IOWA CITY — Saint Mary’s transfer Andrew McKeever has committed to Iowa basketball, according to Joe Tipton.
McKeever, listed at 7-foot-3 and 285 pounds, averaged 8.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in roughly 23 minutes per game as a redshirt sophomore last season.
He comes to the Hawkeyes with two seasons of eligibility remaining.
McKeever is the second player to commit to Iowa this transfer portal cycle, joining 6-foot-2 guard Ty’Reek Coleman. The Illinois State transfer averaged 10 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in about 23 minutes per game while shooting 50.4% from the field and 41.6% from deep as a true freshman.
McKeever’s role was limited as a redshirt freshman, playing only about six minutes per game in 20 appearances. But his production increased significantly last season.
McKeever made 33 appearances for the Gaels as a redshirt sophomore, including 10 starts. He had a monster performance against San Francisco, racking up 10 points, 18 rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block.
After playing with an undersized frontcourt last season, it was clear that the Hawkeyes needed to add size ahead of head coach Ben McCollum’s second campaign. McKeever clearly gives Iowa the height it lacked last season.
McKeever, a prolific rebounder, can give the Hawkeyes a much-needed boost on the glass. He had 12 games last season in which he grabbed at least 10 rebounds. McKeever’s rebounds per 40 minutes last season were an impressive 15.7. McKeever’s rebounding can also help Iowa on the offensive end with second-chance opportunities. He averaged 3.8 offensive rebounds per game last season.
McKeever’s 1.8 assists per game last season show he possesses passing ability. But with an average assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.8-to-1.7 as a redshirt sophomore, it would be good to see him cut down the turnovers.
McKeever can have value as a screener for the Hawkeyes. Considering how important ball screens are in Iowa’s offense, the Hawkeyes can benefit from having someone of McKeever’s frame to fill that role.
For as tall as he is, McKeever is not an ultra-efficient scorer. He shot 50% from the field last season. That is not bad, but considering all 210 of his field goal attempts last season came from inside the arc, there is room for improvement.
McKeever only averaged 0.8 blocks per game last season, which is not an incredibly high figure. His stature indicates he is capable of more. But as long as McKeever can alter shots with his length for the Hawkeyes, his actual blocks per game don’t mean as much. From a defensive standpoint, it will be interesting to see how well he can handle staying in front of faster, more athletic guards, should he have to switch onto them.
He shot a dreadful 30.8% from the free-throw line as a redshirt freshman. But he showed growth as a redshirt sophomore, improving his percentage to 62.8%.
To get a sense for how McKeever fared against notable competition last season, he had 11 points and 11 rebounds against Santa Clara in the West Coast Conference Tournament. He accumulated six points, seven rebounds and three assists against Vanderbilt. He had 14 points and eight rebounds against Virginia Tech. In two games against Gonzaga, McKeever averaged only two points but also grabbed eight rebounds per contest. In one of those games against the Bulldogs, all eight of the rebounds came on the offensive end.
Virginia Tech is the only one of those aforementioned teams that did not make the NCAA Tournament last season.
Saint Mary’s earned a 7-seed in the Big Dance. The Gaels lost to Texas A&M in the round of 64. McKeever was held scoreless for the first time all season, but contributed eight rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal.
McKeever’s scoring output against some of those better teams leaves much to be desired. That will be put to the test against Big Ten competition. But even when he wasn’t scoring at a high clip, he still impacted the game, notably with his rebounding.
Simply put, McKeever gives Iowa the type of mountainous presence that it didn’t have last season, making it more equipped to survive in the Big Ten.
With Alvaro Folgueiras entering the transfer portal and Tavion Banks’ future unclear, McKeever joins Cam Manyawu and Trevin Jirak as bigs on the Hawkeyes’ 2026-27 roster.
McKeever will have to prove that his production can translate to the Big Ten level. But he brings compelling physical tools to the table. It’s also a plus that he comes to the Hawkeyes with more than one season of eligibility remaining.
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Saint Mary’s transfer Andrew McKeever commits to Iowa basketball
Reporting by Tyler Tachman, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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