Iowa State recieved it’s first commitment of the 2026 transfer portal cycle in Northern Iowa transfer Leon Bond III.
As a junior, the 6-foot-5 guard averaged 11.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game and was on the MVC All-Defensive Team.
Below is Jake Brend’s scout of Bond:
Bond is a familiar face, spending the last two seasons at UNI under Ben Jacobson. Prior to his time in Cedar Falls, he played under T.J. Otzelberger’s close friend Tony Bennett at Virginia. That included one year alongside Blake Buchanan. Bond is a really good athlete with a good frame at 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds. In 2025-26, Bond tallied 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game on 46/37/75 splits. Eye test-wise, I thought he was clearly UNI’s second-best player during their MVC Championship run. From a fit standpoint, he has a very similar statistical profile to Nate Heise in his last year at UNI. If he chose Iowa State, I’d anticipate him to fit pretty seamlessly into Heise’s Cyclone role. From a numbers standpoint, it’s perfect… the intangibles are an area where you rely on T.J. Otzelberger and his scouting.
