Iowa basketball lands transfer commitment
The Iowa basketball team picked up some much needed frontcourt help on Monday when they received a commitment from Belmont transfer Even Brauns. Of course, Brauns is very familiar to the Iowa program, having grown up in Iowa City and played high school basketball at Iowa City Regina and concluding his career at Iowa City West.
The 6-foot-9 and 240 pound center/power forward will be on scholarship and he will have at least one year of eligibility remaining. He could use a second season as his Covid year.
“Getting the opportunity to come home and play for the Hawkeyes is one of the proudest moments of my life,” said Brauns. “I am thrilled to return home and play in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in front of the best fans in college basketball. I am excited to play with my new teammates because there is a lot of opportunity for new faces to emerge in larger roles this year. I am thankful for this opportunity and eager to give all that I have to the University of Iowa.”
As a junior with the Bruins, he started 29 of 30 contests played. Brauns averaged 7.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and a team-best 1.4 blocks while shooting a team-best 58 percent from the floor. He netted double figures 10 times, pulled down double-digit rebounds five times and posted four double-doubles.
In 2022, he played in 31 games, including one start. Brauns scored a career-high 19 points to go along with seven rebounds and three steals versus Bethel. As a freshman, he appeared in 30 games, totaling 119 points, 65 rebounds, 14 blocks, eight assists and three steals.
Brauns and Belmont were part of the Missouri Valley Conference last season before previously competing in the Ohio Valley Conference.
“We are excited to have Even back home,” McCaffery said. “He was a terrific player at West High School and had an excellent career at Belmont. Even will be a great fit for our program.”
As a prep, Brauns was a four-year letterwinner at West. He was named to the Des Moines Register All-Iowa and Cedar Rapids Gazette All-Area teams in 2020. Brauns helped lead West to a 22-3 record, averaging 15.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game as a senior. He averaged 11 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots per outing on 68 percent shooting from the field as a junior. Brauns was the No. 2 ranked prospect in the state of Iowa Class of 2020 by espn.com and 247Sports.
Iowa now has one open scholarship remaining for the upcoming season.
