Iowa Class 4A Mid-Season Title Favorites: Council Bluffs Lincoln

Eliot Clough February 1, 2026 @ 01:19 PM

Kicking off a series of at least three schools per class that have the best chance at winning the state title. We begin with Iowa's largest schools, Class 4A.   <a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/01/iowa-class-4a-mid-season-favorites-cedar-falls/">Iowa Class 4A Mid-Season Title Favorites: Cedar Falls</a>   <a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/01/iowa-class-4a-mid-season-title-favorites-dowling-catholic/">Iowa Class 4A Mid-Season Title Favorites: Dowling Catholic</a>   <a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/01/iowa-class-4a-mid-season-title-favorites-dubuque-senior/">Iowa Class 4A Mid-Season Title Favorites: Dubuque Senior</a>   <a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/01/iowa-class-4a-mid-season-title-favorites-waukee-northwest/">Iowa Class 4A Mid-Season Title Favorites: Waukee Northwest</a>   The Case for the Lynx   A boys program from the Council Bluffs area hasn't won a state championship in quite a while. Lincoln hasn't reached Des Moines since 2021, when Creighton guard Josh Dix was a senior. If there's a time for that to change, it may be this year for the Lynx.   Led by sophomore star and 6-foot-7 forward, [player_tooltip player_id='2523932' first='Kalan' last='Steinbeck'], Lincoln is 15-1 at this point in the season, with their only loss coming at the hands of Bellevue West in Nebraska. In the state of Iowa, they're undefeated. Much of the success has been thanks to their second-year scoring leader, Steinbeck, who is putting up 15.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. He's scoring at a relatively efficient clip, too, as he's shooting 86.4% from the free throw line and 44.9% from three on over 100 attempts. Steinbeck plays on the 3SSb circuit in the summer, representing Nebraska-based ETG Midwest, and playing against some of the best high school competition the country has to offer.   Three other members of the squd for the Lynx score in double figures, and add some positional flexibility for the Lynx, too.   First up is [player_tooltip player_id='2366206' first='Jeremiah' last='Slaughter'], a 6-foot-2 junior guard that is averaging 14.4 points per contest, also playing efficiently. Shooting 40.7% on just over 90 attempts from three and making 82.5% of his shots at the free throw line, Slaughter may play a different position than Steinbeck, but he's putting up similar -- and efficient -- numbers. In addition to scoring, Slaughter adds 3.6 assists and 1.8 steals per contest.   [player_tooltip player_id='2886791' first='Jake' last='Babbitt'], a 6-foot-5 guard and the veteran of the group as a senior, puts up 11.5 points and matches Steinbeck's team-leading 5.9 rebounds per contest. Another sophomore starter and key contributor for the Lynx is 6-foot-4 guard, [player_tooltip player_id='2917306' first='CJ' last='Mosala']. A classmate of Steinbeck, he puts up 10.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per contest. He's shooting a whopping 54.2% from three this season, making 26-of-48 triples.   Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2617477' first='Braylin' last='De Jager'] rounds out the top five scorers for the Lynx, adding 8.8 points per game and taking care of the ball, posting a 3.67 assist-to-turnover ration and shooting 49.7% from three.   Yet to face any eastern Iowa squads or teams from the Des Moines Metro, the playoffs will likely be where Lincoln sees its greatest in-state test this season, but they've got the pieces to compete and reach state, if anything else. Plus, with their youth, they'll be competitive for the next two seasons.

Kicking off a series of at least three schools per class that have the best chance at winning the state title. We begin with Iowa's largest schools, Class 4A.