Iowa State Basketball Coach Sticks up for Joshua Jefferson

Joshua Jefferson was selected as an AP All-American and Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger offered his opinion on it.

Feb 24, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) warms up before the game against the Utah Utes at Jon M. Huntsman Center. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

There are a lot of reasons why the Iowa State Cyclones went 27-7 heading into the 2026 NCAA Tournament, earning a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region.

One of the biggest reasons is the performance of forward Joshua Jefferson. In his second year with the Cyclones, he has taken his production to another level, turning himself into one of the best players in the country.

After serving as a complementary player during the 2024-25 campaign, Jefferson embraced a larger role for head coach T.J. Otzelberger this year. He responded positively, stuffing the stat sheet and earning widespread recognition for his improved performance.

This standout season led to Jefferson being named to the Associated Press All-America Second Team. While this was an incredible honor, it left his head coach less than thrilled.

T.J. Otzelberger disappointed Joshua Jefferson made All-America Second Team

Mar 2, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger looks up at the scoreboard during the first half of the game against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Memorial Center. | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Otzelberger issued a pointed comment about his player not being selected for the First Team, falling just short behind JT Toppin of the Texas Tech Red Raiders in voting.

“Right now, we’re a little disappointed why it wasn’t more, but we’ll deal with that here soon enough,” the Cyclones head coach said.

Jefferson certainly had a strong case to be a member of the AP All-America First Team. For a large portion of the season, he was viewed as a candidate for the National Player of the Year Award behind Cameron Boozer of the Duke Blue Devils.

While a little hiccup occurred down the stretch, Jefferson is entering the NCAA tournament playing some incredible basketball. In the Big 12 tournament, against the Arizona State Sun Devils, Red Raiders and Arizona Wildcats, he played at a remarkably high level.

“Right now, we’re a little disappointed why it wasn’t more, but we’ll deal with that here soon enough.”

TJ Otzelberger standing up for his guy Joshua Jefferson, a second-team All American. pic.twitter.com/VBmL1W4mfi

— Ben Hutchens (@Ben_Hutchens_) March 18, 2026

In those three games, he averaged 19.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.0 blocks in 32.3 minutes. It was a strong finish to his senior year, as he stuffed the stat sheet throughout.

It was a banner campaign for Jefferson, who set career highs in minutes played (31.8), points (16.9), rebounds (7.6), assists (4.9) and blocks (0.9). He added 1.7 steals per game, making an impact on both ends of the floor.

While Toppin certainly played well enough this season to warrant a spot on the First Team, averaging 21.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He led the Big 12 in rebounds per game and was an impact player on both ends, averaging 1.4 steals and 1.7 blocks as well.

However, the season-ending injury he suffered was more than enough of a reason to bump Jefferson up into that spot.