Iowa's 2026-27 roster appears to be mostly set after the Hawkeyes' transfer addition of guard Ty'Reek Coleman (Illinois State) and big man Andrew McKeever (Saint Mary's) – although the status of Tavion Banks does remain up in the air. Under the assumption that Banks doesn't return, here is our projected starting lineup for Iowa in the 2026-27 season:
Point Guard: Ty'Reek Coleman
Suiting up for Illinois State in the Missouri Valley Conference last year – a league head coach Ben McCollum and a handful of current Hawkeyes are quite familiar with – Coleman started in 19 of 35 games for the Redbirds.
He averaged 10.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists. A trusty ballhandler and efficient scorer (50.4 percent from the field and 41.6 percent from deep), Coleman should be able to take over the reins of the Iowa offense immediately.
Shooting Guard: Kael Combs
An experienced veteran who followed McCollum from Drake, Kael Combs is comfortable with the system on both ends and he'll be a steadying presence for the Hawkeyes.
Offensively, Combs can be another facilitator and a downhill threat while his long-distance shooting ideally takes another step forward (hit 0.5 per game last year). On defense, he'll continue to be a high-impact player capable of guarding a variety of perimeter players.
Small Forward: Cooper Koch
Cooper Koch gives Iowa exactly what it needs to balance out this lineup: elite shooting. He connected on 1.8 per triples per game at a remarkable rate of 40.2 percent last year.
Heading into next season, Koch will be the Hawkeyes' premier long-distance weapon while he should also make strides as a rebounder and defender.
Power Forward: Cam Manyawu
Another player with two years of experience alongside McCollum, Cam Manyawu should be poised for a senior leap. He averaged just 6.6 points and 4.6 rebounds a year ago in only 19.2 minutes per game despite starting all 37 contests.
With another big in the mix (Saint Mary's transfer Andrew McKeever), some of the glass-cleaning pressure should be taken off Manyawu and he should be able to flourish as a versatile defender and supplemental scorer while remaining a high-level rebounder.
Center: Andrew McKeever
Iowa impressively disguised its lack of size in the 2025-26 season, but it still was a difference-maker on the boards and defensively. Fortunately, with the arrival of McKeever, it shouldn't be a problem this year.
The 7-foot-3 center led the West Coast Conference in rebounds per game at 9.2 (including 3.8 offensive boards), and he only played 23.2 minutes per outing. He's also a back-to-the-basket threat who can create instant offense for the Hawkeyes on the low block or orchestrate action out of the high-post.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/iowa as Projecting Iowa's 2026-27 Starting Lineup After Andrew McKeever Commitment.