Iowa men’s basketball’s Tate Sage makes early splash off the bench

IOWA CITY — Just like the majority of Iowa men’s basketball’s 2025-26 roster, Tate Sage knew early on he’d follow head coach Ben McCollum to Iowa.

He just did it as a high school senior.

“I was going to go to Drake and then he came here,” Sage said. “And I was, like, ‘Well, bigger stage. Absolutely, I’m up for it.’”

Sage has come off the Hawkeye bench in all nine games this season, helping to facilitate some defensive prowess in Iowa’s 8-1 (0-1 Big Ten) start. He’s also one of four freshman McCollum brought in.

Heading into Iowa’s nonconference matchup against No. 4 Iowa State, Sage has played at least 11 minutes in all but two games. McCollum said during the preseason he’d been impressed with this rookie class -- it was just a matter of how soon they’d be game ready.

For Sage, it didn’t take long at all.

“Once they get to a point where we feel like, ‘Okay, these guys are ready and if they make one mistake, we're not going to yank them,’” McCollum said during the team’s media day. “Then that's probably the time that they'll stay in the game consistently.”

The 6-foot-7 guard recorded his first double-figure performance in conference play against Maryland, scoring 12 points and dishing out three assists against the Terrapins.

Sage got his first dunk against a Big Ten foe, too, smashing the ball down during an early Hawkeye run in the second half.

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He’s got a spark in his game, and Sage admits it. The Hawkeyes already rely heavily on guard Bennett Stirtz, but McCollum has said Iowa’s still trying to find the player behind Stirtz and even a third player to follow.

One of the biggest things McCollum has noticed with Sage is how the freshman is reading his opponents better. The Hawkeyes had 18 turnovers against Maryland, including 12 steals, with Sage’s coming in the second half.

“Rather than having to have the ball in his hands at all times, he is able to play off people,” McCollum said. “And then he got more consistent, got better defensively, and he’s got a little bit of an edge to him as well.”

That “edge” is something McCollum pointed out to Sage, and something he’s starting to learn about himself. Sage wasn’t highly recruited in high school, earning a three-star rating as the No. 2 Oklahoma recruit last year.

Then McCollum got the job at Iowa, and the offer from Drake carried over into one at Iowa — that was it. Just as familiar of a story as the former Drake players following their head coach.

Multiple Drake Bulldogs-turned-Hawkeyes have said McCollum’s belief in his players is why they chose to follow their coach. With Sage, there’s also the realization that the rookie could find his way into consistent, meaningful minutes with a Big Ten program — whether it be this season or later in his collegiate career.

“He’s definitely changed me, made me a little more competitive, more edgy,” Sage said. “But being underecruited, I didn’t care about that in high school. Once the opportunity with Coach McCollum came up, I kind of realized I can’t really turn this down.”

Iowa faces No. 4 Iowa State on Thursday night, creating another benchmark for the Hawkeyes to display what kind of team Iowa can be. It’s also the chance for Sage to make more plays in his young career, and be the edge Iowa could need throughout this season.

“He’s going to continue to grow and develop, and you can kind of see that out there by hitting big shots in the first half, (making) cuts,” Cam Manyawu said. “I think he just makes a lot of big plays for us.”

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