IOWA CITY — Freshman Cooper Koch is withdrawing for the transfer portal and returning to Iowa basketball , he announced Sunday.

Koch missed a majority of the season due to an undisclosed health issue. He appeared in 10 games for the Hawkeyes , averaging 4.6 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest while shooting 42.9% from deep.

Koch's return marks a recruiting win for new head coach Ben McCollum .

Koch posted via social media: "After speaking with Coach McCollum, I believe his (vision) for the Men's Basketball Team is one that aligns with mine." With that being said, I have decided to withdraw my name from the transfer portal and stay HOME. Go Hawks!"

Koch, a four-star prospect from Metamora Township High School (Ill.), was one of two scholarship players in Iowa's 2024 high school recruiting class. Koch had ties to Iowa — with his father J.R. playing for the Hawkeyes from 1995-99.

Koch never truly had a chance to showcase his abilities consistently as a freshman due to the health issue. But there were glimpses of what he could be. He notched a career-high 14 points against New Hampshire in December, a performance that included knocking down a trio of 3-pointers. Koch hit a pair of 3-pointers in Iowa's win over Washington State in November.

The last game Koch appeared in this season was a matchup with Wisconsin on Jan. 3. He scored two points in that contest.

Koch entered the transfer portal following Fran McCaffery's departure but left the door open to a return to the Hawkeyes. McCollum was outspoken in his introductory press conference about convincing Koch, Pryce Sandfort and Josh Dix to come back to the program.

“See if we can get them some support as well,” McCollum said on March 25. “Maybe just text them or tweet them or anything like that and get them excited about coming back to the University of Iowa and making this thing grow. That would be good support to start.”

McCollum added later: “How cool would it be for some of them to be a part of — obviously they finished towards the bottom, but now moving up towards the top, and they're the reason for the change. That to me is as cool as it gets. And that's our sell to them. And we're going to continue down that path, and we're going to fight for them.”

McCollum is tasked with rebuilding a depleted Iowa roster. A few Hawkeyes have exhausted their college eligibility — Payton Sandfort, Drew Thelwell and Even Brauns. Several others have entered the transfer portal. Owen Freeman (Creighton), Riley Mulvey (Siena) and Brock Harding (TCU) have committed elsewhere.

The exodus has left McCollum facing a roster overhaul.

In short order, McCollum has already made a splash in the transfer portal by landing Drake’s Bennett Stirtz, who is following his coach to Iowa.

Stirtz, the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, has risen the ranks with McCollum from Division II Northwest Missouri State to Drake and now to Iowa. Stirtz told the Register that he is planning to enter the 2025 NBA Draft but maintain his college eligibility with the intent of playing for the Hawkeyes next season.

“If he's not the best point guard in the country, he's top two or three,” McCollum said of Stirtz. “So that's pretty good fit right there.”

Koch now adds to Iowa's projected 2025-26 roster.

The expectation is that Koch was going to try to get a medical redshirt since he only played in 10 games. That would get him a season of eligibility back, giving him four full seasons to play.

Though his freshman season didn't go as planned, he still possesses plenty of potential. At 6-foot-8, Koch has the frame to be an effective wing. In a small sample size as a freshman, he proved to be a lethal 3-point shooter. Koch could be a valuable building block for a program.