The biggest swing factor for Iowa State’s 2026-27 season isn’t hard to spot. It’s Killyan Toure.
The Cyclones are headed into a much different year after their run to the Sweet 16, with Milan Momcilovic gone to the Kentucky Wildcats and Joshua Jefferson off to the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft. Even so, Iowa State has a major piece back in Tamin Lipsey, who is currently eligible for a fifth year of college basketball.
That alone gives the roster a sturdier foundation, and the backcourt depth helps, too. Jaquan Johnson arrives from Bradley, Ryan Prather Jr. comes in from Robert Morris, and freshman Yusef Gray Jr. adds another option. Those pieces should help absorb the loss of Killyan Toure, who won’t be available until at least mid-January while recovering from shoulder surgery.
Still, Toure is the name that changes the conversation around this team. He started all 37 games he played as a freshman, and plenty of evaluators already viewed him as a breakout candidate for 2026-27. Now that his season debut is delayed, he becomes the player everyone is waiting on.
“Killyan Toure is the best NBA prospect on the team and likely out until January with a shoulder injury. We will not see what the Cyclones are capable of until Toure returns,” wrote CJ Moore of The Athletic (subscription required).
What makes Toure so important is the pressure he brings on the defensive end. He’s widely seen as the best point-of-attack defender in men’s college basketball, a label Lipsey held last year. Put those two together with Johnson, and Iowa State can throw a relentless group at opposing guards.
Toure’s size only adds to the appeal. Listed at 6-foot-3 with a wingspan of at least 6-foot-9, he has the length to bother backcourt players and even some wings, giving T.J. Otzelberger another flexible weapon to deploy.
The offensive side is where Toure can take the next jump. He finished his freshman year with more confidence in his jumper, and if that carries over, his stock could rise quickly. If that development continues, Iowa State has a real chance to make noise in the Big 12 and the NCAA tournament.
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Iowa State is staring at a familiar offseason task with a twist, needing to replace two key forwards from last seasons group. Milan Momcilovics value as a perimeter shooter is an obvious part of the equation, but the Cyclones bigger challenge may be figuring out how to make up for Joshua Jeffersons all-around offensive presence.
Jefferson gave Iowa State more than scoring, handling playmaking and shot creation in ways that are harder to replace with one player. The staff appears to have several options to spread those responsibilities around, with Tre Singleton, Jaquan Johnson, Killyan Toure and others all in the mix as the Cyclones sort out who can help fill that void. [Read more 🡒]
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Memphis enters with a mix of returning players and newcomers under Penny Hardaway, and the expectation around that roster is that it should be better than it was a season ago. For Iowa State, that means no easing into the schedule and no room to treat this as anything less than a real barometer for where the Cyclones stand at the start of the year. [Read more 🡒]