Iowa State Cyclones' Rocco Becht Will Reportedly Enter Transfer Portal

The Iowa State Cyclones will reportedly be losing their star quarterback to the transfer portal.

Nov 29, 2025; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht (3) passes during the second half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Boone Pickens Stadium. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones suffered some bad news on Saturday with reports that a star player intends to head to the transfer portal. 

As expected, following the loss of Matt Campbell to the Penn State Nittany Lions, there has been no shortage of news and turnover surrounding the program. The Cyclones have seen a massive change in both their coaching staff and recruiting class so far, and Jimmy Rogers is going to be trying to do his best to improve those areas. 

Furthermore, while the transfer portal doesn’t open up until January 2nd, there have been a few players on the team who have made it known that they will be entering. Reportedly, a key player for the program and their star quarterback, Rocco Becht, plans on entering the portal. 

Massive Blow for Iowa State

***FOOTBALL*** BREAKING: #IowaState quarterback Rocco Becht plans to enter NCAA Transfer Portal.

➡️https://t.co/7DUBAUBVdQ#Cyclones #CyclONEnation pic.twitter.com/ZJ2mz89vJk

— Bill Seals (@williamseals) December 20, 2025

The likely loss of Becht in the transfer portal is going to be a brutal blow for the 2026 campaign. As a three-year starter for the program, they have seen a ton of success with him under center, and he was trending toward being arguably the best quarterback in the history of the program. 

With his departure likely, that honor will remain with Brock Purdy, but Becht’s loss is a significant one. Seeing the star quarterback decide to enter the portal could open the floodgates for other key players to leave as well. 

This was a team that had a strong junior class in 2025, and they could follow their quarterback elsewhere. While last season might not have gone as well as Becht would have liked due to injury, he is going to be one of the top quarterbacks in the portal now, and where he will ultimately end up is going to be interesting. 

Penn State has a need at the quarterback position, and Becht will certainly be an option for them. With Campbell undoubtedly feeling the pressure to win right away, bringing in his quarterback of three years makes a lot of sense to help expedite that. 

For the Cyclones, they will have an internal option in Alex Manske to potentially replace Becht. The young signal caller moved his way up the depth chart in 2025, and he figures to be the favorite. However, Rogers will undoubtedly be looking to the portal himself for options, and there are some good ones. 

This is undoubtedly a sad day for the program to lose Becht to the portal, but it was unfortunate to be expected.