Iowa State’s 2027 recruiting class is already starting to look like something worth watching.
That matters even more with the Cyclones entering the 2026 season in rebuild mode. Last year’s team fought through a pile of injuries and still managed a solid campaign, but the program then took a major hit when head coach Matt Campbell left for Penn State before bowl season. A wave of departures followed, leaving new head coach Jimmy Rogers with plenty to sort through.
Rogers has made a strong early impression, though, and the work on the recruiting trail has been one of the clearest signs of momentum. Iowa State may not be as talented as it was a year ago, and a Big 12 title push next season does not look like the expectation, but the staff has brought in enough depth to give the program a foundation to build on.
The biggest boost so far came with four-star prospect Chuck Alexander, who flipped from Louisville and now sits as the top name in the class. That addition helped push Iowa State’s 2027 group to No. 49 nationally in Rivals’ rankings, a solid spot for a program trying to reset.
And Alexander is not the only piece that stands out. The class has been shaped early by offensive talent, starting with running back Isaiah Hansen, who is viewed as a strong player at his position, and offensive lineman Will Slagle. Those three names give the Cyclones a clear offensive backbone in the class right now.
That’s an encouraging sign for a program that may lean more on defense this season while it works through the rebuild. Even so, the long-term picture is starting to take shape on offense, and that could be important for Rogers as he tries to steer Iowa State back toward where it wants to be.
There’s still a long way to go in the cycle, and the class could get even better. But for now, Iowa State has put itself in a good spot, and the early returns under Rogers suggest recruiting could become a real strength for the program.
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 Freshman Buzz Just Took A Brutal Turn Before Fall Practices
The Big 12 is kicking off its media days with commissioner Brett Yormark set to spend part of the week answering broader league questions, and Iowa State has its own subplot worth watching on the basketball side as fall practices approach. Christian Wiggins arrived with the kind of freshman buzz that can matter on a veteran roster, the sort of young perimeter piece who might have found a way into the rotation sooner rather than later.
Instead, his early momentum has been interrupted before preseason work even gets rolling, leaving the Cyclones to adjust their backcourt plans and wait on a player they were hoping could help stretch the floor and bring some two-way value off the bench. For a program that tends to lean on depth and development, the timing is especially rough, and it adds another layer of uncertainty to a month that was already going to be full of league-wide storylines. [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 🡒]