After a year with the Iowa football program, former Highland standout athlete Zack Lasek revealed on Thursday that he has entered the NCAA transfer portal, planning to switch sports.

“I’d like to thank the Iowa Football program for the opportunity I was given to compete at a high level, but this past fall I stepped away from the team with hopes of resuming my basketball career,” Lasek said in a tweet.

“After giving it much thought, I have made the decision to enter the transfer portal with the intention to find somewhere to play basketball.”

Lasek led the Huskie basketball team in scoring during each of his four seasons at Highland, finishing with 1,671 career points. He averaged 19.1 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per contest over his final three seasons.

Lasek became the second member of his family to join a Division I football program when he announced his commitment to Iowa in January of 2020. His older brother Trey Lasek is a defensive back at the University of Northern Iowa.

Zack Lasek joined the Hawkeye football program as a preferred walk on.

“While a part of the Iowa football program I really enjoyed the relationships I was able to build and the knowledge I gained,” Lasek said.

“Through my time there I gained a whole new perspective of nutrition and preparation for athletics which I really appreciated. But also with that, I realized that I did not love football enough to want to drastically change myself and become a power-five football player.

“That whole experience kind of led me to realize I missed basketball and so I left the team and started getting back into basketball shape, and I’m at a point now where I’m confident enough I can compete at a collegiate level and did not want to miss my window.”

The Iowa roster listed the defensive lineman at 250 pounds during his freshman season. Lasek is now around 6-foot-8, 225 pounds – and has four years of eligibility remaining.