By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Ben McCollum’s pitch to Cooper Koch worked.

McCollum, hired as Iowa’s new men’s basketball coach last week, said he wanted to see the Hawkeyes who had entered the NCAA transfer portal come back, and Koch became the first one to do that on Sunday.

Koch, a 6-foot-8 forward whose first season with the Hawkeyes was limited because of health issues, announced he was withdrawing from the portal and returning to Iowa.

“After speaking with Coach McCollum, I believe his vision for the men’s basketball team is one that aligns with mine,” said Koch in a social media post on Sunday morning. “With that being said, I have decided to withdraw my name from the transfer portal and stay home.”

Koch averaged 4.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 10 games this season. His last game was January 3, when he played 10 minutes in the 116-85 loss at Wisconsin.

“We are excited to have Cooper return to our program next season,” McCollum said in a statement. “I have enjoyed getting to know Cooper over the past week and I feel like he’s going to be a key piece for our team moving forward with his ability to shoot the basketball.”

McCollum had appealed to fans during his introductory press conference on Tuesday to help get the Iowa players in the portal to come back. Three players have already found new homes — Owen Freeman is going to Creighton, Brock Harding is going to TCU, and Riley Mulvey is going to Siena.

Among the players who are still in the portal are guards Josh Dix and Pryce Sandfort, along with forward Ladji Dembele.

“I also want to thank our fans for assisting us in getting Cooper to return,” McCollum said. “We need to continue to push the envelope with Josh (Dix) and Pryce (Sandfort) to let them each know how important they are to Hawkeye Nation.”

Forward Seydou Traore, who averaged 5.9 points and 3 rebounds this season, remains on Iowa’s roster, as does guard Carter Kingsbury, who played in 23 games. Forward Isaiah Johnson-Arigu, who transferred in at midseason, also is on the roster, as are walk-ons Trey Buchanan and Jacob Koch.

Photo: Cooper Koch (8) announced on Sunday he would be withdrawing from the NCAA transfer portal and returning to Iowa. (Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire)