacted season in which his team was a favorite once again. Prior to that, McCollum was an assistant coach at Emporia State and Northwest Missouri State.

McCollum is an Iowa native, having been born in Iowa City and growing up in Storm Lake. As a player, he began his career at North Iowa Area Community College before making the jump to Northwest Missouri State. So, he has plenty of clear ties to the region. 

With that Division II success, McCollum was able to land the Drake job for the 2024-25 season. He’s led the Bulldogs to a 30-3 record and won the Missouri Valley Conference in both the regular season and conference tournament. He had taken over for Darian DeVries at that job. 

— On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this article.