A week after landing a verbal commitment from Illinois State transfer guard Ty'Reek Coleman, the Hawkeyes officially signed him on Thursday.
Coleman, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound guard, comes to Iowa City with three years of eligibility remaining. He put together a strong freshman campaign with the Redbirds, averaging 10.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game on 50.4% shooting from the field. He also shot 41.6% from behind the arc, which is big news for a team losing it's top three-point marksman in Bennett Stirtz.
The addition of Coleman has the entire program excited for the future, especially head coach Ben McCollum, who said the following in a press release about his newest lead guard.
"Ty’Reek is a twitchy, efficient scorer,” McCollum said. “He has a knack for being able to get into the lane to finish and he’s going to be a weapon in the pick-and-roll and drive-and-kick situations in our offense. Defensively, he is a strong guard who can really pressure the ball. We’re excited for Ty’Reek to join our program this summer."
In that same press release, Coleman spoke about Iowa's program and what ultimately led to his decision to join the Hawkeyes.
"I chose the University of Iowa for a number of reasons from the players and coaches to everyone surrounding the program,” Coleman said. “When I hung out with the players on my visit, they were like my friends from back home, so it was easy to mesh with them."
"When I had the chance to spend more time with the coaching staff on my visit, I felt nothing but honesty and a connectedness that I knew I wanted to be a part of. This staff has a true belief in what I can bring to this program and how they can help me become the best version of myself. That led me to choosing the University of Iowa as my home.”
McCollum is setting his team up to build on the success from last season's run to the Elite Eight. Coleman will be a huge part of that potential success next season and in the ones that follow.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Zach on X: @zach_hiney
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa basketball officially announces Ty'Reek Coleman signing