Hawkeyes land former No. 2 state prospect, Iowa City native in transfer portal

Fran McCaffery needed to add and replenish size on his front line with the departures of Filip Rebraca, Kris Murray and Josh Ogundele — and he has. Former Belmont forward Even Brauns has signed with Iowa via the transfer portal. He has two years of eligibility remaining after playing 91 games in three years with the Bruins.

Iowa City is no foreign territory to Brauns, who grew up there and played at Iowa City West High School with forward Patrick McCaffery. In fact, he was 247sports’ No. 2 prospect in the entire state in 2020. Brauns helped lead West to a 22-3 record, averaging 15.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game as a senior.

The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Brauns started 29 of 30 games as a junior, and appeared in 31 as a senior. He’s a defensive stopper who averaged 1.4 blocks per game, while shooting a team best 58% from the floor. Brauns will have a clear path to rotational minutes next season.

“We are excited to have Even back home,” McCaffery said. “He was a terrific player at West High School and had an excellent career at Belmont. Even will be a great fit for our program.”

“Getting the opportunity to come home and play for the Hawkeyes is one of the proudest moments of my life,” Brauns said in a press release. “I am thrilled to return home and play in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in front of the best fans in college basketball. I am excited to play with my new teammates because there is a lot of opportunity for new faces to emerge in larger roles this year. I am thankful for this opportunity and eager to give all that I have to the University of Iowa.”

The Hawkeyes have Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year in junior Payton Sandfort. Behind him are just two returning forwards in Patrick McCaffery and Riley Mulvey — neither were starters on Iowa’s 2022-23 team. The Hawks did land another Missouri Valley Conference forward in Valparaiso’s Ben Krikke, who was the conference’s leading scorer last season.

The bottom line: Iowa’s thinnest position group by a country mile got better. Here’s an updated look at a potential depth chart:

G: Tony Perkins, Josh Dix, Dasonte Bowen, Carter Kingsbury, Amarion Nimmers

F: Payton Sandfort, Ben Krikke, Patrick McCaffery, Even Brauns, Riley Mulvey

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