Iowa State picked up another commitment for its 2026 recruiting class Tuesday night in Nebraska linebacker Keian Kaiser.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound prospect announced his commitment over social media just days after locking in his official visit weekend in Ames for this June.
“There’s a big relief,” Kaiser said. “It was a very tough decision, I think I knew I was going to go there the whole time, but you never know if maybe I was missing out on something somewhere else.”
I’m home!!!!! 🌪️🌪️1000% committed @CycloneFB @Coach_Kratch @Coach_Heacock @ISUMattCampbell @TrentSlattenow @DerekHoodjer @TheTrenchLab @SidneyRaiderFB pic.twitter.com/GSIzyeHn9o
— keian kaiser (@keiank09) March 26, 2025
Kaiser held offers from Wyoming and Lindenwood, but Iowa State was the first to offer him back in November.
“I think they believe in me a lot, and I think it really helped with my recruiting,” Kaiser said. “Iowa State basically just told me that they really think I’m a key piece – and that makes every football player feel good when a power 4 school says that.”
Kaiser, who doesn’t yet have a 247 rating and comes out of Sidney High School, becomes the third player out of Nebraska to join the 2026 class, joining ATH commits Kaprice Keith and Amarion Jackson.
He’s also the first linebacker add for the group.
Another reason for Kaiser’s commitment came in the ease of getting to know linebackers coach Colby Kratch.
“He was the first person I talked to and I talked to him the entire day at my Game Day visit,” Kaiser said. “I think that really sparked something. Me and him just really have slowly gotten closer and closer. We’ve been getting more and more comfortable with each other – and just spilling more jokes out… I think our relationship is getting really close.”
“I kind of thought going into all of this recruitment stuff that football coaches would kind of be mean,” Kaiser said. “My dad always told me they wouldn’t go easy on me, but immediately he gave off a lot of good energy. It told me that this was a guy I want to be around a lot. I don’t know if it was just sitting with him and talking to him – he wouldn’t ask anything about football. It kind of showed me that he was in this just for football, but he’s in this to be there for me.”
What it means: This is a scouting add from linebackers coach Colby Kratch, and although he’s only entering his second year at the position in Ames, it’s one that can be trusted. Kratch spent six seasons with the staff as a graduate assistant and in the player personnel department from 2017-2022, before departing for one year where he was at North Texas as the linebackers coach.
Kaiser flies under the radar, picking up just one other FBS offer, but has a strong frame that can be utilized in multiple spots in the linebackers room.
The Cyclones have also established a core of Nebraska products with this class, with Kaiser becoming the third prospect from the state to announce his commitment.
