Tamin Lipsey Rightfully Representing Iowa State Cyclones on Top 100 Player List

The Iowa State Cyclones have one of the best players in men's college basketball in point guard Tamin Lipsey.

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The Iowa State Cyclones have some major expectations heading into the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season. An NCAA Tournament team for the first four years of T.J. Otzelberger’s tenure, they will be looking to qualify and advance beyond the Sweet 16 this time around.

They will have an advantage early on with the amount of returning minutes and points scored on the roster. Turnover is commonplace with the current landscape of collegiate sports, but Otzelberger has done a great job of maintaining some continuity.

One of the biggest edges the team will have is in the backcourt. That is where Tamin Lipsey resides, running the show as an impactful two-way player.

It is becoming more and more rare for a player to stick with one school for his entire four-year collegiate career. But that is what the Cyclones have in Lipsey, who has started all 103 games that he has played thus far in his career with Iowa State, entering his senior year.

Where did Tamin Lipsey land in Top 100 men's basketball player rankings?

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Over at ESPN, his excellence on the court has been acknowledged by Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf. They put together a list of the top 100 players in men’s college basketball, and the Iowa State star came in at No. 35.

Not surprisingly, he is the highest-ranked player on the Cyclones roster. Only seven players in the Big 12 were ranked higher than him, which makes a lot of sense when considering Lipsey was selected for the Preseason All-Big 12 Team along with nine other players.

That isn’t the only recognition he received. College basketball analyst Jay Bilas put him on his All-Defensive Team heading into the campaign, and he is on the Bob Cousy Award Preseason Watchlist.

All of these honors are warranted, given Lipsey’s track record. He is already the Iowa State all-time leader in steals with 237. The Ames native is regarded as the best point of attack defender in the nation, setting the tone on that end of the court.

A two-time All-Big 12 team member, Lipsey was on the first team for the 2023-24 season and the third team for the 2024-25 campaign. He has made the All-Big 12 Defensive Team two years running as well.

Tamin Lipsey earned his spot in men's college basketball player rankings

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The resume speaks for itself. He is the quintessential point guard, leading his team on the court in every facet of the game. And this season, he has an opportunity to produce the kind of stats to catch people’s attention.

Last year, he had the sixth-highest usage rate of the rotation players. That number should skyrocket this campaign, providing him ample chances to stuff the stat sheet.

The only thing truly holding Lipsey back is his health. He suffered an MCL sprain a few weeks ago, and his status for the season opener on Nov. 3 against the Fairleigh Dickson Knights is still up in the air.

Alas, as long as he can stay on the court, he is one of the best players in the country on both ends.