The Iowa State Cyclones men’s basketball team is going to look a lot different during the 2026-27 campaign than it did at the end of the 2025-26 season.
Head coach T.J. Otzelberger remains as the leader of the program, but he had to replace two assistant coaches: JR Blount and Kyle Green. Both hired to become head coaches themselves, with the San Diego Toreros and Northern Iowa Panthers, respectively. Taking their places are Tim Buckley and Allan Hanson.
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Four players from the rotation, Tamin Lipsey, Nate Heise, Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson, won’t be back. Otzelberger restocked the roster with five players in the transfer portal, Jaquan Johnson, Ryan Prather Jr., Leon Bond III, Tre Singleton and Taj Manning. Christian Wiggins is a four-star player in the Class of 2026, while Yusef Gray Jr. and Dorian Rinaldo-Komlan are both three-star players.
With so many new faces, it doesn’t come as too much of a surprise that Iowa State is lower in some way-too-early Top 25 rankings. Over at On3, James Fletcher has placed them at No. 19 in his most recent edition.
Iowa State ranked No. 19 in early top 25
Mar 20, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger looks on against the Tennessee State Tigers during the first half of a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. | Jeff Le-Imagn Images
It certainly feels like the Cyclones are being overlooked and underestimated once again in these early rankings. They don’t have the star power and name recognition on the roster compared to last year’s squad, but this roster certainly isn’t lacking for talent.
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It can be argued that this team is actually deeper and more diverse, skill wise, than the historic 2025-26 team. Otzelberger is going to have the luxury of playing two-deep across the board if he chooses.
The skill sets of the players brought in via the transfer portal help address weaknesses as well. They have some more size at the forward spots and Singleton and Manning, who provide rebounding and toughness on the interior.
Johnson looks like an ideal Lipsey replacement in the backcourt, and Bond should fit seamlessly into the Heise role as a versatile wing.
Iowa State bringing back half of its rotation
Mar 27, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Killyan Toure (27) moves the ball in the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers during a Sweet Sixteen game of the Midwest Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Don’t forget, Iowa State did a great job retaining talent as well. Killyan Toure, Jamarion Batemon and Dominykas Pleta are all back for their sophomore years. Blake Buchanan returned for Year 2, his senior campaign in collegiate basketball.
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Integrating that much new talent and figuring out roles for new coaches won’t be easy, but Otzelberger has proven time and time again that his system works. Anyone he has brought in, whether it be on the sidelines or roster-wise, has fit and helped elevate the team to new levels.
This is a group that has thrived in the underdog role and is in a position to do so again once the regular season rolls around.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/iowa-state as Iowa State Basketball Being Overlooked in Way-Too-Early Top 25.
