With Iowa basketball’s remarkable offseason reconstruction under new coach Ben McCollum, the Hawkeyes have built an impressive list of official visits from top recruits through the first six months McCollum has been at the helm.
According to 247Sports’ Sean Bock, on Sunday, 2026 four-star combo-guard prospect Kaiden Bailey announced he plans to add his name to the list by scheduling an official visit next month.
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound native of Irving, California, attends Santa Margarita Catholic High School, where he is rated as a four-star and ranks as the No. 15 prospect in the state, No. 24 among combo guards, and No. 147 overall recruit in the 2026 class, according to 247Sports’ recruiting rankings.
Bailey’s recruiting profile significantly improved over the summer. He was a standout for Team WhyNot on the Nike EYBL Circuit, especially in the 2025 Peach Jam tournament in July.
In his seven games played, Bailey averaged 12.4 points on 35% from two-point range and 46.3% from 3-point territory to go along with 3.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He helped guide Team WhyNot to the tournament’s Final Four.
While Bailey has yet to receive an offer from the Hawkeyes, he plans to be in Iowa City for an official visit from Sept. 11-13, according to 247Sports’ Sean Bock. In addition to Iowa, Bailey plans to take official visits to Colorado State (Aug. 29-31) and Georgia Tech (Sept. 5-7) as his first three official visits.
Bailey is also considering scheduling official visits to UNLV, UC-Santa Barbara, USC and Washington.
In addition to Iowa, Bailey is being looked at by 16 programs, including Washington, USC and UCLA. Among that list, Iowa, UCLA and Georgia Tech are the only three that have not yet offered.
With the program’s transformation through the use of the transfer portal to create significant promise for the Hawkeyes’ potential in the 2025-26 season, Iowa will certainly have a strong pitch to give Bailey when he arrives in Iowa City in early September.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: 2026 four-star guard prospect schedules Iowa basketball visit
Reporting by Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
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