Iowa State Basketball Transfer Has Made Four Visits Thus Far

An Iowa State Cyclones basketball player in the transfer portal has no shortage of suitors.

Feb 15, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard MacKenzie Hare (12) reacts after making a three point basket late in the game against the Iowa State Cyclones during the second half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones women’s basketball team has had a lot of work to do this offseason, restocking the talent on the roster.

Nine players from the team opted to enter the transfer portal, leaving head coach Bill Fennelly with only three holdovers on the roster: Arianna Jackson, Evangelina Faulk and Freya Jensen.

One of those players who departed was Mackenzie Hare, who decided to play her last season of collegiate basketball elsewhere. She played the last two seasons with the Cyclones after starting her career for two years with the Marquette Golden Eagles.

And now she is in the transfer portal for a second time and is drawing considerable interest. According to Talia Goodman of On3, most recently, she made a visit to the Indiana Hoosiers, where one of her former Iowa State teammates, Alisa Williams, has already committed to the program.

Mackenzie Hare drawing considerable interest in transfer portal

Iowa State Cyclones' guard Kenzie Hare (12) takes a three-point shot against Arizona State during the third quarter in the Big-12 women’s basketball at Hilton Coliseum on Feb. 18, 2026, in Ames, Iowa | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That is the fourth visit that Hare has taken already in the transfer portal. She also visited with the Illinois State Redbirds and two more Big Ten programs: the Cyclones' rivals, the Iowa Hawkeyes and Michigan Wolverines.

After playing in only 10 games during the 2024-25 campaign, Hare played in 32 games, starting 31, this past season. She was an integral part of the team’s rotation, averaging 24.4 minutes per game.

Averaging 6.0 points per game, she was a reliable threat from 3-point range, knocking down 40.0% of her attempts. Her 3-point shooting ability is legitimate, as she led the Big East, making 42.5% of her 3-pointers during the 2023-24 season, while also leading the conference with 91 makes and 214 attempts.

INTEL: Who’s in on some of the biggest names in the transfer portal?

Updates on Madison St. Rose, Me’Arah O’Neal, Kenzie Hare and more.

READ (+): https://t.co/g64VtiMB05 pic.twitter.com/iC9DHZ7SbF

— Talia Goodman (@TaliaGoodmanWBB) April 16, 2026

Her impact offensively is legitimate with an Offensive Box Plus/Minus with +3.5, despite a rough season from the foul line, where she converted only 48.5% of their attempts. Hare makes a well-rounded impact, also producing a Defensive Box Plus/Minus with a +2.0 during the 2025-26 campaign.

That level of shooting prowess from long range is a major draw on the transfer portal. With so much interest from Power Conference programs, it would be hard to envision her dropping down to the Missouri Valley Conference with Illinois State, unless they are presenting her with a major role and NIL incentives.

To help replace the departing players, Iowa State has secured commitments from three players in the transfer portal: guard Mya Babbitt, center Gift Ezekiel and guard Ashleigh Connor of the Kent State Golden Flashes, Florida Gators and La Salle Explorers, respectively.