Iowa State Basketball Commitment Is Full Circle Moment for Leon Bond III

The Iowa State Cyclones men’s basketball team is going to feature a lot of new faces during the 2026-27 season.

Gone is the Big 3 of Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson and Milan Momcilovic, who either ran out of eligibility or entered the NCAA transfer portal. Nate Heise is also departing after exhausting his eligibility.

That is a lot of production and leadership that needs to be replaced, along with Cade Kelderman, Mason Williams, and Dominick Nelson entering the transfer portal, and Eric Mulder exhausting his eligibility.

One of the players who will be tasked with helping replace all of those departures is Leon Bond III. A transfer from the Northern Iowa Panthers, committing to the Cyclones is a full-circle moment for him.

Iowa State gives Leon Bond III full circle moment

Northern Iowa guard Leon Bond III speaking to media. — Mar 19, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; Northern Iowa guardLeon Bond III (35) answers a question at a press conference ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Despite never playing for Iowa State, this is a coaching staff that he knows very well. Head coach T.J. Otzelberger was the head coach of the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels when he attempted to recruit Bond the first time out of high school.

On his staff at that point was Tim Buckley, who was hired to fill an assistant coaching vacancy, with JR Blount and Kyle Green both being hired as head coaches. Blount is taking over the San Diego Toreros, while Green is heading back to Northern Iowa.

"Playing for Iowa State, playing for Coach Otzelberger, a dude who recruited me when I was really young to UNLV, it's full circle. And, especially with Coach Buckley on the staff, he recruited too at UNLV,” Bond said, via Alec Busse of Cyclone Alert, part of the 247Sports Network (subscription required).

Adding to the full-circle moment was Blake Buchanan being Bond’s host when he visited Ames following his commitment. This will be the second time they are teammates during their collegiate careers.

After Bond redshirted the 2022-23 season, both of them played with the Virginia Cavaliers during the 2023-24 campaign under head coach Tony Bennett, who knows Otzelberger well and helped steer Buchanan to the Cyclones when he hit the transfer portal last year.

“I feel like it's just meant to be and everything aligned," Bond said. "I'd, honestly, say it's the best way to end my collegiate career."

They will now be ending their collegiate careers as teammates once again, looking to help Iowa State get over the hump and contend for a national title next year.

Bond has a clear goal of winning an NCAA tournament game, having made the big dance twice but being eliminated in the first game both times.

He comes to the Cyclones after averaging 11.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.7 blocks in 32.8 minutes per game.

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