IOWA CITY — In-state talent Jaidyn Coon has committed to Iowa basketball, he announced on Thursday, April 2.
Coon is a four-star prospect and ranked 116th nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite. He is the third-ranked player in the state of Iowa’s 2026 high school class.
The 6-foot-7 wing averaged 22 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game during his senior season at Storm Lake High School. He shot 53.2% from the field, 29.8% from deep and 64.1% from the free throw line.
Coon was set to attend Creighton, but reopened his recruitment after longtime head coach Greg McDermott announced his retirement.
The senior is a product of Storm Lake, the same city where Iowa head coach Ben McCollum grew up. Outside of Iowa and Creighton, Coon has also been pursued by Nebraska and Illinois, among others. Drake offered him when McCollum was still the head coach of the Bulldogs.
“Thank you Lord for blessing me with an opportunity of a lifetime, I dreamed as a kid playing at the collegiate level,” Coon wrote on social media. “Lastly, I wanna thank everyone who has supported me throughout this process! GO HAWKS”
Here are some highlights of Coon:
Coon’s commitment is another example of McCollum and company being able to bring in highly rated talent. Since taking over the job, Iowa has received commitments from three four-star high school recruits: Trey Thompson, Ethan Harris and Coon.
The Hawkeyes have now landed the Iowa Mr. Basketball winner in each of the last two years. Former West Des Moines Valley star Trevin Jirak took the award in 2025. Coon did so in 2026.
Coon becomes the second member of Iowa’s 2026 high school recruiting class. He joins four-star wing Ethan Harris, who picked Iowa over Washington, Gonzaga and Boise State. With the addition of Coon, the Hawkeyes now have a pair of promising pieces in the class.
They will join a young Iowa core that provides optimism for the future of the program. Tate Sage, Cooper Koch and Jirak each have three seasons of eligibility remaining. Former four-star prospect Trey Thompson still has four after redshirting the 2025-26 campaign.
Coon and Harris will be added to that young nucleus.
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa men’s basketball lands commitment from four-star wing Jaidyn Coon
Reporting by Tyler Tachman, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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