The transfer portal is now open for Iowa men's and women's basketball.
While many Mexican restaurants are celebrating a normal Tuesday with a "Taco Tuesday" promotion, college basketball coaches around the country are beginning another sleepless period of their lives.
It's the day after the national championship game, which means the transfer portal is officially open for business. Over 2,000 players entered the portal last season, and that figure will likely increase in 2026.
Not only are the coaches scrambling to build their 2026-27 rosters, journalists like me are scrambling to write about every portal entry. As we always say - "the portal giveth, and the portal taketh away." Iowa women's basketball has already seen four portal entries in the weeks following its season-ending loss to Virginia, while the men's team may see some entires even after a Cinderella-esque run to the Elite Eight.
That's a perfect lead in to HawkeyeRoundtable's favorite portal saying - "Portal Kombat." I'm too young to have played the arcade game Mortal Kombat, but the name is just too perfect not to use. Mortal Kombat is a fighting game, and that's exactly what the transfer portal turns out to be - teams fighting each other for some of the best transfer prospects. Whichever team offers more money gets the player, and even when the dust settles, fanbases will engage in brutal arguments on social media in the weeks that follow.
That's "Portal Kombat." You always have to expect the unexpected, and that's my message to Iowa fans. Some of your favorite players are going to enter the portal and send shockwaves throughout the fanbase. There's no question that college sports has many flaws right now, but until (if ever) something gets done to change it, that's just the world we live in.
Yes, the transfer portal brings plenty of cons with it, but be prepared for the good that it can also bring to your Hawkeye basketball squads. Jan Jensen's women's team is already talented as it is, and adding more depth could help the Hawkeyes challenge for a Big Ten title.
On the men's side, the opportunity is even greater. Ben McCollum has Iowa men's basketball fans bought in after an incredible NCAA tournament run, and he's a guard and a big man away from taking the Hawkeyes to the next level thanks to his meticulous coaching style.
Buckle up, Hawkeye fans.
Portal Kombat is here.
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