RECRUITING: Cyclone hoops hosting handful of major prospects

While Iowa State football is spending Saturday attempting to make a good impression in the national spotlight, Iowa State men’s basketball will be trying to make a good impression on some of the nation’s top talent.

Steve Prohm’s program is slated to host a handful of highly-sought-after prospects for this weekend’s gridiron showdown between the Cyclones and in-state rival No. 19 Iowa, including a four-star guard in the 2020 class and a pair of top-50 players in the 2021 recruiting cycle.

Minnehaha Academy center Chet Holmgren is expected to be among Iowa State’s unofficial visitors on Saturday, just days after Prohm was in Minnesota to pay a visit to the 7-foot five-star prospect in the 2021 class. Holmgren is considered the No. 5 player in the country by 247Composite and has received interest from almost every major program in the country.

Also making the trip south will be four-star 2020 guard Kerwin Walton, who also received a visit from Prohm this week as the fall recruiting period got underway. The 6-foot-4 Hopkins product is considered the No. 95 player in the country by 247Composite and has an offer list with more than 20 college programs.

Four-star 2021 guard Hunter Sallis will be making the trek from Omaha in order to get his first taste of Ames after receiving a visit from Iowa State assistant James Kane on Monday. The 6-foot-3 point guard has become one of the hottest prospects in the Midwest in recent months and is considered the No. 49 player in the class.

Ames guard Tamin Lipsey is also expected to be on campus as he continues to rehab from a knee injury suffered over the summer. The explosive 2022 guard already holds scholarship offers from the Cyclones and Nebraska after playing only one season of high school basketball.

The lone prospect expected in town on an official visit is Atlanta point guard Jaden Walker. The 6-foot-5 three-star is considered the No. 287 player in the class.

Lastly, the program will also host one of the top JUCO talents in the country in Indian Hills guard Tyon Grant-Foster. Prohm and Daniyal Robinson paid the 6-foot-7 Kansas City native a visit earlier this week as he prepares for his sophomore season in Ottumwa hoping to build on his 8.2 points per game performance last season.

Jared Stansbury

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Jared a native of Clarinda, Iowa, started as the Cyclone Fanatic intern in August 2013, primarily working as a videographer until starting on the women’s basketball beat prior to the 2014-15 season. Upon earning his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State in May 2016, Jared was hired as the site’s full-time staff writer, taking over as the primary day-to-day reporter on football and men’s basketball. He was elevated to the position of managing editor in January 2020. He is a regular contributor on 1460 KXNO in Des Moines and makes regular guest appearances on radio stations across the Midwest. Jared resides in Ankeny with his four-year-old puggle, Lolo.

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