Iowa Basketball Recruiting: Hawkeyes Land 2022 Big Man Riley Mulvey

While the Iowa Hawkeyes have all their attention on an impending matchup with the Grand Canyon Antelopes in the NCAA Tournament this weekend, Fran McCaffery and his coaching staff can never stop recruiting. That was one of his promises when he took over the helm from his predecessor who was less inclined on the recruiting trail.

Now, those efforts continue to pay off as the Hawkeyes add another big man to the fold as they look to a future beyond this season when Luka Garza departs. The Hawkeyes will need to rely on current players Jack Nunge and Josh Ogundele, as well as a potential foray into the transfer market, for next season, but they got a big boost for the 2022 season on Monday as class of ‘22 big man Riley Mulvey announced his commitment to Iowa.

Mulvey is a big time get in a number of ways. The most obvious is he is simply physically very big. Entering his junior year, he’s listed at 6’11” and 230. As big as he is, he may not be done yet and is certainly still filling out.

Mulvey’s AAU coach, Jim Hart of the Albany City Rocks told Syracuse.com “His body has just transformed. He went from tall to taller to tall and thicker. He’s got a basketball body and he really moves well.”

The Rotterdarm, New York product averaged 12.0 points, 12.4 rebounds and 6.0 blocks for the Albany Academy Cadets as a sophomore. This season, he’s transferred to St. Thomas More in Oakdale, Connecticut.

As a player, Mulvey is a classic big man. He’s a great rebounder given his natural length and perhaps a better leaper than Iowa has seen out of its big men in recent years. He’s a natural rim protector given the combination of those two gifts and his propensity for timing jumps. At the next level, he’ll look continue to fill out to hold up against Big Ten post players and extend his range to be a threat from the outside. With his size, leaping ability and already budding talent with the ball in his hand, the upside to Mulvey’s game is tremendous.

Mulvey comes from a long line of athletes in upstate New York. His father played soccer at Siena while his uncle Jack is in the Siena Basketball Hall of Fame. He’s also got a trio of older brothers who were all in the 6’7” - 6’8” range. Mulvey himself actually got his start playing soccer.

As it stands today, the raw talent has garnered Mulvey offers from Syracuse, Penn State, Virginia Tech, UMass, Siena, Penn, Yale, Albany, Bryant. As just a sophomore, he also had early interest from Michigan, Notre Dame, Maryland and Kansas.

Look for his recruiting rankings to soon start mirroring his offer list. While Rivals has Mulvey unranked currently, Prep Hoops lists him at #184 nationally while 247 Sports has him at 86th in the country and 226th in their composite ranks.

Mulvey becomes the first commitment in Iowa’s class of 2022. The Hawkeyes are set to have two scholarship openings in the class with Connor McCaffery and Joe Wieskamp set to graduate after next season.

Welcome aboard Riley Mulvey!

Riley Mulvey

Position: C
Ht: 6’11”
Wt: 230
Hometown: Rotterdam, NY (St. Thomas More)
Stars: Rivals - NR, 247 Sports - 3