Media days are here, and for the Big 12, that means the talking season is officially underway.
The conference gets its turn in Frisco this week at the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility, where Brett Yormark will have a chance to shape the conversation before anyone else can. That’s part of the annual appeal of Big 12 media days, which land the week after the July 4 weekend and let the league soak up the spotlight for a couple of days. This year, Yormark also figures to face questions about the Brendan Sorsby saga.
Wednesday will be a big stage for Jimmy Rogers, too. It’s another chance for him to establish his voice and leave a mark on the conference and on the national scene before his first season at Iowa State opens against Southeast Missouri on September 5.
Media days don’t look much like they once did. They’re more television production than old-school gathering now, a place where broadcast partners grab the cut shots they need to make fall games look polished on TV. Even so, Iowa State remains one of the more interesting teams heading into the week because so much about the roster is still unknown.
Inside Rogers’ program, every public comment seems to come with a little more to learn. This week should bring some of those clues, from scheme to depth chart to the broader philosophy behind what Iowa State wants to be.
There was also a rough basketball note for the Cyclones: Christian Wiggins tore his Achilles, and that’s a tough blow for Iowa State. It’s impossible to know exactly how much he would have played this winter, but losing him before fall preseason practices even start is still a bad break.
Wiggins was the freshman I thought had the best shot to crack Iowa State’s veteran-heavy rotation, one that should feature four seniors, a junior and four sophomores with real experience from the 2025-26 season. He also looked good in June workouts.
"He came out right away and didn't look like a freshman," T.J. Otzelberger said. "And [he] was playing extremely well, with a lot of confidence."
The idea was that Wiggins could grow into a bench shooting threat, something along the lines of how Jamarion Batemon earned his chance last season. I didn’t expect a clean path to 15 minutes a night, the way Batemon got, but it was easy to imagine Wiggins carving out a role as a 3 and D option.
"He's got a bright future here," Otzelberger said of Wiggins.
Now that future gets pushed back a year.
The Brendan Sorsby situation, at least, is finally over. The former Indiana, Cincinnati and Texas Tech quarterback will not file suit against the NFL after deciding against a supplemental draft this year. That closes the door on a months-long mess that started on April 27, when Sorsby entered a 35-day gambling addiction program.
He’ll now keep focusing on his recovery and prepare for the 2027 NFL Draft.
"We have confirmed with the NFLPA and Brendan Sorsby that there will be no further litigation regarding his entry into the NFL -- and that instead, Mr. Sorsby will focus on his preparation for entry into the League via the 2027 NFL Draft," a memo sent to all 32 NFL teams reads.
"For purposes of League and CBA rules, Mr. Sorsby will be considered a 'Draft-Eligible' player for the 2027 NFL Draft.
Mr. Sorsby will not be eligible to sign an NFL Player Contract until the completion of the 2027 NFL Draft."
Sorsby has continued to say he accepts responsibility for his actions, though filing suit for an injunction challenging the NCAA’s ban on his eligibility makes that a complicated claim to square. That’s the reality of it, however you want to read it.
It will be worth watching how much Joey McGuire gets asked about the situation at media days, and Yormark will have plenty to answer for as well. Whether both men sidestep the topic by pointing out that Sorsby is no longer with the Red Raiders or even in college football might be the cleanest public-relations play.
One more big-picture note on the Big 12: the league lost more talent this offseason than I realized. Isaac Trotter pointed out that the conference lost eight of its top 30 scorers to other college programs this spring, and that came on top of a league-record 13 players leaving for the NBA Draft.
I wanted to see how that stacked up against the rest of the high-major world, so I looked at the top 50 transfer portal players, according to 247Sports. The Big 12 wound up losing more top-50 portal players than any other league.
Twelve top-50-ranked transfers left Big 12 programs, and 11 of them went to another conference. No other league lost more than 10 top-50 transfers to another conference.
The damage gets even clearer when you zoom in on the top of the board. The Big 12 lost five of the top six ranked transfers to other schools, seven of the top 10 and nine of the top 15 portal prospects this spring. Add that to the four top-10 NBA Draft picks and nine first-round selections, and it’s obvious how much talent is leaving the conference before the 2026-27 season.
And finally, happy birthday, America. Hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable July 4 on Saturday.
As the country marks its 250th birthday, it’s hard not to appreciate the people and places that make it what it is. From sandy beaches to towering mountains to the kind of landmarks that make backyard barbecues, days on the water and hikes feel even better, there’s a lot to celebrate.
Here’s to another 250 great years - and many more - for the United States of America.
In Other News...
How Iowa State Went From Big 12 Newcomer To Rare Constant
A decade can make a conference look like a different sport, and Iowa State has had a front-row seat to the change. When Matt Campbell arrived for his first Big 12 Media Days in 2016, he was the rookie face of a league that still felt stable and familiar. By the time Jimmy Rogers took the same stage in 2024, the backdrop had shifted so much that the comparison said as much about the Big 12 as it did about the Cyclones.
None of the head coaches who were there in 2016 are still in the league, a reminder of how quickly college football now turns over even the people in charge. The Big 12 itself has gone from a 10-team round robin to a 16-team league stretched across four time zones, with NIL and the transfer portal helping remake the job description along the way. For Iowa State, the unusual part is no longer being the newcomer. It is being one of the constants. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Earns Top 12 Respect Despite Major Roster Turnover
Iowa State is still earning national respect heading into the new season, landing 12th in CBS Sports latest college basketball power rankings even as the roster around it changes. The Cyclones are coming off a strong run and will look different this time around, but coach T.J. Otzelberger has enough returning pieces to keep the program in the mix.
Killyan Toure and Jamarion Batemon give Iowa State some continuity in the backcourt, and that matters for a team trying to reload without sliding backward. Otzelbergers group has already shown it can adapt, and the bigger question now is how quickly the new pieces settle in around the players who already know what it takes to win in Ames. [Read more 🡒]