Iowa City, Iowa — The Iowa men’s basketball team has earned themselves a new high flyer, as Storm Lake standout Jaidyn Coon announced his commitment following recent visits to campus.
Coon, a senior at Storm Lake High School in Storm Lake, had previously been committed to the Creighton Bluejays men’s basketball team. However, with changes within the Creighton program, including the departure of Head Coach Greg McDermott after 16 seasons, Coon announced his de-commitment from the program on March 24th.
After a visit to Iowa City, Coon opted for a long-term vision with Head Coach Ben McCollum and the Iowa men’s basketball team. Coon announced his commitment to the team in a post on Instagram Thursday evening.
STAYING HOME 🐤🐤
Thank you Lord for blessing me with an opportunity of a life time, I dreamed as a kid playing at the collegiate level. Lastly I wanna thank everyone who has supported me throughout this process! GO HAWKS🐥
Coon has been the player to watch in Northwest Iowa for some time. He played four varsity seasons at Storm Lake High School, amounting 85 total games and two state tournament appearances. He scored 1,692 points (19.9 PPG), leading the team each year he played. He contributed 733 rebounds (8.6 RPG), and 225 assists (2.6 APG) for the Tornadoes. He was also named Iowa’s Mr. Basketball in 2026.
For Storm Lake, this commitment is quite the milestone, as Coon becomes one of the school’s most notable Division I signees in recent years.
At 6’4″, Coon’s size and skill set project well at the next level. He is expected to compete for early playing time in Iowa’s rotation, a team who is looking for someone to fill the shoes with senior departures and potential losses to the transfer portal.
The trend for Iowa City is upward, however. The Hawkeyes just made an Elite Eight run as a 9-seed in the 2026 March Madness Tournament, a round they haven’t been in since 1987. In this year’s tournament, they defeated No. 8 Clemson, No. 1 Florida, and No. 4 Nebraska, but fell to No. 3 Illinois in the Elite Eight.
Coon is expected to join the Hawkeyes ahead of the upcoming season.
KIWA Staff Photo
