Iowa State earned its first off-season addition from the transfer portal in Truman State guard Hannah Belanger.
In her final season with Truman State, Belanger averaged 21.3 points per game and shot 47.1% from the the 3-point line. She’ll have one year of eligibility, being used in the upcoming season.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity, but I’m also pretty relieved at the process – I’ve been in the portal for a month – so, I’m happy that it’s coming to an end and I found the right home for me,” Belanger said.
Iowa State reached out to Belanger early this week. On Wednesday, she was on a visit.
“They reached out to me and within I think three or four days, I was on a visit,” Belanger said. “It just seemed like they really wanted me and I think that was kind of just an initial spark I had with them. I could see how badly they wanted me there, how quickly they wanted me there and how hard they worked to set up everything up for me. That was really exciting for me to see.”
Belanger’s visit only lasted about five hours, but the connections came together quickly.
Part of the visit included a meal with Emily Ryan, who is stepping into a captain’s role going forward with the 2023-24 season.
“Although it was a very quick visit, and everything happened really fast that day, I felt a great relationship and connection with the girls and the entire staff,” Belanger said. “I just felt like they all wanted me to be a part of their family.”
Belanger had interest from a number of programs, but wanted to play at the highest level possible with aspirations of playing overseas following the conclusion of her collegiate career.
“I was definitely looking to explore playing at the highest level I could and get the best experience possible out of it,” Belanger said.
The 2023 Big 12 Tournament championship along with the pair of former Cyclones selected in Monday’s WNBA Draft surely helped aid in that aspect of landing the sharp shooter.
“Seeing the work that the staff does in player development, how successful they were last season and obviously, the WNBA Draft – seeing just how involved they were with there players, I think that was the biggest thing for me,” Belanger said. “Just understanding that they love their players and they want all of them to succeed just had me feeling great about my future there.”
