Iowa forward Ladji Dembele enters transfer portal ‘while keeping open the option to return’

IOWA CITY — Iowa forward Ladji Dembele is entering the transfer portal, he announced Thursday on social media, “while keeping open the option to return back to Iowa.”

The 6-foot-8 Dembele, from Newark, N.J., played two seasons with the Hawkeyes and has two years of eligibility remaining.

He played all 33 games in 2024-25 and started 21, averaging 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds. Those numbers were 6.6 and 4.6 over the last dozen games of the season, after starting center Owen Freeman had finger surgery and was done playing for the season.

“Thank you for all the memories, experiences and opportunities you’ve given me during my time here,” Dembele said in a social media post. “I am incredibly grateful for the support from my coaches, teammates and the fans.”

This means all four players in Iowa’s 2023 recruiting class are in the portal following head coach Fran McCaffery’s dismissal. Owen Freeman, Brock Harding and Pryce Sandfort are the others.

That’s in addition to three Hawkeyes from other classes who have announced plans to enter the portal — Josh Dix, Riley Mulvey and Cooper Koch. All but one of the 10 Iowa players who averaged at least eight minutes per game in 2024-25 either were seniors or have entered the portal.

The Gazette’s Mike Hlas contributed to this report.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

Sign up for our curated Iowa Hawkeyes athletics newsletter at thegazette.com/hawks.