The 2021 State 3A Boys Basketball Champions. Photo by the IHSAA

The Little Hawkeye Conference continues to be regarded as among the best basketball leagues in Iowa, and the 2021 state boys tournament kept that tradition going.

Pella winning their 3A title continued a streak of three straight seasons with a league team atop the class, including Norwalk in 2020 and Oskaloosa in 2019.

The Little Hawkeye Conference has also now had at least two teams qualify for state every season since 2015. At least one school has been in a state finals game every season since 2017 as well, including defending 3A champions Norwalk, who made the jump to 4A this winter, 2019 champions and 2018 runners-up Oskaloosa, and Pella Christian in 2017 finishing 2nd in the Class 2A bracket. According to Power Rankings site BCMoore, the Little Hawkeye finished ranked as the 3rd best conference in the state regardless of class behind the Class 4A CIML league and 3A-4A Mississippi Valley Conference. The Little Hawkeye Conference has been in the top five of those boys basketball standings every season since 2015.

Conference state tournament appearances since 2015:
’21: Pella (3A champs), Dallas Center-Grimes
’20: Norwalk (3A champs), Pella (3A), Pella Christian (2A)
’19: Osky (3A champs), Norwalk (3A 2nd place)
’18: Osky (3A 2nd place), Norwalk (3A)
’17: Pella Christian (2A 2nd place), Pella (3A), DCG (3A), Newton (4A)
’16: Pella (3A 3rd place), Pella Christian (2A 3rd place)
’15: Pella Christian (2A 3rd place), Pella, DCG