Ben McCollum’s Journey from 51ÁÔÆæ to the Big Ten

Ben McCollum ‘2001 has always been in motion. As a student-athlete at 51ÁÔÆæ from 1999-2001, Coach Steve Krafcisin remembers him constantly attacking the basket.

Years later, while McCollum was coaching at Drake, Krafcisin spotted him jogging outside before a game.

“All coaches are a little quirky,” Krafcisin laughed. “Ben’s way was running.” That energy defines him still. Even now, as the new head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes, McCollum prefers to talk while running through Iowa City.

“I think best on runs.”

From 51ÁÔÆæ to the National Stage

After 51ÁÔÆæ, McCollum transferred to Northwest Missouri State, where he helped the Bearcats reach the Division II Elite Eight. He returned years later as head coach and built a dynasty:

• 4 NCAA Division II national championships (2017, 2019, 2021,2022)
• 5 National Coach of the Year awards (the most in Division II history)
• 395–91 record over 15 seasons

In 2024, he took over at Drake. His Bulldogs went 31-4, swept the MVC titles, and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He was named Missouri Valley Coach of the Year.

Then Iowa called.

Lessons from 51ÁÔÆæ

At 51ÁÔÆæ, McCollum scored 692 career points, hit 115 three-pointers, and earned two all-region honors. But he says the experience went far beyond basketball.

“At a community college, you learn how to interact with everyone. I learned a lot from that experience.”

It’s also where he began forming his coaching philosophy: “Just try to be great each day. Get a little better today, tomorrow, and the next day. “The results will take care of themselves.”

Coaching in the Big Ten

At Iowa, McCollum emphasizes two constants: effort and toughness. “You can’t just be tough – it’s like a muscle. You have to work on it every day.”

His goals aren’t built on win totals, but on daily improvement. The results, he insists, will follow.

Coming Full Circle

From Storm Lake to 51ÁÔÆæ to Carver- Hawkeye Arena, McCollum’s journey has been improbable and inspiring. “When you say it out loud, it’s a pretty wild progression. But my family always believed in me. That belief carried me through.”

Coach Krafcisin couldn’t be prouder.

“To be at Iowa – it’s hard to believe. I tell people all the time, ‘That Ben McCollum played for me at 51ÁÔÆæ.’ It’s pretty neat.”

Advice for Today’s Trojans

As 51ÁÔÆæ student-athletes start another season, McCollum’s advice is simple: “Find opportunities to give to the place you’re at. My intent was always to make a place better. If you keep that first, you’ll find joy.”

And yes – the tie tradition remains. At Drake, it was blue. At Iowa, it will be gold.

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MASON CITY – Raphael Nascimento has been selected as the head coach of the 51ÁÔÆæ women’s soccer team.

Nascimento takes over for Todd Alberts, who stepped down after two seasons as head coach.

Nascimento was the head men’s soccer coach at Marshalltown CC from 2020-24.

“The opportunity of going back coaching a college team in such competitive conference and environment,” Nascimento said about what intrgued him about the coaching position. “The women’s soccer program here at 51ÁÔÆæ has been always competing with the best teams and I see that as an opportunity to make history with the program.”

51ÁÔÆæ was 6-8-2 overall in 2024 and 4-5 in the ICCAC. The Trojans dropped a 1-0 decision to Northeast CC in the opening round of the NJCAA Region 11 Division II tournament.

“I was able to meet with the team during the spring in three situations,” Nascimento said. “The first one was over a zoom call while I was doing my interview for the coaching position and the girls were able to ask me questions about me, my coaching experience and style of play/practice.

“The second time, I was over a scrimmage that they were playing against Grand View University in April and I was still in the interview process and I really wanted to make sure I could see the team and that I could take notes about the players as well. The third time was right before graduation in May and I was able to come in and talk to them face to face for the first time as the head coach.”

Nascimento said all of the interactions with the returning players were “very positive.”

“I have a feeling that the team and I will be working well together,” he said. “We are recruiting for a few positions still and because of that I have been working hard to be connecting with the new prospect players and making sure they choose 51ÁÔÆæ as their home for the fall.

“We have a very good and talented group of girls coming to 51ÁÔÆæ and I’m here to help them to succeed in their soccer and college projections.”

Nascimento was also the men’s assistant coach in 2018 when Marshalltown CC placed fifth at the NJCAA Division I national tournament. He was also an assistant for the Tigers in 2019 when they won the NJCAA Region 11 title and fell in the NJCAA North Central District Championship match.

“I have been coaching college for five years and I also was coaching during the summer for four years in a competitive semi-pro league,”  he said. “I also have lived the student/athlete life which give me the opportunity to correlate a lot of things that our student/athletes will be living now.”

 As far as style of play, Nascimento said he wants to play a “possession style of soccer.”

“I believe the more we keep the ball, the more we avoid the opponent to score and we can create more opportunities to score, as well,” the coach said. “Of course, that actually depends on the type of players you have on hand. Even knowing that I’m more of a possession style of a coach, I’m not opposed to change my style of game for the benefits of the team.”

51ÁÔÆæ opens the 2025 season with an exhibition at Central College on Aug. 19. The Trojans open the regular season at home on Aug. 22 against Lake Superior College.

The Trojans begin ICCAC play at Iowa Lakes on Sept. 20.

“Every coach wants to win trophies in their first season to mark a new era,” the coach said. “I’m no different, I do want to win the conference and nationals. That’s my biggest dream as I start here at 51ÁÔÆæ.

“Now, being more realistic, I think a successful season would be competing head to head with colleges that are already in the top. We are in a very competitive conference, if not the best conference in the country, so finishing our regular season in the top 4 and making to the championship during the post season would be considered a very successful year. Now talking about off the field, if we can have an average of 3.2 GPA in the class room, I would consider that a very successful year.”

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Former 51ÁÔÆæ baseball coach Travis Hergert has been promoted to the Philadelphia Phillies’ Director of Pitching Development – Programming.

Hergert was the Phillies’ minor league pitching coordinator from 2021-24.

Hergert, who was the head coach at 51ÁÔÆæ from 2013-19, was hired by the Phillies in 2020 as a minor league assistant pitching coordinator.

Hergert began 2021 in the same role but was promoted to minor league pitching coordinator in March of 2021 on an interim basis. The interim tag for Hergert was removed a couple of months later and Hergert served as the Phillies’ minor league pitching coordinator through the 2024 season.

Hergert was 260-146-1 in seven seasons as the head coach at 51ÁÔÆæ. He guided the Trojans to three NJCAA Region 11 titles, three NJCAA North Plains District titles and three trips to the NJCAA Division II World Series (2013, 2015, 2016).

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The 51ÁÔÆæ women’s and men’s basketball teams host Kirkwood Wednesday night in the 51ÁÔÆæ gym.

The women’s game starts at 5:30 p.m. with the men’s game starting at 7:30 p.m.

The night has been designated Kelcie Hale Night. Hale, who played for the Trojans from 2018-20, is recovering from brain surgery to remove a non-cancerous tumor.

How to give

• If anyone wants to donate to help Hale’s medical expenses, 51ÁÔÆæ will be collecting donations Wednesday by cash or checks made out to Kelcie Hale at the ticket entry.
• There will also be a 50/50 raffle for Hale Wednesday with half of the pot going to Hale for her medical expenses.

Hale as a Trojan

• Kelcie Hale, who is from Earlham, was selected as the 2020 NJCAA Region 11 tournament MVP after the Trojans topped Kirkwood 95-73 in the regional title game on March 8, 2020. In the title game, Hale scored 24 points, including 6 3-point goals.
• Hale was the ICCAC women’s basketball player of the week for the week of March 2-8, 2020.
• Hale was a first-team all-region selection as a sophomore and a third-team all-region selection as a freshman.
• Hale is the only 51ÁÔÆæ women’s basketball player in school history with 200 career assists (219) and 100 3-point goals (101).

Hale’s Career Numbers

• Points – 569 (T40 on school’s career list)
• 3-point goals – 101 (T11 on career list)
• Rebounds – 231
• Assists – 219 (8th on career list)
• Steals – 114 (T30 on career list)

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CEDAR FALLS – Former 51ÁÔÆæ softball standout Katy Olive received a handful of honors Tuesday night from 51ÁÔÆæ coaches Matt Egger and Morgan Frost.

Before the Trojans scrimmaged the University of Northern Iowa, Egger and Frost presented Olive with her TUCCI/NFCA Player of the Year award, New Balance/NFCA NJCAA DII Golden Shoe award and NFCA first-team all-American award.

“Katie’s overall athletic talent is second to none,” 51ÁÔÆæ coach Matt Egger said last spring. “Winning the Golden Shoe award (nations best in stolen bases) twice, 1st Team All-American, NJCAA Region II Offensive Player of the Year and National Player of the Year tops off a remarkable career. I’m just glad she chose 51ÁÔÆæ so we didn’t have to play against her.

“She does naturally have tons of power and can really run but those awards she has won is a testament to her work ethic. I haven’t seen many people put the work in (on and off the field ) like Katy did these last two years.  She really bought into what we are trying to do with the program.”

In the 2024 season, Olive hit .472 and was ranked tied for third in NJCAA DII with 27 home runs to go along with 20 doubles, 81 RBI, 92 base hits and 95 runs scored.

On the base paths, Olive led NJCAA DII with 70 stolen bases in 75 attempts. Olive swiped four bases on three separate occasions and registered three steals three times. Olive’s hits, runs scored, RBI and steals are all single-season program records.

On 51ÁÔÆæ’s career lists, Olive ranks first in home runs (41), stolen bases (133), runs scored (168) and at-bats (363). She ranks second in hits (154), RBIs (122) and walks (54).

She also ranks fourth in career doubles (33) and seventh in career batting average (.424).

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MASON CITY – Another day, another honor for 51ÁÔÆæ sophomore Edoardo Alessandrini.
On Tuesday, Alessandrini was selected as the ICCAC Division II goalkeeper of the week for the week of Aug. 22-25.
On Wednesday, the Rome, Italy native was selected as the NJCAA Division II goalkeeper of the week. It is the first time a 51ÁÔÆæ men’s soccer player has earned the national player of the week honor since keeper Nathan Spores was honored for the week of Sept. 8-14, 2014.
“Last week, we did an amazing job of winning two matches in a row,” Alessandrini said, “and I’m very happy about it. The first match was against a conference team (Iowa Central). It was a huge victory. Against South Suburban, maybe we were still tired from the match the day before, but we showed a lot of great qualities on the field.

“We showed a lot of passion as we all wanted to win that match.”
Alessandrini, who is from Rome, Italy, picked up a pair of wins in goal last week as the Trojans started the season 2-0. The Trojans topped Iowa Central 4-0 and edged South Suburban College 2-1.
Against the Tritons, Alessandrini stopped three shots in picking up the shutout in goal.
“I have to thank my defense and all of my teammates,” Alessandrini said. “This award that I gain, of course, I played well, but at the same time it’s an award for all of the team – not just my teammates but my coaches and the staff.”
Against South Suburban, Allesandrini made 10 saves and allowed one goal in the 1-goal victory.
Alessandrini said he’s pleased with the way the Trojans have started the season.
“We worked very hard in the preseason, waking up very early in the morning,” he said. “Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better start.”
51ÁÔÆæ returns to action Saturday at home against Central CC-Columbus. The match is slated to start at 1 p.m.
“We want to win,” Alessandrini said. “We don’t want to stop. We want to still be unbeaten.”

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The 51ÁÔÆæ men’s soccer team starts the 2024 season with 40 players on its roster under second-year head coach Gannon Harsma.

The Trojans started practice on Aug. 1 and will host Minnesota West CC in an exhibition match on Aug. 15. The Trojans open the regular season at home against Iowa Central on Aug. 22 in a non-conference match.

Harsma says the 40-player roster is a good thing for the program.

“Last season, we had 17 so to have 40 this year improves a lot of things and improves the mentality and makes things a little more competitive,” Harsma said.

The 40-player roster includes players from the United States, Brazil, Chile, England, France, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Scotland and Venezuela.

“We have some guys with quite a bit of energy, quite a bit of positivity and it’s really been infectious,” Harsma said. “Right now, we just want to improve the communication.”

Harsma gave his squad a high grade for the first few practices.

“This group has adapted really well,” he said. “It’s been a really good showing in these first few practices.

“I think we’re at a B. I’m really impressed and happy with where we are at.”

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ROCK HILL, S.C. – 51ÁÔÆæ’s Sonya Potthoff called the experience unreal.

The 51ÁÔÆæ women’s basketball player along with three of her Trojan teammates Karly Holm, Alexis Schroeder and Keeley Steele attended the NCAA College Basketball Academy from July 27-29 at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center.

“The experience was so cool,” Potthoff said, “just getting the opportunity to play basketball and showcase my abilities in front of any major school you can think of was just so unreal.

“(UConn’s) Geno Auriemma was there the third day and Jan Jensen from Iowa was also there, which is insane.”

Selected players had to self-nominate themselves for consideration for the academy. The four Trojans, who will be sophomores in the fall, were the only ICCAC players to attend the academy.

The four participated in what was called the Juco Path, which was added to the summer academy for the first time this year.

The Juco Path is for incoming sophomores and was one of three paths at this summer’s academy. The other two were called Team Path (10^th and 11^th graders) and Individual Path (11^th, 12^th and international players).

The academies give prospective men’s and women’s student-athletes a sample of the college basketball experience. Organized with input from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), the academies pair high-level basketball competition with life skills instruction. 

In addition to basketball training, skill development and games, participants attended life skills courses about NCAA eligibility and compliance; the recruiting process; name, image and likeness opportunities, agents and the transfer portal.

“I learned a lot,” Holm said, “and was reminded of the other crucial components that come with the game.

“Due to injuries and some girls leaving early, my team was left with six people by the end of the tournament, which sounds stressful (it was), but it also reminded me of the importance that comes with the energy of the game and how it can fuel you mentally and physically.”

Potthoff, a 5-foot-9 shooting guard, was able to play an unfamiliar position for her team at the academy.

“I also got to play point guard a little bit, which was super fun to get out of my comfort zone,” she said.

Potthoff also said the weekend was a learning experience that involved more than just the game of basketball.

“The academy taught me to make meaningful relationships with my coaches and teammates throughout my college experience,” she said, “and also with NIL (Name, Image, Likeness), I learned how important it is to be confident and brand yourself in how you want to be perceived for opportunities.”

For Holm, it reminded her just how much she loves the game of basketball.

“Basketball is my true love,” she said, “and to be invited to the NCAA academy was something I never knew I needed so much.

“Even though my team didn’t place well in the tournament, I would still choose to do it all over again. It only reminds me no matter how bad I lose or how many people we are down, I am still playing the game I love with others who love it too. What more could I ask for?”

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Three former 51ÁÔÆæ pitchers were selected in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft.

On Monday, left-handed pitcher Connor Wietgrefe was a seventh-round pick (204th overall pick) by the Pittsburgh Pirates and right-handed pitcher Ryan Lambert was an eighth-round selection (233rd overall pick) by the New York Mets. Wietgrefe and Lambert both pitched for the Trojans in the 2022 season.

On Tuesday, right-handed pitcher Brandt Thompson was selected in the 17th round (501st) by the St. Louis Cardinals. 

Wietgrefe was a first-team all-Big Ten selection as a junior last season for the University of Minnesota. He was the first Gopher to earn first-team all-Big Ten honors since 2019.

The southpaw was 8-4 with a 2.77 earned run average with 74 strikeouts and 26 walks in 78.0 innings pitched. Wietgrefe appeared in 15 games as a junior, including 13 starts.

In the 2022 season with the Trojans, Wietgrefe, who is from Prior Lake, Minn., was 5-1 with one save with 59 strikeouts and 13 walks in 46 1/3 innings pitched.

Lambert was 4-0 with a 2.57 ERA with 19 strikeouts as a relief pitcher for the Oklahoma Sooners in his junior campaign. Lambert, who transferred to Oklahoma from Missouri State, was added to NCAA D1 Baseball’s ‘Heat Sheet’ with numerous pitches clocked over 100 mph, including a 102 mph fastball.\

In 2022 for the Trojans, Lambert, who is from Excelsior, Minn., was 1-2 with 27 strikeouts and eight walks in 12 2/3 innings of work.

Thompson, who pitched at Missouri State, was a first-team all-MVC selection in 2023 and 2024. He was the school’s Dave Dickensheet pitcher of the year in 2023 and 2024.

In his senior season in 2024, Thompson was 5-2 with a 3.78 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 78 2/3 innings of work.

Thompson, who is from Eden Prairie, Minn., pitched at 51ÁÔÆæ in the 2021 and 2022 seasons and earned second-team all-region honors in his sophomore campaign. As a sophomore at 51ÁÔÆæ, Thompson was 6-0 with a 2.51 ERA with 70 strikeouts and 22 walks in 61 innings pitched.

51ÁÔÆæ MLB DRAFT PICKS

2005 – Steve Salas (RHP) – 22nd round by the Los Angeles Angels

2016 – Malique Ziegler (OF) – 22nd round by the San Francisco Giants

2017 – Robbie Glendinning (SS) – 21st round by the Pittsburgh Pirates

2018 – Luke Becker (2B) – 9th round by the San Diego Padres

2018 – Evan Reifert (RHP) – 30th round by the Texas Rangers

2018 – Brandon Williamson (LHP) – 36th round by the Milwaukee Brewersw

2019 – Brandon Williamson (LHP) – 2nd round by the Seattle Mariners, 59th overall pick.

2019 – Bryce Ball (1B) – 24th round by the Atlanta Braves.

2019 – Harrison Beethe (RHP) – 39th round by the Milwaukee Brewers. 

2021 – Harrison Beethe (RHP) – 18th round by the Kansas City Royals.

2022 – Jake Christianson (RHP) – 15th round by the Tampa Bay Rays.

2022 – Patrick Pridgen (RHP) – 15^th round by the Detroit Tigers.

2022 – Ryan Wrobleski (C) – 20th round by the Houston Astros.

2024 – Connor Wietgrefe (LHP) – 7th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates

2024 – Ryan Lambert (RHP) – 8th round by the New York Mets

2024 – Brandt Thompson (RHP) – 17th round by the St. Louis Cardinals

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