Iowa Basketball Player Previews: Tate Sage

While football season is in full swing, it doesn’t mean we can’t dabble in some basketball prep ahead of the first tip-off on November 3rd! Next up is a guy whose best game came at the best time: Tate Sage!

(Our regularly established timing will continue tomorrow)

#24 – Tate Sage, G, 6’7″, 210 lbs
2nd year; Weatherford, OK; Weatherford

2025-26: 37 games, 6.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 0.7% APG, 49.3% FG, 38.9% 3P, 71.1% FT, 16.1 MPG

Early in Tate Sage’s Iowa career, he was among the first guys off the bench. It was notable at the time because hot shot transfer Brendan Hausen was expected to be a primary sub. Sage didn’t do much in his time against Robert Morris but simply getting on the court felt like a big deal given the freshman was plucked from relative obscurity.

Throughout last season, Sage flashed with very few freshman moments. He reached double digit scoring in 8 games, with a 19-point outing against Nebraska when helped Iowa advance to the Elite Eight for first time in nearly 40 years. He added 8 rebounds & 3 assists with Stan Van Gundy consistently gushing over his ability. In Iowa’s stab at the Final Four, he was a bright spot alongside Stirtz as he went 2/3 from deep and made all 4 of his free throws.

In a way, how he had to help the Hawkeyes was easy last year. Come in off the bench, hustle, play sound basketball, take open shots and hit them at a good clip. He surpassed his recruiting profile by a wide margin and it was easy to see what Ben McCollum saw in him. He might have a “player of the year” type of trajectory at Drake.

But the Big Ten is a different animal. Going from bench player to likely starter is a huge jump. With the Hawks losing 50% of their shots & scoring from last year, he’s going to have to occupy some of that vacuum after being 8th in FGA on last year’s team. With no Bennett Stirtz, he’ll also have to adjust his role a bit as more of a secondary ball handler, something Ben McCollum views he is capable of, given some midseason comments.

While he did not have the freshman season of a fellow diamond in the rough in Aaron White, he could see a similar career progression play out. Iowa will need him to perform well if they look to build upon last season’s success.