Iowa State Cyclones Basketball Star in Prime Position To Earn Accolades This Season

Awards should be attainable for one Iowa State Cyclones star on the hardwood.

Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones are going to enter the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season as one of the top-ranked teams in the country that will be featured in the national spotlight.

The program will be looking to build off of the incredible momentum created during the 2024-25 campaign. With a 25-10 record, they earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The team reached heights never before achieved, going as high as No. 2 in the AP Poll, with their previous high being No. 3.

Since T.J. Otzelberger has taken over as head coach, the Cylones have been incredibly consistent on the hardwood. Iowa State had missed the NCAA tournament in two consecutive years and three of the last four under Steve Prohm before Otzelberger took over and has led them to four straight appearances.

To make it five in a row, the head coach will be counting on his star guard, Tamin Lipsey, to set the tone on both ends of the floor. There is going to be some pressure on the senior given how much production the team lost from last year’s squad. That will also present an opportunity for Lipsey to start stuffing the stat sheet again.

Tamin Lipsey in Line for Big Year Leading Cyclones

Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Over at ESPN, Jeff Borzello shared a top 25 ranking for men’s college basketball. He highlighted a candidate from each team who could earn some awards this upcoming campaign. It was Lipsey whom he selected for the Cyclones as someone who could receive some accolades.

“A mainstay on the Big 12's All-Defensive team the past two seasons, Lipsey was also a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2023-24…His two-way ability -- in T.J. Otzelberger's system -- lends to an all-conference (or better) season,” Borzello wrote.

In addition to the All-Big 12 Defensive Team, he was selected to the All-Big 12 Third Team. After making the first team the previous season, some would see that as a downgrade. But with the influx of schools in the conference, there was a lot more competition for spots, so making any of the teams is a great achievement.

Buy Tamin Lipsey stock while you can. 📈

One of the most underrated PGs in the nation heading into this season.

🎥: Iowa State Basketball pic.twitter.com/Q7ypwkBtYQ

— Cardinal & Gold Report (@cardgoldrpt) August 28, 2025

His role on last season’s team also differed greatly from what he was doing previously during his time at Iowa State. Lipsey’s per-game averages dipped across the board in large part because the ball was no longer in his hands as often. His usage rate dropped from 22.3% to 17.2%. Amongst rotation players, he was ranked sixth on the team.

With several of the players who were ahead of him in usage rate no longer with the program, more responsibility will assuredly fall on his shoulders, along with Nate Heise . An uptick in offensive numbers, combined with his usual stellar defensive prowess, will put Lipsey squarely on watch lists for awards and accolades. As a senior who has started every game he has played in since he stepped on campus, the extra onus shouldn’t faze him at all.