During his sophomore year, the pressure caught up with him.

“There were some times I wasn’t playing, and I went through a really bad slump my sophomore year. I was really struggling mentally. I couldn’t sleep and I was anxious and kind of got jittery all the time.”

His anxiety affected his focus in class, made sleep difficult, and drained his energy during games.

“For a long time, it was hard for me to sleep. With the workload on my body, I really needed that sleep to perform, so there was a stretch of games where I was really tired and couldn’t do the things I normally do,” Sandfort said. “These feelings come and go in waves. Some days are good, and some are really, really tough.”

That struggle pushed him to seek help, something he had long feared because of stigma.

“You don’t want to talk to anybody about it to protect your manhood. As Division I athletes, you want to act like you’re a tough guy.”

When teammate Patrick McCaffrey took a leave of absence around the same time, it opened the door for Sandfort to find help too. Patrick’s public statement started conversations among teammates, brought them closer, and inspired Sandfort to reach out to University of Iowa therapists and, for the first time, to his parents—both former collegiate athletes.

His mom had already raised concerns, but opening up to his dad was transformational.

“I found out my dad was taking anxiety medication, and he became the biggest advocate, and we would talk about it all the time. I just wish I would've known that earlier, but he helped me so much through, you know, everything that I had to deal with in college.”

Sandfort also began taking medication for anxiety. Combined with the support of friends, family, teammates, and his faith, it helped him manage his mental health more effectively. As he entered his junior year, he took on a leadership role, and with it, more attention from the media and fans.

“Every interaction is super focused on, from the way you interact with people on the bench during games to how you interact with fans and when you see them at a restaurant. Everyone talks about it and everyone labels you ‘nice guy,’ ‘bad guy,’ ‘good teammate,’ ‘bad teammate,’” he said.

Early in his career, he tried to curate a perfect public image. But over time, he learned that authenticity was a healthier, more sustainable approach.

“At the end of the day, the most important thing I learned through the entirety of my career was just to be myself in every single situation. There’s so many eyes and it can be so hard to manage your image that you just have to be yourself and let it take care of itself.”

After his junior season, Sandfort faced a major decision: return to Iowa or enter the 2024 NBA Draft. In just 19 days, he visited 11 cities for workouts. The pressure to perform at each stop, and to live up to his projected draft stock, weighed on him.

“There was an expectation at some points last year, I was supposed to be a first-round pick, so I was always trying to live up to that. From the way I showed up at workouts to the way I did everything—it just consumed me.”

He ultimately returned to Iowa for one final season. But that senior season did not go as planned.

“I came back with huge expectations and was supposed to do all these great things and, you know, got hurt pretty bad before the year.”

Sandfort suffered a broken wrist, a dislocated left shoulder, and torn labrums in both shoulders. Despite playing every game, practicing from the sidelines and competing at far less than full strength was mentally taxing.

“I was always kind of playing at 50%, and when that happens and you can't work out all the time and you can't shoot, you kinda have to rediscover who you are. It was tough on me. I watched practice and wanted to lead from the sideline but almost felt like my identity was stripped from me at that point.”

Social media criticism made things worse. In the game against Washington State, where he played through a broken wrist, fan backlash was especially harsh.

“I didn’t play very well, and people were brutal on me. When you have your identity so tied up in it, it’s really hard to read that stuff because it makes you feel like less of a person and less worthy.”

That season brought his mental health challenges back into focus.

“I thought I had it figured out, but this last year it came back, and it hit me hard. I started on anxiety medication just to help calm down a little bit because I’m someone who feels all the emotions all the time.”

The Hawkeyes finished 17-16 and missed the NCAA Tournament. But through a difficult season, Sandfort found growth beyond the game.

“I learned so much about separating my identity from that and being able to come home after a bad game or tough practice and just still be happy with who I am.”

Now, with his college career behind him, Sandfort reflects on the expectations he carried—from his childhood dreams to his senior year in a Hawkeye jersey.

“It wasn’t always as fulfilling as my 5-year-old self thought it would be playing on TV every day.”

“The hardest thing with expectations is it almost feels impossible to be proud of yourself. It’s like a moving goal post. You do one thing, and you should be proud, but then you have to do the next,” he said. “My freshman year we won the Big Ten Championship, so now we need to win the national championship. Then I need to start. Then once I start, I need to be All-Big Ten. Then once I’m All-Big Ten, I need to be an All-American. So you’re never happy. There’s a fine line there—you need to stay hungry and strive for more, but you also need to relax and have perspective and know what you have done is cool.”

During his time at Iowa, Sandfort accomplished incredible things. He earned Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, Third-Team All-Big Ten, and led the Hawkeyes in scoring in both the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons. While the national championship he had hoped for eluded him, he turns towards his 2025 NBA Draft preparations with a renewed perspective, appreciating not just his personal accomplishments on the court, but the time he spent with his teammates as well.

“I did do so many good things in my career that, you know… you have to have that perspective or, like I said, you'll never be proud of yourself. That's something I've really improved on, because when I look back on my career, all I can really remember is being around my teammates and some of the good things that happened.”

Sandfort credits his family, teammates, the University of Iowa’s mental health resources, and his faith for helping him through. He also credits Caitlin Clark for helping normalize mental health support.

“I had heard that Caitlin Clark had started using [sports psychology resources] and that kind of helped me get started because I was nervous to start. So that was pretty cool. Then I heard some of my teammates were using it too, so when I became a leader on the team, I told the guys that I was using it.”

His final message: nobody has it all figured out—and no one should be judged for what they’re going through.

“When you see people like me or high-level athletes or performers, you always think they have it all figured out, and sometimes it feels like the opposite. I should be satisfied and happy with my life, but the expectations just continue to increase as you gain more popularity. Everybody struggles and everybody has their own battles. Never judge anybody for what they’re going through. I feel like I was judged so much, and having people that are special to you around you is of the utmost importance.”

While like any person, he may not have it all figured out, his experiences throughout his college career have set him on a more stable foundation for the next chapter in his life. Now, with the support of his loved ones and a healthier perspective, Sandfort is ready to chase his dream of playing in the NBA.