Tre Singleton Gets Compared to Recent Iowa State Basketball Star

Which Iowa State Basketball star was Tre Singleton compared to?

Mar 11, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Northwestern Wildcats forward Tre Singleton (8) grabs a rebound against the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half at United Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Coming off a very good season, the Iowa State Cyclones will be hoping to continue their successful run of late. However, in order to do so, they will need some of their new players to step up. 

The 2025-26 campaign will go down as a memorable one for the Cyclones. Iowa State got off to a great start to the season, starting 16-0 and setting a school record. In the NCAA Tournament, they were able to be a No. 2 seed and reached the Sweet 16. 

Iowa State looked like a real contender for most of the year, but an injury to a key player in March ended their run a bit early. Now, with a lot of new faces coming in from the transfer portal, the Cyclones are a bit hard to figure out just yet. However, they have one of the best coaches in college basketball and some of the new talent they brought in looks good. 

Bill Seals of On3 recently spoke with Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger, who compared incoming freshman Tre Singleton to Joshua Jefferson. 

Singleton Draws Comparisons to Jefferson 

Jun 23, 2026; New York, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver greets the twenty eighth pick in the 2026 NBA draft, Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson after he was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves at Barclays Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Coming over from the Northwestern Wildcats, Singleton was one of the five incoming transfers for the Cyclones after the season was over. Due to Iowa State losing so much talent, including Jefferson from last year, the team had to be aggressive in trying to bring in some established players. 

Singleton was one of them, and he is going to be a factor for the team at the forward position. With Northwestern last year, he averaged 7.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists as a freshman in 25 minutes per game. 

There is certainly reason to believe that he is going to be even better in year two, and there were some impressive performances for the young forward, including an 18-rebound game against the Penn State Nittany Lions. 

Singleton could very well be the starting power forward for the Cyclones next year, and his game and size do resemble Jefferson. While he might not be a three-point shooter at this stage, that will undoubtedly be something that he will consider working on with Iowa State. 

Even though he might not be the same offensive player that Jefferson was as a senior, there are going to be improvements to his game in year two. There is certainly a lot to like about what he can bring to the table, and Singleton will be a key piece.