Iowa State is already sitting in a familiar place in Gary Parrish’s way-too-early top 25 and 1: right in the thick of the national conversation.
Parrish of CBS Sports has the Cyclones at No. 13, a one-spot bump that came as part of a wider reshuffle after Michigan lost Brandon McCoy, a star incoming freshman, to an ACL tear. Iowa State was one of eight teams to move up a spot, landing alongside Virginia, Arkansas, Gonzaga, St. John’s, Houston and Tennessee in the 9-15 range.
That’s a respectable early read on a program that has become one of the sport’s most reliable under T.J. Otzelberger.
He’s now in his fifth season in Ames, and the transformation has been dramatic. Otzelberger inherited a team that finished 2-22 in Steve Prohm’s final year, then got Iowa State back to the NCAA tournament immediately and has taken the Cyclones there every season since.
Even with major departures and lost production this offseason, the expectation is that the 2026-27 team will still look like a Big 12 contender and a top-25 staple.
The catch is that Iowa State is dealing with a significant injury of its own. Point guard Killyan Toure had shoulder surgery and is expected to be out until January, which means he’ll miss most, if not all, of the non-conference schedule.
That’s a real hit. Toure was one of four important rotation pieces back from last season, along with Jamarion Batemon, Blake Buchanan and Dominykas Pleta, and he was lined up for a much larger backcourt role.
As a freshman, he started every game, and his assignment was only going to grow as a sophomore. He had already established himself as one of the best point-of-attack defenders in men’s college basketball, and his confidence was building as the season went on.
With a full offseason behind him, the expectation was for him to take another step as a two-way force.
For now, Iowa State will have to patch that spot with Batemon and transfers Jaquan Johnson, who arrived from Bradley, and Ryan Prather Jr., who came over from Robert Morris.
The good news for the Cyclones is that Toure is expected back, unlike McCoy. And his return would come just in time for Big 12 play, where the battle figures to be fierce again.
The conference is already well represented in these early rankings. Arizona is No.
6, Houston sits at No. 14 and BYU checks in at No. 22.
With the new 5-in-5 rule creating more uncertainty around eligibility and rosters still in flux, the rankings are very much a snapshot rather than a finished product.
Texas Tech and Kansas are two more Big 12 teams that could easily find their way into the rankings soon enough, depending on how the rest of the offseason sorts itself out.
In Other News...
Jaylen Raynor Faces A Bigger Iowa Test Than Fans Wanted
Jaylen Raynors first game for Iowa State gave a little of everything: two touchdown passes, two more scores on the ground and some encouraging signs with the ball pushed downfield. It also came with the kind of uneven passing day that usually gets noticed quickly in this state, as he finished 8 of 16 for 184 yards against Southeast Missouri State.
The bigger test now is Iowa, where the Cyclones may need their run game to do some heavy lifting if Raynor is going to keep building off that debut. He looked more comfortable off play-action and showed some progress throwing deeper, but a cleaner, more balanced attack figures to matter even more with the Hawkeyes waiting. [Read more 🡒]
Cy-Hawk Just Got More Tense For Iowa State's 2028 Recruiting Push
Jimmy Rogers and his staff at Iowa State are still in the early stages of rebuilding the programs recruiting board after the wave of decommitments that followed Matt Campbells departure, and the 2027 class is starting to take shape. That group sits No. 43 nationally with 24 commits, a workable foundation that includes names such as Isaiah Hansen and Will Slagle, while the next cycle is already becoming part of the conversation as the staff works to reestablish its footprint.
The more immediate concern may be 2028, where Iowa State has already brought in several prospects and tried to get ahead of the competition. Defensive lineman Hunter Mosolino and quarterback Chase Grove are among the recruits who have been on campus, but both are headed to visit rival Iowa this weekend, a reminder that even the earliest stages of this recruiting battle can carry real weight for the Cyclones. [Read more 🡒]
Cy-Hawk Always Feels Personal And This Year Brings More Tension
The Cy-Hawk game always carries a little extra weight, but this one arrives with even more edge for Iowa State. The series still tilts toward Iowa, yet the Cyclones have made real headway in recent years and have turned the matchup into something closer to a yearly argument than a regional formality. With both programs familiar with each others personnel, coaching backgrounds and tendencies, there is very little mystery when these teams line up.
What has made the rivalry feel so combustible lately is how often it has come down to the final possessions, final drives and final kicks. Iowa State has been able to stack enough momentum to make the annual meeting feel less like a chase and more like a test of nerve, and that changes the way every snap is viewed in Ames. The tension around this years edition is baked into the history now, with the margin for error shrinking every season and the next chapter still waiting to be written. [Read more 🡒]