IOWA CITY, Iowa — The transfer portal is changing college sports. Student-athletes are moving around more than ever.

According to the NCAA, over 10,000 Division 1 athletes entered the portal a year ago.

The Hawkeyes have done well in the portal across different sports.

The football team got quarterback Mark Gronowski from South Dakota State, six
men’s basketball players on this year’s team from Drake, and the women’s basketball team hit the jackpot with Lucy Olsen a year ago.

What’s it like from a player’s point of view inside the portal? Each person has a different experience.

“I probably had over 50 missed calls and 300 missed text messages, but it was very interesting to see all the love and appreciation I had from South Dakota State and how thankful they were for me being there and me leaving and having this opportunity, and it was also pretty cool to have all these coaches reaching out,” Gronowski said. “I’m glad I found Iowa, glad I found Coach Ferentz and Coach Lester. It’s been a great transition.”

“The portal is a mess, honestly,” said Jacob Gill, an Iowa wide receiver who transferred from Northwestern. “It’s a crazy time that we are living in now, but I just leaned on God through it all. That was my main source to lean on, try to focus on, and let everything else fall into place. If I can do that, I know everything else will go how I want it to go.”

“It’s kind of like a dating thing. You talk to this coach, then you build a relationship, and then you’re like, ‘No, break up with that,’” and then you go to another coach,” said Chazadi ‘Chit-Chat’ Wright, an Iowa women’s basketball player who transferred from Georgia Tech. “But it was very great when I talked to Coach Jan. It was just nothing but genuine vibes and that’s what made me come here.”