New Mexico picks up commitment from Iowa State transfer

JT Rock played in nine games this past season at Iowa State

Iowa State Cyclones center JT Rock (30). | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As New Mexico head coach Eric Olen and staff reconstruct the Lobos roster, a new name has been added to the mix. Iowa State transfer JT Rock announced his commitment to New Mexico on Tuesday morning, becoming the eighth player to join the group since Olen took over three weeks ago.

The 7-foot-1, 260-pound Rock spent two seasons at Iowa State. The top-ranked high school player coming out of South Dakota in his class, Rock skipped his senior season of high school to enroll early with the Cyclones. He spent his first season redshirting before appearing in nine games this past season.

Ranked No. 83 nationally in the 247Sports composite after reclassifying, Rock chose Iowa State over Creighton, Iowa and Purdue. Kansas and Wisconsin were among the other teams that had also offered Rock. Playing at Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Rock was named South Dakota AA Player of the Year in 2023. He averaged 18 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks per game, finishing as a top 100 recruit according to Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN.

Rock is the first center added to New Mexico’s roster during Olen’s tenure. The initial seven players that has announced their commitments have been guards, wings or forwards. High school recruits Jake Hall and Uriah Tenette both chose New Mexico after having previously been committed to play for Olen at UC San Diego. Chris Howell and Milos Vincentic both came over from UC San Diego to play their final collegiate seasons with the Lobos. Brothers Kevin and Kallai Patton transferred in from USC while junior college star Antonio Chol has also picked New Mexico.

A Mile High and Louder Than.. Everyone’s a Lobo! 🐺🔴 pic.twitter.com/Svqak1d8IC

— JT Rock (@JTRock12) April 22, 2025

The Lobos were largely left without a roster following Richard Pitino’s exit to Xavier shortly after their exit from the NCAA tournament. Mountain West Player of the Year Donovan Dent entered the transfer portal, quickly picking UCLA while many other Lobos followed with their own decisions. Tru Washington (Miami) and Braden Applehans (Drake) have both found their next schools while Filip Borovicanin and Jovan Milicevic will continue their playing careers under Pitino at Xavier.

Olen has announced the hiring of five assistant coaches since taking over in Albuquerque. Mike Roberts (UTEP) and Michael Wilder (UC Irvine) joined from other schools while Tom Tankelewicz, Sam Stapleton and Mikey Howell followed Olen from UC San Diego.