By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – With the 2024-25 college sports calendar year now over, it’s time to rank the top 10 UI men’s student-athletes for the 2024-25 sports calendar year, continuing a tradition that dates back to when I worked for the Iowa City Press Citizen more than three decades ago.

I started ranking the top 10 UI men’s student-athletes on an annual basis in the mid-1990s and have continued to do so, partly because it’s fun, but also to recognize a job well done.

Being a student-athlete is a full-time job, and while they’re now being paid for it, and deservedly so, the amount of time and effort that it takes to excel in that role deserves some recognition.

Of course, the most difficult part about this ranking process is trimming the list to 10 because every year there are always more than 10 deserving candidates.

To make the top 10 usually requires either winning a Big Ten individual championship, making first-team All-Big Ten or excelling at a national championship event.

There were seven worthy candidates for the ninth and 10th spots on this year’s list, and I even considered expanding the list to 15 for the first time.

I ultimately chose to keep it at 10, but also have listed the five candidates that were seriously considered for the final two spots since a strong case could be made for each of them.

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10. Kalen Walker, junior, track and field: The Eddyville native became the first Hawkeye in program history to run under 10 seconds in the 100 meters as he was clocked in 9.94 seconds at the NCAA West Regional.

He was also the Big Ten champion in the 100 meters, finishing in 10.17, but he only placed 18th at the NCAA Championships (10.23), which nearly cost him the final spot on the list.

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9. Ryan Johnson, sophomore, track and field: A transfer from Eastern Michigan, he earned first-team All-America status with a sixth-place finish in the hammer throw at the 2025 NCAA Outdoors Championship. The Springboro, Ohio native was also the Big Ten champion in the 2025 weight throw and holds the school record in both hammer and weight throw.

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8. Patrick Kennedy, junior, wrestling: As a No. 11 seed, the Minnesota native finished fourth at the 2025 NCAA Championships, winning five matches and scoring 12.5 points for the Hawkeyes.

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7. Cade Obermueller, junior, baseball: The Iowa City native earned third-team All-America honors after going 5-3 with a 3.02 ERA in 15 starts this past season. He posted five quality starts and fanned 117 batters over 83.1 innings. His 117 strikeouts ranks second all-time in program history for strikeouts in a season. He also led the Big Ten and ranked 18th in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (12.83).

The left-hander posted five double-digit strikeout performances, including a seven-inning complete game against Northwestern on April 4. In the 12-1 win over the Wildcats, Obermueller struck out a career-high 12 batters while allowing one hit – a single – one walk and one unearned run.

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6. Kaden Wetjen, senior, football: The former walk-on from Williamsburg was the recipient of the Jet Award, given to the top kick returner in college football. He also became the fourth Hawkeye since 2018 to win the Big Ten Return Specialist of the Year honor. He led the nation with 1,055 combined kick return yards in 2024.

He returned two kick for touchdowns last season and had a third called back because of penalty.

He also excelled as a punt returner, finishing second in the Big Ten with a 12.6 average. He returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown against Northwestern.

5. Drake Ayala, junior, wrestling: The Fort Dodge native finished as the national runner-up at 133 pounds, and with a 21-3 overall record. He also compiled a 12-3 record against ranked opponents, had an 11-1 dual record and finished as the Big Ten runner-up.

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4. Michael Caliendo, senior, wrestling: The Geneva, Illinois native, who started his career at North Dakota State, finished as both the NCAA and Big Ten runner-up at 165 pounds while compiling  a 24-3 season record and a 14-1 dual record. He also had a  14-3 record against ranked competitors with six wins over top-10 opponents.

He recorded 18 bonus point victories including 11 technical falls and one pin.

With a runner up finish at 165, Caliendo picked up the third All-American honors of his career. He was seventh at 165 as a freshman at North Dakota State and fourth a year ago for the Hawkeyes.

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3. Jay Higgins, senior, football: The Indianapolis native was a tackling machine in his two seasons as Iowa’s starting middle linebacker. He led the Hawkeyes with 124 tackles this past season, including 53 solo stops. He also led the tam with four interceptions and finished tied for second on the team with six quarterback hurries. He also had five pass breakups and forced two fumbles.

Higgins was named a unanimous consensus All-American in 2024 and the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year.

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2. Kaleb Johnson, junior, football: After showing flashes of brilliance in his first two seasons as a Hawkeye, the Hamilton, Ohio had a breakout season last fall as he led the Big Ten with 1,537 rushing yards. Johnson also set an Iowa single-season record with 21 rushing touchdowns and averaged a whopping 6.4 yards per carry.

He earned consensus All-America honors, was named the Big Ten Running Back of the Year and was a Doak Walker Award finalist.

He declared for the 2025 NFL draft shortly after the end of the regular season and would go on to be selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round.

Picking between Kaleb Johnson and Jay Higgins for the second spot on the list was no easy task as both were spectacular.

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1. Stephen Buchanan, graduate, wrestling: Persistence, patience and each year getting better on the mat finally paid off as the Loyal, Wisconsin native became the first national champion at 197 pounds in program history since the NCAA implemented the current weight class configuration in 1999. He defeated Josh Barr from Penn State 5-2 in the title match to finish 26-1 overall.

The national title was Buchanan’s first after finishing in third in both 2024 and 2022. He is a four-time All-American and the first wrestler to earn All-America honors at three different schools. He outscored his opponents, 64-15, winning twice by decision, and once via major decision, and twice via technical fall. He scored 24 team points.

His title is the 86th individual NCAA title in school history.

Buchanan started his career at Wyoming before transferring to Oklahoma and then ultimately to Iowa where he finally reached the mountain top.

Also considered: Mike Stein, junior, track and field; Aaron Savary, junior, baseball; Logan Jones, senior, football; Reese Moore, sophomore, baseball; Luke Elkin, senior, football.