Marquette, Wisconsin Have To Be Getting Tired of T.J. Otzelberger

The Iowa State Cyclones under T.J. Otzelberger have become a pain for the Marquette Golden Eagles and Wisconsin Badgers on the recruiting trail.

Oct 22, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger speaks to media during Big 12 Menís Basketball media day at T-Mobile Center. | Sophia Scheller-Imagn Images

Under head coach T.J. Otzelberger, the Iowa State Cyclones have become a force on the recruiting trail when it comes to both high school players and those in the transfer portal.

When he took over the program, the team won two games in the final season under Steve Prohm. That’s a slow week for the Cyclones under Otzelberger, who has helped guide the team to the NCAA Tournament five consecutive years.

A major reason for that has been his ability to retain talent, with Iowa State not losing many key pieces in the transfer portal, and successfully pinpointing players who fit into their scheme and game plan on both ends of the floor.

When it comes to high school players, Otzelberger has proven to be a thorn in the side of the Marquette Golden Eagles and Wisconsin Badgers. The only Power Conference teams in the state of Wisconsin, you wouldn’t know it by how often they are beaten out for prospects by the Cyclones.

Iowa State has domianted recruiting in Wisconsin

Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Jamarion Batemon (1) celebrates after a play during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

Since taking over as head coach, he has made it a priority to recruit heavily in the state, and it has worked. The Class of 2024 was the only time Otzelberger missed on a prospect in his home state.

In 2022, he landed Tyrese Hunter. The following year, it was Milan Momcilovic, who went on to set the program record for 3-pointers made in a season during the 2025-26 campaign. After the gap year in 2024, Iowa State returned with a vengeance, landing Xzavion Mitchell and Jamarion Batemon in the Class of 2025.

In the Class of 2026, Yusef Gray Jr. committed to the Cyclones. It has happened two more times already in 2026. In the Class of 2027, Iowa State secured commitments from Donovan Davis and Jack Kohnen, two four-star players who are both from Wisconsin.

All in all, that makes seven commits from the state, all of whom were ranked in the top four of Wisconsin in their respective years. Five of them, Hunter, Momcilovic, Batemon, Kohnen and Davis, are top 100 prospects nationally.

This has been a trend for years under Otzelberger, who has deep roots in the state. Despite losing assistant coach JR Blount to the San Diego Toreros, who hired him as head coach, the Cyclones keep winning recruiting battles in Wisconsin.

Finding success even without him is an encouraging sign for what the future will hold. Iowa State has turned Wisconsin into a state where they are in the mix for all the top players with regularity. That is bad news for Shaka Smart and Greg Gard, who are missing out on some incredibly talented players.