Iowa State Cyclones' Coach Receives Low Placement in Coach of the Year Rankings

Should Iowa State Cyclones' head coach T.J. Otzelberger be in the running for the Coach of the Year?

Feb 1, 2026; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger watches his team during the second half against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bramlage Coliseum. | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

As the Iowa State Cyclones continue their impressive season, there is a lot of recognition to go around for the impressive start. 

It has been one of the best starts to a year in the history of the Cyclones’ basketball program. While this has been a good school for basketball, they have been going to the next level in the last couple of campaigns. 

This season, they started out 16-0, which was the best start in the history of the program. Even though they had a hard time early on in Big 12 play on the road, their team has once again found momentum and are playing extremely well with four straight wins. 

On the court, they have had numerous players perform great so far this year, with a talented trio of Milan Momcilovic, Tamin Lipsey, and Joshua Jefferson. This trio has received a lot of praise for their performance this year, but they shouldn’t be alone in getting recognized for their excellence. 

Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf of ESPN recently ranked the Top 12 candidates for the Coach of the Year in college basketball. Shockingly, Iowa State’s T.J. Otzelberger came in ranked seventh. 

Too Low a Ranking for Otzelberger

Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Considering the success of the program so far this season, it is a bit surprising to see Otzelberger ranked seventh as of now. Iowa State is the seventh-ranked team in the country currently, which is a significant difference from their preseason ranking of 16th. Furthermore, this was a team that at one point was ranked second in the country. 

Otzelberger has been able to help create one of the most balanced teams in the country on both ends of the court, with the program exceeding their offensive expectations by quite a bit. 

During his time as the head coach of the Cyclones, they have always been a strong, defensive-minded team. However, they now have a Top 10 offense in terms of efficiency to go along with that, and the defense is still top-notch. 

While there are some candidates ahead of him, like Tommy Lloyd of the Arizona Wildcats and Fred Hoiberg of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Otzelberger feels like someone who should be in the Top 5 conversation. However, while the ranking might feel low, the Cyclones are off to a great start and playing some excellent basketball.

Their talented head coach will be having them try to finish the regular season strong and be as prepared as possible for what will hopefully be a Final Four trip.