Coming home! What does Even Brauns add to the Iowa Hawkeyes?
Even Brauns is coming home! A former teammate of Patrick McCaffery’s at Iowa City West, Brauns spent the past three seasons at Belmont.
Head coach Fran McCaffery and Iowa announced yesterday that Brauns had signed with the Hawkeyes. It’s the second transfer portal addition for Iowa. The Hawkeyes also signed former Valparaiso big Ben Krikke.
Let’s take a deeper dive at who Brauns is, what his career stats look like, his recruiting profile and what his addition means to the Hawkeyes. Here’s a glimpse at Brauns’ highlights from Belmont courtesy of Transfer Tapes on YouTube.
For the best local Iowa news, sports, entertainment and culture coverage, subscribe to The Des Moines Register.
Career at Belmont
MaCabe Brown / Courier & Press via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Even Brauns played in 92 games during his three-year Belmont career, including starting 31 contests and 30 of 31 games last season. Brauns averaged 7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.2 assists per game in 21.2 minutes of average floor time last year with the Bruins.
A 6-foot-9, 240 pound center, he shot 58.3% from the floor, which was tops on Belmont. Brauns registered double-figure scoring in 10 contests last season and had double-figure boards in five games.
What does Brauns add to Iowa?
Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports
The Hawkeyes lost Kris Murray, Filip Rebraca and Josh Ogundele this offseason. Murray and Rebraca were the Hawkeyes’ primary bigs, absorbing 34.8 and 31.6 minutes per game, respectively. That duo combined for 34.3 points and 15.4 rebounds per game last season.
With that said, there’s room for an experienced collegiate big like Brauns on the Hawkeyes’ roster. Iowa signed forwards Ladji Dembele and Owen Freeman in its 2023 signing class. That pair were ranked as three-star signees per 247Sports. Maybe one of them is ready to slide right into a significant role, but that’s no guarantee for a true freshman.
Iowa knew it needed more proven, immediate help on the inside and its found that here with Brauns and the addition of Krikke from Valpo. Like Krikke, Brauns should factor into the rotation immediately with two seasons of eligibility remaining.
On joining the Iowa Hawkeyes
MaCabe Brown / Courier & Press / USA TODAY NETWORK
“Getting the opportunity to come home and play for the Hawkeyes is one of the proudest moments of my life. 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,” Brauns said.
Quote from coach Fran McCaffery
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
“We are excited to have Even back home. 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,” McCaffery said.
Career at Iowa City West, Recruiting Profile
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen
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.
247Sports composite ranking: Three-star prospect, No. 247 player nationally, No. 51 power forward, No. 2 player from Iowa
ESPN: Three-star prospect, No. 43 center, No. 2 player from Iowa
[lawrence-auto-related count=5]
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Josh on Twitter: @JoshOnREF
