Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball just secured a big-time commitment from class of 2024 power forward Cooper Koch.
The 6-foot-7, 205 pound product of Peoria Notre Dame High School in Illinois is rated by 247Sports as a four-star talent, the nation’s No. 51 overall player in the 2024 class, the No. 8 power forward and the No. 4 player from Illinois.
ESPN also ranks Koch as a four-star recruit, the country’s No. 57 player nationally and the No. 3 player from the state of Illinois. Koch is the son of former Hawkeye forward J.R. Koch, who played for Iowa from 1995-99. His father was a second-round 1999 NBA draft selection of the New York Knicks.
“I have grown up dreaming of playing for the Hawkeyes. Yesterday I made that dream a reality! I am proud to say I have committed to play for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and Coach McCaffery!” Koch wrote on Twitter.
Iowa was Koch’s first Power Five offer all the way back on May 11, 2021. Now, he’s the first Hawkeye commit in the 2024 class. Koch chose Iowa over offers from schools such as Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Wake Forest and Wisconsin.
The commitment from Koch is a major recruiting coup for Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery. In fact, Koch represents the third highest-rated commit Iowa has ever secured according to 247Sports since the service began ranking players.
The only two players to rank ahead of Koch according to 247Sports were small forward Tyler Smith in the 2006 class and center Adam Woodbury in the 2012 class.
With that in mind, Koch’s commitment could help lure in other big-time players to consider making Iowa City a part of their futures. Iowa just recently offered 2023 Moline High School point guard Brock Harding. Harding is teammates with current class of 2023 commit Owen Freeman.
In the 2024 class, Iowa has also recently offered Lyon County High School point guard Travis Perry, St. Rita High School shooting guard Nojus Indrusaitis, Pewaukee High School combo guard Nick Janowski and Sycamore High School center Raleigh Burgess.
Here’s a look at some of Koch’s recent AAU highlights courtesy of TheHoosier on YouTube. Plus, Koch’s full recruiting profile is included below.