Iowa State Basketball Receives Shocking Assessment of Transfer Portal Additions

The Iowa State Cyclones did not receive a lot of love for their transfer class.

Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger speaks during the postgame press conference after the game against the Kentucky Wildcats during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

Following a strong campaign for the Iowa State Cyclones, the team had to reshape their roster quite a bit this offseason in the transfer portal. 

Coming off a great year in which they made it to the Sweet 16, the Cyclones always knew that the roster for this coming season would look a lot different. While Iowa State likely wasn’t predicting that Milan Momcilovic would leave, that became a reality after his historic campaign shooting the basketball. 

With arguably their three best players no longer on the team, as Joshua Jefferson and Tamin Lipsey look to get selected in the NBA Draft, the Cyclones went to the transfer portal quickly to add new talent. 

The team seemingly did a nice job of that, adding five new players to go along with some key returning players like Killyan Toure, Blake Buchanan, and Jamarion Batemon. However, while the team did a good job of adding talent, their efforts were surprisingly not recognized for having one of the best transfer classes in the country. 

Jeff Borzello of ESPN recently wrote about the top 13 teams in the transfer portal this year in college basketball. To a bit of a surprise, while the Cyclones were considered, they didn’t make the list. 

Iowa State Added Plenty 

Bradley's Jaquan Johnson celebrates as overtime expires in the Braves' 95-84 win over Belmont on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 at Carver Arena. | MATT DAYHOFF/JOURNAL STAR / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While it was a massive blow for the team to lose Momcilovic, adding five talented players should give T.J. Otzelberger a lot of depth to play with next year. On paper, the Cyclones might be lacking some of the star power that they had last season, coming in without Jefferson and Lipsey, but there is reason to believe that a lot of the returning players and the new faces can improve. 

It feels like it is a fairly even bunch that was added for Iowa State, but one player who might be able to separate himself a bit is Bradley transfer, JaQuan Johnson. In 34 games last year, he averaged 16.9 points, and that scoring punch might be important. However, as a guard, getting him playing time along with Toure and Batemon could be a bit tricky for Otzelberger. 

Overall, with five new additions to the team in the transfer portal, it is surprising to see that the Cyclones weren’t seen as a top 13 team in the rankings. Time will tell how this new group works for Iowa State, but there is reason to be optimistic about them heading into next season.