Iowa State cracks Top 10 of CBS Sports preseason 2025-26 rankings

Gary Parrish of CBS Sports has some high hopes for Iowa State in the coming season on the hardwood. In fact, Parrish ranks the Cyclones in the Top 10 of his early preseason outlook for the 2025-26 year.

Iowa State is seventh, one spot ahead of Big 12 foe Arizona, in the rankings. Houston holds the top spot followed by Duke, Purdue, Alabama, Connecticut and UCLA.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL RANKINGS: The 2025-26 @CBSSports preseason Top 25 And 1 has published.

Version 1

1. Houston
2. Duke
3. Purdue
4. Alabama
5. UConn
6. UCLA
7. Iowa State
8. Arizona
9. Florida
10. St. John'shttps://t.co/T2vjdvBtxZ
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) April 8, 2025

As for the Cyclones, Parish notes that it is based on them “returning three of the top five scorers from a team that finished 25-10 and advanced to the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.”

Those three mentioned are Joshua Jefferson, Milan Momcilovic and Tamin Lipsey. Jefferson recently confirmed that he would be back in an Iowa State uniform for his senior season.

“That core will be joined by a recruiting class highlighted by Virginia transfer Blake Buchanan, Purdue Fort Wayne transfer Eric Mulder, Eastern Washington transfer Mason Williams and four-star freshman Jamarion Batemon,” he posted.

Other Big 12 Conference teams included are Texas Tech (13th), BYU (16th) and Kansas (19th).

ESPN offered its early outlook on the 2025-26 season, placing the Cyclones a little lower.