2025–26 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team

2025–26 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball
2025–26 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 6
Record	23–3 (10–3 Big 12)
Head coach	T. J. Otzelberger (5th season);
Assistant coaches	J.R. Blount; Kyle Green; Nate Schmidt; Erik Crawford; Diante Garrett;
Home arena	Hilton Coliseum

2025–26 Big 12 men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 4 Arizona	11	–	2	.846	24	–	2	.923
No. 2 Houston	11	–	2	.846	23	–	3	.885
No. 6 Iowa State	10	–	3	.769	23	–	3	.885
No. 8 Kansas	10	–	3	.769	19	–	6	.760
No. 13 Texas Tech	9	–	4	.692	19	–	7	.731
No. 23 BYU	7	–	6	.538	19	–	7	.731
UCF	7	–	6	.538	18	–	7	.720
West Virginia	7	–	6	.538	16	–	10	.615
TCU	6	–	7	.462	16	–	10	.615
Cincinnati	6	–	7	.462	14	–	12	.538
Arizona State	5	–	8	.385	13	–	12	.520
Oklahoma State	4	–	9	.308	16	–	10	.615
Colorado	4	–	9	.308	14	–	12	.538
Baylor	3	–	10	.231	13	–	13	.500
Kansas State	2	–	11	.154	11	–	15	.423
Utah	2	–	11	.154	10	–	16	.385

† 2026 Big 12 tournament winner As of February 18, 2026 Rankings from AP poll

The 2025–26 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team represents Iowa State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cyclones are led by T. J. Otzelberger in his fifth season as head coach. They play their home games at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa as members of the Big 12 Conference.

Previous season

The Cyclones finished the 2024–25 season 25–10, 13–7 in Big 12 play to finish in fifth place. As the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 tournament, they defeated the No. 13 seed Cincinnati in the second round before losing in the quarterfinals to No. 4 seed BYU. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as an No. 3 seed in the South region. They defeated 14 seed Lipscomb before losing to No. 6 seed Ole Miss in the second round. On January 13, the Cyclones reached #2 in the AP Poll, which was the highest ranking in program history.

Offseason

Departures

Iowa State departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Dishon Jackson	1	C	6'11"	260	Senior	Oakland, CA	Transferred to Pittsburgh
Demarion Watson	4	G	6'7"	215	Junior	Minneapolis, MN	Transferred to North Texas
Curtis Jones	5	G	6'4"	175	Senior	Minneapolis, MN	Graduated/undrafted in 2025 NBA draft; signed with the Denver Nuggets
Keshon Gilbert	10	G	6'4"	190	Senior	St. Louis, MO	Graduated
Kayden Fish	11	F	6'6"	250	Freshman	Kansas City, MO	Transferred to Ball State
Nojus Indrusaitis	15	G	6'5"	200	Freshman	Chicago, IL	Transferred to Pittsburgh
Conrad Hawley	23	F	6'5"	220	Senior	Raymore, MO	Walk-on; graduated
JT Rock	30	C	7'1"	245	Freshman	Sioux Falls, SD	Transferred to New Mexico
Brandton Chatfield	33	F	6'10"	260	Senior	Orofino, ID	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Iowa State incoming transfers
Name	Num	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Mason Williams	2	G	6'5"	180	Junior	Seattle, WA	Eastern Washington
Eric Mulder	4	G	6'8"	225	Senior	Oskaloosa, IA	Purdue Fort Wayne
Dominick Nelson	11	G	6'5"	180	Senior	Miami, FL	Utah Valley
Blake Buchanan	23	F	6'11"	225	Junior	Coeur D'Alene, ID	Virginia

Recruiting

2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jamarion Batemon #10 SG	Milwaukee, WI	Milwaukee Academy of Sciences	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jul 1, 2024
Jamarion Batemon #10 SG	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (83)
Xzavion Mitchell #13 PF	Oshkosh, WI	Oshkosh North High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Mar 23, 2024
Xzavion Mitchell #13 PF	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (82)
Killyan Toure #37 SG	Wolfeboro, NH	Brewster Academy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Oct 12, 2024
Killyan Toure #37 SG	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (81)
Dominykas Pleta PF	Germany	N/A	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Feb 14, 2025
Dominykas Pleta PF	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (NR)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2025 Iowa State Basketball Commitments". Rivals. Retrieved August 4, 2025. "2025 Iowa State Cyclones Recruiting Class". Scout. Retrieved August 4, 2025. "2025 Iowa State Basketball Commits". ESPN. Retrieved August 4, 2025. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. Retrieved August 4, 2025. "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved August 4, 2025.

2026 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2026)
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Yusef Gray Jr. #13 SG	West Allis, WI	West Allis Central High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jan 19, 2025
Yusef Gray Jr. #13 SG	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (82)
Christian Wiggins SG	Minneapolis, MN	Wayzata High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Apr 19, 2025
Christian Wiggins SG	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (NR)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2026 Iowa State Basketball Commitments". Rivals. Retrieved August 4, 2025. "2026 Iowa State Cyclones Recruiting Class". Scout. Retrieved August 4, 2025. "2026 Iowa State Basketball Commits". ESPN. Retrieved August 4, 2025. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. Retrieved August 4, 2025. "2026 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved August 4, 2025.

Roster

2025–26 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Nate Heise	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	212 lb (96 kg)	GS	Northern Iowa	Lake City, Minnesota
G	1	Jamarion Batemon	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Milwaukee Academy of Science	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
G	2	Mason Williams	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	Jr	Eastern Washington	Seattle, Washington
G	3	Tamin Lipsey	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Ames High School	Ames, Iowa
G	4	Eric Mulder	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	218 lb (99 kg)	Sr	Purdue Fort Wayne	Oskaloosa, Iowa
F	5	Joshua Jefferson	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Sr	Christ the King	Las Vegas, Nevada
G	7	Anthony Rise (W)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Fr	Brookfield Central	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
G	11	Dominick Nelson	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sr	Utah Valley	Miami, Florida
G	13	Cade Kelderman (W)	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Waukee Northwest	Waukee, Iowa
F	21	Dominykas Pleta	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Fr	Arnoldi Gymnasium	Gotha, Germany
F	22	Milan Momcilovic	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Pewaukee	Pewaukee, Wisconsin
F	23	Blake Buchanan	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Virginia	Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
G	27	Killyan Toure	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Brewster Academy	Pamiers, France
F	55	Xzavion Mitchell	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	North	Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Head coach

T. J. Otzelberger (UW–Whitewater)

Assistant coach(es)

J.R. Blount (Loyola Chicago)
Kyle Green (Hamline)
Nate Schmidt (Denison)
Erik Crawford (Northern Iowa)
Diante Garrett (Iowa State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Source:^[1]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 17, 2025* 7:30 p.m., Nebraska Public Media	No. 16	at No. 23 Creighton	L 58–71	-	18 – Jefferson	12 – Jefferson	2 – Momcilovic	CHI Health Center Omaha (15,571) Omaha, NE
October 26, 2025* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 16	Northwestern	W 80–72	-	19 – Heise	7 – Jefferson	5 – Toure	Hilton Coliseum (13,560) Ames, IA
Non-conference Regular season
November 3, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 16	Fairleigh Dickinson	W 88–50	1–0	29 – Momcilovic	10 – Jefferson	5 – Lipsey	Hilton Coliseum (13,332) Ames, IA
November 6, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 16	Grambling State	W 102–62	2–0	20 – Jefferson	9 – Buchanan	6 – Lipsey	Hilton Coliseum (13,609) Ames, IA
November 10, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPNU	No. 16	vs. Mississippi State	W 96–80	3–0	25 – Lipsey	6 – Buchanan	6 – Lipsey	Sanford Pentagon (3,426) Sioux Falls, SD
November 17, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 16	Stonehill	W 96–57	4–0	23 – Tied	9 – Jefferson	7 – Jefferson	Hilton Coliseum (13,416) Ames, IA
November 24, 2025* 3:30 p.m., TruTV	No. 15	vs. No. 14 St. John's Players Era Festival Group Stage	W 83–82	5–0	23 – Momcilovic	8 – Jefferson	5 – Lipsey	Michelob Ultra Arena Paradise, NV
November 25, 2025* 1:00 p.m., TruTV	No. 15	vs. Creighton Players Era Festival Group Stage	W 78–60	6–0	20 – Toure	10 – Jefferson	6 – Heise	Michelob Ultra Arena Paradise, NV
November 26, 2025* 12:00 p.m., TNT	No. 15	vs. Syracuse Players Era Festival Consolation Game	W 95–64	7–0	24 – Momcliovic	6 – Jefferson	10 – Jefferson	MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV
December 3, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 10	Alcorn State	W 132–68	8–0	27 – Momcliovic	5 – Pleta	10 – Jefferson	Hilton Coliseum (13,429) Ames, IA
December 6, 2025* 11:00 a.m., CBS	No. 10	at No. 1 Purdue	W 81–58	9–0	20 – Momcilovic	9 – Buchanan	8 – Lipsey	Mackey Arena (14,876) West Lafayette, IN
December 11, 2025* 7:00 p.m., FS1	No. 4	Iowa Rivalry/Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series	W 66–62	10–0	24 – Jefferson	6 – Buchanan	4 – Lipsey	Hilton Coliseum (14,267) Ames, IA
December 14, 2025* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 4	Eastern Illinois	W 77–53	11–0	18 – Momcilovic	9 – Jefferson	7 – Lipsey	Hilton Coliseum (13,876) Ames, IA
December 21, 2025* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 4	Long Beach State	W 91–60	12–0	27 – Momcilovic	13 – Buchanan	7 – Lipsey	Hilton Coliseum (14,267) Ames, IA
December 29, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 3	Houston Christian	W 89–61	13–0	23 – Jefferson	9 – Buchanan	5 – Jefferson	Hilton Coliseum (14,267) Ames, IA
Big 12
January 2, 2026 8:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 3	West Virginia	W 80–59	14–0 (1–0)	26 – Momcilovic	10 – Jefferson	10 – Jefferson	Hilton Coliseum (14,267) Ames, IA
January 7, 2026 7:00 p.m., Peacock	No. 3	at Baylor	W 70–60	15–0 (2–0)	24 – Lipsey	16 – Jefferson	3 – Tied	Foster Pavilion (7,287) Waco, TX
January 10, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 3	Oklahoma State	W 83–71	16–0 (3–0)	19 – Jefferson	7 – Toure	5 – Tied	Hilton Coliseum (14,267) Ames, IA
January 13, 2026 8:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 2	at Kansas	L 63–84	16–1 (3–1)	12 – Tied	8 – Jefferson	5 – Lipsey	Allen Fieldhouse (15,300) Lawrence, KS
January 17, 2026 1:00 p.m., Peacock	No. 2	at Cincinnati	L 70–79	16–2 (3–2)	34 – Momcilovic	9 – Jefferson	5 – Jefferson	Fifth Third Arena (10,551) Cincinnati, OH
January 20, 2026 6:00 p.m., CBSSN	No. 9	UCF	W 87–57	17–2 (4–2)	20 – Momcilovic	10 – Jefferson	12 – Jefferson	Hilton Coliseum (14,267) Ames, IA
January 24, 2026 3:00 p.m., Peacock	No. 9	at Oklahoma State	W 84–71	18–2 (5–2)	29 – Momcilovic	9 – Buchanan	5 – Lipsey	Gallagher-Iba Arena (6,280) Stillwater, OK
January 29, 2026 6:00 p.m., FS1	No. 8	Colorado	W 97–67	19–2 (6–2)	17 – Batemon	8 – Heise	5 – Tied	Hilton Coliseum (14,267) Ames, IA
February 1, 2026 1:00 p.m., FOX	No. 8	at Kansas State	W 95–61	20–2 (7–2)	19 – Jefferson	8 – Jefferson	9 – Lipsey	Bramlage Coliseum (8,031) Manhattan, KS
February 7, 2026 1:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 7	Baylor	W 72–69	21–2 (8–2)	21 – Momcilovic	9 – Lipsey	4 – Jefferson	Hilton Coliseum (14,267) Ames, IA
February 10, 2026 8:00 p.m., FS1	No. 5	at TCU	L 55–62	21–3 (8–3)	12 – Tied	7 – Jefferson	9 – Jefferson	Schollmaier Arena (4,944) Fort Worth, TX
February 14, 2026 12:00 p.m., ABC	No. 5	No. 9 Kansas	W 74–56	22–3 (9–3)	18 – Momcilovic	6 – Buchanan	4 – Tied	Hilton Coliseum (14,267) Ames, IA
February 16, 2026 8:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 6	No. 2 Houston	W 70–67	23–3 (10–3)	12 – Jefferson	8 – Lipsey	5 – Jefferson	Hilton Coliseum (14,267) Ames, IA
February 21, 2026 9:30 p.m., ESPN	No. 6	at No. 23 BYU						Marriott Center Provo, UT
February 24, 2026 8:00 p.m., FS1		at Utah						Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, UT
February 28, 2026 3:00 p.m., CBS		Texas Tech						Hilton Coliseum Ames, IA
March 2, 2026 8:00 p.m., ESPN		at Arizona						McKale Center Tucson, AZ
March 7, 2026 1:00 p.m., FS1		Arizona State						Hilton Coliseum Ames, IA
Big 12 Tournament
March 10–14, 2026 TBA		vs.						T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	16	16	16	15	10	4 (1)	4 (1)	3 (1)	3 (1)	3	2 (1)	9	8	7	5	6
Coaches	18	16	14	13	9	4 (1)	4	3	3	3	2 (1)	9	9	7	4	6

References

^ Rapay, Eugene. "Iowa State basketball: Cyclones to play St. John's, Creighton at Players Era Festival". The Des Moines Register.

[1] Rapay, Eugene. "Iowa State basketball: Cyclones to play St. John's, Creighton at Players Era Festival". The Des Moines Register.

[1]

Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball
Venues	Margaret Hall Gymnasium (1907–1912) State Gymnasium (1913–1947) Iowa State Armory (1947–1971) Hilton Coliseum (1971–present)
Rivalries	Iowa "Big Four" Iowa (Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series)
Culture & lore	Cy the Cardinal "ISU Fights" Iowa State Pep Band ISU Holiday Classic
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics