Iowa State Basketball Star Rightfully Named Wooden Award All-American

The Iowa State Cyclones may have seen their season come to an end earlier than they would have liked, but it was a fantastic campaign for the program.

Coming into the year, the Cyclones were expected to be a solid team in what was likely to be a loaded Big 12. Iowa State got off to a red-hot start in non-conference play, with some signature wins over the St. John’s Red Storm and the Purdue Boilermakers.

These two victories proved pretty early on that this had the potential to be a special campaign for the Cyclones. They set a program record by going 16-0 to start the season, resulting in them getting all the way up to being ranked number two in the country.

While they might have had some struggles on the road during conference play, the team was still one of the best in the country heading into the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, an injury to their star forward Joshua Jefferson likely held the program back a bit. Without their star, Iowa State fell to the Tennessee Volunteers in the Sweet 16, ending their season a bit prematurely.

However, while their exit might have felt a bit early, there is no taking away from what was a great campaign overall. For Jefferson, in particular, he was recently named a Wooden Award All-American.

Jefferson Deserving of Recognition

Another One for J Jeff!

A Wooden Award All-American!

📰: https://t.co/WMzIJZ2Ail #Cyclones | #C5C | @Joshua_LV0 pic.twitter.com/GTyvtQNOw1
— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) March 31, 2026

Seeing the talented senior forward being a Wooden Award All-American is certainly deserving after the fantastic year that he had. To begin the season, he was playing like a potential National Player of the Year candidate. While he ultimately did come back down to earth a bit during conference play, it was a fantastic campaign overall.

Furthermore, the timing of his injury came at a really poor time, with it not only being in the NCAA tournament, but with how well he was playing coming out of the Big 12 tournament.

With his college career completed, Jefferson finished his final season averaging 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. There were a few players in the country who were able to have a stat line like that.

The senior was one of the most well-rounded players in the nation, doing everything at a high level for Iowa State. With Jefferson getting set to try to play in the NBA now, the Cyclones will undoubtedly miss what he brought to the team.