Iowa F Cooper Koch enters NCAA transfer portal

Iowa forward Cooper Koch has entered the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. Koch played in 10 games for for Hawkeyes as a true freshman this season.

Koch averaged 4.6 points per game for Iowa during the 2024-25 season. His most impressive outing came on Dec. 30 against New Hampshire. He scored 14 points on 3 of 6 shooting from beyond the arc during the non-conference matchup, while also dishing out three assists and grabbing four rebounds.

He arrived on campus as a four-star recruit this past offseason, where he ranked as the No. 87 overall recruit in the country, and No. 13 power forward in his class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was the No. 2 overall player coming out of the state of Illinois.

Koch was recruited to Iowa City by former head coach Fran McCaffrey, who was fired as the program’s head coach after the Hawkeyes’ exit from the Big Ten Conference Tournament. McCaffrey held the position since 2010, but Iowa has decided to move in a different direction. With that, Koch’s decision to enter the portal follows less than a week after the decision was made.

In his 15 seasons as their head coach, Iowa posted a 297-207 record and a 143-141 mark in conference play. The Hawkeyes made it to the NCAA Tournament seven times during that tenure but failed to ever make it past the Round of 32. They also would’ve likely earned another in 2019-20 but that postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

McCaffery has also had head coaching stints at Lehigh (1995-98), UNC Greensboro (1999-2005) and Siena (2005-10). As he is now 65 years old, it’s unclear whether McCaffrey will search for a new role or step away from the game.

However, it is clear that Koch is looking for a fresh start during his second year at the collegiate level. According to his On3 recruiting profuke, Koch held interest from other Big Ten schools, including Indiana, Illinois and Purdue, among others.

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.

On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this report. Read more about Fran McCaffrey here.