Iowa State Basketball Continues Building Wisconsin Recruiting Pipeline

The state of Wisconsin is becoming a hot bed for Iowa State Cyclones basketball.

Mar 16, 2024; Kansas City, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones coach TJ Otzelberger watches play during the first half against the Houston Cougars at T-Mobile Center. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

In college basketball, most teams, including the Iowa State Cyclones, build elite programs based on their recruiting pipeline.

Teams make sure that when a local player rises to the top of high school ball, they know that they can get first dibs on getting the player to commit. And for the majority of programs, it’s a local pipeline that has come in-state.

You would expect a team like Iowa State to dominate in-state recruiting and get the majority of its talent from its home state. But it’s actually not the case.

On May 6th, Iowa State got a commitment from Donovan Davis, the 41st best player in the country per 247 Sports, and the second best player in Wisconsin.

Iowa State has dominated Wisconsin recruiting

Freedom High School's Donovan Davis (24) goes up for a shot over Milwaukee Academy of Science's Devin Brown (12) during the WIAA Division 3 state championship game on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. Milwaukee Academy of Science won the game, 57-54. | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Of course, Wisconsin Badgers fans weren’t happy, as they had lost out on another recruit from their home state. And it feels like every time it’s to the Cyclones.

Iowa State has roots in Wisconsin. Head coach T.J. Otzelberger grew up in Milwaukee, the state’s biggest city. He also played college ball at Wisconsin-Whitewater before becoming a head coach.

And it’s not just Otzelberger; several players have come to the Cyclones from the state of Wisconsin along with their head coach.

Since Otzelberger took over back in 2021, Iowa State has gotten commitments from five of the top 15 Wisconsin high school players. That is Tyrese Hunter, Milan Momcilovic, Jamarion Batemon, Davis, and Leon Bond III, who just transferred in from the Northern Iowa Panthers.

The decision is in!

Donovan Davis is heading to…Iowa State!@NBC26 pic.twitter.com/z4TqkIWq9V

— Kelly Hallinan (@kellyhals) May 7, 2026

In addition, one of the Cyclones’ greatest ever players, Tyrese Haliburton, also came from Wisconsin, growing up in Oshkosh. Clearly, Iowa State has a grip on the recruiting in the state.

Having a pipeline in another state to the extent that Otzelberger does is great for the Cyclones. He has been able to get consistent talent from Wisconsin down to Ames, IA, and has had them flourish into top-tier players for Iowa State.

It’s a perfect way to build a program, and it's a clear reason why the Cyclones have been such an elite program over the last decade, especially when Otzelberger took over a few years ago.

It’s simple: If you are from Wisconsin, come to Iowa State. It’s a place where you can flourish from a solid recruit into a star player for one of the best programs in the country. And in addition, you can be along with other Wisconsiners throughout your time in Ames, including Otzelberger.