Iowa State Forward Selected as All-American by Star Analyst

The Iowa State Cyclones have received a ton of stellar performances throughout the 2025-26 men’s basketball season.

Milan Momcilovic broke the single-season record for 3-pointers. Tamin Lipsey expanded his lead as the all-time leader in steals in a career. But the player who many believe has been their best performer is Joshua Jefferson.

In his second season with the Cyclones, the Saint Mary’s transfer took his overall production to another level. Head coach T.J. Otzelberger trusted Jefferson to be his go-to guy on offense, and he responded.

Given the fashion in which the senior forward stuffed the stat sheet, it should come as no surprise that Jefferson was selected by ESPN analyst Jay Bilas as one of the 20 best players in men’s basketball this season.

Joshua Jefferson named All-American by Jay Bilas

Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson going for layup. — Mar 7, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) goes to the basket as Arizona State Sun Devils forward Andrija Grbovic (14) defends during the first half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

He made picks for All-America teams, putting five guys on the first, second and third teams, while also selecting five honorable mentions.

The Iowa State star landed on the first team along with Cameron Boozer of the Duke Blue Devils, AJ Dybantsa of the BYU Cougars, Yaxel Lendeborg of the Michigan Wolverines and Braden Smith of the Purdue Boilermakers.

“In his second season in Ames, Jefferson is averaging career highs in points, rebounds and assists. He has grown into one of the most versatile players in the country, with five double-doubles this season,” Bilas wrote.

Along with the five double-doubles that the standout forward produced, he also had two triple-doubles this season. His stellar performance has put him on the radar for NBA teams, right on the cusp of being a first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

THE Point Forward#Cyclones | #C5C | @Joshua_LV0 pic.twitter.com/SQEPNe9CyM
— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) March 13, 2026

It is something that he has deserved, stuffing the stat sheet. Jefferson is averaging 16.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.9 blocks in 31.8 minutes per game. He has showcased solid efficiency with a .470/.345/.700 shooting split.

He is putting up numbers that no other player in a major conference is achieving. In addition to his impact offensively, he is consistently a great defender, whether it be matching up on the interior against a big man or switching out on the perimeter.

That was enough for Jefferson to land on the All-Big 12 First Team. Anyone who believed that he was robbed of being the Big 12 Player of the Year will feel a bit of vindication knowing that Bilas has a sizable gap between him and Jaden Bradley, the Arizona Wildcats guard who did win the award.

Bradley was an honorable mention for Bilas, while four other Big 12 players were named to the first, second and third teams.