Class of 2025 forward Badara Diakite decommits from Iowa basketball, reopens recruitment

IOWA CITY — Class of 2025 forward Badara Diakite has decommitted from Iowa basketball and is reopening his recruitment due to the program's recent coaching change, he told the Register on Friday.

Diakite originally committed to the Hawkeyes in November.

Diakite, who attends South Kent School (Connecticut), is ranked 161st nationally in the 2025 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite. Diakite, listed at 6-foot-10 and 190 pounds, is considered a versatile forward. Diakite has a skill set geared toward the more positionless, modern game.

Diakite’s visit to Iowa in October included attending “Hawkeyes from Downtown,” which served as the unofficial kickoff to the 2024-25 season. Roughly one month after that visit to Iowa, Diakite announced his commitment to the Hawkeyes over other finalists Boston College and Washington.

Diakite is now the third of three high school pledges in Iowa's 2025 class to reopen his recruitment following the departure of Fran McCaffery as the Hawkeyes' head coach.

Joshua Lewis, who became one of the top prospects the program has landed in the modern recruiting era with his commitment in January, has since decommitted from the Hawkeyes. So did Dezmon Briscoe, a 3-star recruit from Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis. Briscoe said he will still consider Iowa as an option.

With Diakite's decision, Iowa currently doesn't have any high school prospects committed in the 2025 recruiting class.

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com