RECRUITING: Iowa State makes five-star forward Omaha Biliew’s top-four

Link Academy’s Omaha Biliew (0) dunks during the second half of the GEICO Nationals semifinal between Prolific Prep (Calif.) and Link Academy (Mo.), Friday, April 1, 2022, at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Fla.Link Academy defeated Prolific Prep 59-53.

Iowa State has made the cut for one of the top players in the 2023 recruiting class.

Five-star power forward Omaha Biliew included the Cyclones in his top-four, released on Wednesday to On3. Kansas, Oregon and the NBA G-League make up the rest of Biliew’s top options at this point in his recruitment.

Biliew, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward, is considered the No. 12 player and No. 4 power forward in the 2023 recruiting class.

Biliew plays high school basketball now for Link Academy in Missouri, but he previously played for Waukee High School, helping the program win its first Class 4A state title alongside Drake forward Tucker Devries and Iowa guard Payton Sandfort back in 2021.

The five-star has taken several visits to Iowa State since T.J. Otzelberger extended a scholarship last summer and has been one of the staff’s top priorities in the upcoming high school recruiting cycle.

Biliew’s recruitment will be an interesting one to track in the next couple of months, especially with the inclusion of the G-League option, but Iowa State has certainly already put itself in a strong position with one of the nation’s best rising high school seniors.

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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