Former Drake forward Cam Manyawu commits to Iowa

Former Drake forward Cam Manyawu committed to Iowa out of the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. He followed head coach Ben McCollum to Iowa City.

Manyawu originally enrolled at Wyoming, where he played for one season before transferring to Drake. He has had remarkably similar production at both stops.

During the 2024-25 season with Drake, Cam Manyawu averaged 7.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. He also chipped in 0.9 assists and 0.7 blocks per contest.

Now, he’ll try to turn it up in the Big Ten for the 2025-26 season. McCollum is building quite the new Hawkeyes roster, now adding Manyawu.

Cam Manyawu adds to new-look Iowa roster under Ben McCollum

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.