Cyclone Alert writer Alec Busse is back with his five weekly thoughts entering a new week.
A full recap of Iowa State basketball’s spring roster building. Now that Dominick Nelson has committed to Iowa State and the Cyclones have announced signings of four transfer additions, T.J. Otzelberger and his staff appear to be done roster building for the 2025-26 season.
With former walk-on Cade Kelderman being awarded a scholarship following his sophomore season, Iowa State enters the 2025-26 season with 13 scholarship players. As a whole, Iowa State has nine players with at least two years of college basketball experience on the 2025-26 roster to go with four incoming first-year college players – Jamarion Batemon, Xzavion Mitchell, Killyan Toure and Dominykas Pleta. But Pleta is a bit of wild card; Pleta will be 21 and has professional experience in Europe. By the time Iowa State tips off its 2025-26 season in early November against a to be determined opponent, Pleta will be 21 years old. That’s not the equivalent of Iowa State’s three incoming freshman, and it could contribute to Pleta being ruled a sophomore (or older) by the NCAA in regards to Pleta’s eligibility.
For the most part, the spring was successful for Iowa State in the transfer portal. The Cyclones only missed on two prospects they strongly pursued, South Dakota State transfer Oscar Cluff, who committed to Purdue, and Virginia transfer Andrew Rohde, who committed to Wisconsin. It’s also worth pointing out that Iowa State moved off of Cluff to begin seriously pursuing Blake Buchanan after a long back-and-forth with Cluff during his time in the transfer portal. Also, it’s hard to critique a program for losing a big man recruiting battle to Matt Painter, considering his recent history with Zach Edey, Tre Kaufman-Renn, Trevion Williams, Matt Haarms, Isaac Haas, Caleb Swanigan and A.J. Hammons all playing in Boilermaker frontcourts in the last decade.
Frankly, losing Rohde to Wisconsin should sting more, especially from a fit perspective. Rohde’s combination of playmaking for others (a top-five assist-to-turnover ratio in the ACC in 2024-25) and 3-point shooting (41.3% in 2024-25) would have been a great fit for Iowa State alongside returning guards Tamin Lipsey, Milan Momcilovic and Nate Heise, a former transfer himself.
But Iowa State ultimately did well with their pivot. They landed the WAC player of the year in Nelson, who scored 14.5 ppg last season for Utah Valley. He gives Iowa State a real weapon in transition and a guard to put great pressure on the rim. From a skill set perspective, Nelson reminds me a bit of Keshon Gilbert, whose departure will be difficult to replace as a two-time All-Big 12 selection.
The Cyclone’s roster outlook as of Sunday evening is good enough for the top 20 in Bart Torvik’s 2025-26 projections. Iowa State’s offensive efficiency will likely take a step back with Curtis Jones and Gilbert – the team’s two leading scorers and top assist man – gone. But the defense could be back inside the top-5, which is where Torvik has the Cyclones slated right now.
The top 18 projection means nothing on May 5, especially with key NBA and transfer portal decisions still to be made. But the only Big 12 teams projected ahead of Iowa State next season right now are Houston (No. 1), BYU (No. 2), Arizona (No. 13) and Kansas (No. 15).
Iowa State has seemingly put together a roster good enough to compete at the top of the Big 12 for a third straight season. At this point, it’s a matter of execution, fit and cohesion that will determine the Cyclone’s ceiling next season. And those dynamics are the same questions every other well-enough resourced program in the country faces.
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