Williams & Blum: Is Iowa State’s 2026-27 basketball roster final?

[Aiden Wyatt]

Chris Williams & Brent Blum hash out a wild weekend for the Iowa State basketball program. Milan Momcilovic is moving on. Iowa State picked up FIVE commitments from transfers who visited over the weekend. Breaking them down one-by-one and more, all courtesy of Mechdyne.

Williams & Blum: Is Iowa State’s 2026-27 basketball roster final? - Cyclone Fanatic

Chris Williams & Brent Blum hash out a wild weekend for the Iowa State basketball program. Milan Momcilovic is moving on. Iowa State picked up FIVE commitments from transfers who visited over the weekend. Breaking them down one-by-one and more, all courtesy of Mechdyne.

cyclonefanatic.com

 

[Cyclones125]

TJ has consistently stuck with an 8 man rotation. We’ve got 4 guys returning that would be in that rotation, and then 9 guys (4 HS recruits, 5 transfers) competing for the other 4 rotation spots. Having more depth would be welcomed but this seems like overkill. Seems like instead of spending money on a 1-2 big name transfers, we just spread it across 5 mid tier and are hoping a couple of them pan out.

It sounds like Milan is all-in on the NBA draft, but if he ends up transferring for the price of what it took to sign 3 of these dudes who warm the bench it’s gonna be a tough pill to swallow.

 

[cycloneman003]

TJ has consistently stuck with an 8 man rotation. We’ve got 4 guys returning that would be in that rotation, and then 9 guys (4 HS recruits, 5 transfers) competing for the other 4 rotation spots. Having more depth would be welcomed but this seems like overkill. Seems like instead of spending money on a 1-2 big name transfers, we just spread it across 5 mid tier and are hoping a couple of them pan out.

It sounds like Milan is all-in on the NBA draft, but if he ends up transferring for the price of what it took to sign 3 of these dudes who warm the bench it’s gonna be a tough pill to swallow.

Whether you think it or not, Singleton and Johnson are reasonably big transfers. Singleton in particular I’m sure got a bigger bag than most would imagine. Additionally, we’ve see the need for more quality depth.

Don’t think TJ is all of a sudden going to play 10 guys. There is a difference however between and 8 man rotation where you only have 8 on your roster who can play, or an 8 man rotation with 2-4 guys capable of stepping in if needed

 

[Cyclonepride]

TJ has consistently stuck with an 8 man rotation. We’ve got 4 guys returning that would be in that rotation, and then 9 guys (4 HS recruits, 5 transfers) competing for the other 4 rotation spots. Having more depth would be welcomed but this seems like overkill. Seems like instead of spending money on a 1-2 big name transfers, we just spread it across 5 mid tier and are hoping a couple of them pan out.

It sounds like Milan is all-in on the NBA draft, but if he ends up transferring for the price of what it took to sign 3 of these dudes who warm the bench it’s gonna be a tough pill to swallow.

Singleton and Johnson are not mid tier at all, and the others may not be as highly sought after, but fit our system to a tee. Obviously we'd love to have Milan back, but as we've seen, you need threats all over the floor or good teams are going to find ways to take your key guy away (if injuries don't). If we waited, there's a decent chance that we would have to spend more to get less later.

Also, you aren't going to have a consistent program if you are reliant on freshmen to carry a significant part of the load. You need experienced men (particularly in this system) who are physically ready right now. If a freshman does break through, that's fantastic, but you can't rely on that.

 

[Cyhig]

TJ has consistently stuck with an 8 man rotation. We’ve got 4 guys returning that would be in that rotation, and then 9 guys (4 HS recruits, 5 transfers) competing for the other 4 rotation spots. Having more depth would be welcomed but this seems like overkill. Seems like instead of spending money on a 1-2 big name transfers, we just spread it across 5 mid tier and are hoping a couple of them pan out.

It sounds like Milan is all-in on the NBA draft, but if he ends up transferring for the price of what it took to sign 3 of these dudes who warm the bench it’s gonna be a tough pill to swallow.

It wouldn’t shock me to see a solid 9 man rotation next year. I’ve always liked having quality players waiting in the wings. You never know when a player in the rotation gets injured.

And I wonder if TJ’s defense will be even more aggressive knowing there are other quality players deep in the depth chart who are fully capable of filling in for 5-7 minutes when needed

Having great depth has its advantages. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a 8 man rotation

 

[aeroclone]

Every year we are convinced that we have so much depth, and every year by the time we get to league play we always find out we only have 7-8 guys who can really contribute in a B12 game and find ourselves wishing we had more. There will be injuries, freshman who aren't ready, or transfers who don't do well with the step up in competition. It will all sort itself out. It always does.

 

[mj4cy]

Every year we are convinced that we have so much depth, and every year by the time we get to league play we always find out we only have 7-8 guys who can really contribute in a B12 game and find ourselves wishing we had more. There will be injuries, freshman who aren't ready, or transfers who don't do well with the step up in competition. It will all sort itself out. It always does.

Yep I was worried at first then I realized you almost always are going to have one or two freshmen who just aren't able to play at the level required to contribute. And yes unfortunately you'll have an injury or two throughout the year. Hopefully we can go 8+/- deep.

 

[Cycsk]

Wait, what happened? I blinked and we have a new MBB team!

TJ is good a this transfer portal game.

 

[SerenityNow]

It seems some people complain every year about the "mid tier" recruits TJ brings in, and they usually become big pieces of the team and outperform expectations.

I trust the coach has done that again this year

 

[cytor]

So TJ kept to an 8 man rotation for the most part. I think it stems from when you got to player 9 and beyond, there was a decent drop off. So... will he go deeper than 8 players this upcoming season? It seems that with this new roster, he can (and will) go more than 8 players. I guess we will see.

 

[cayin]

With 15 roser spots instead of 13, it is natural there will be a higher # of guys that won't see the floor. And this is true for most every program. The fact is, not everyone we bring in will be a contributor. Those that are not contributors, will probably enter the portal for the next year, that is the way it works these days. Players want to play.

 

[Dopey]

I do think next year’s team maxes as a top 15 roster, probably more top 20.

But making a run in March far outweighs an elite regular season. I think we’ve gotten more athletic, doubled down on defense, and despite not being huge, hopefully better at rebounding. And free throws.

Those are all good things, assuming we can score just enough to win a few games

 

[MyNameEhJeff]

TJ has consistently stuck with an 8 man rotation. We’ve got 4 guys returning that would be in that rotation, and then 9 guys (4 HS recruits, 5 transfers) competing for the other 4 rotation spots. Having more depth would be welcomed but this seems like overkill. Seems like instead of spending money on a 1-2 big name transfers, we just spread it across 5 mid tier and are hoping a couple of them pan out.

It sounds like Milan is all-in on the NBA draft, but if he ends up transferring for the price of what it took to sign 3 of these dudes who warm the bench it’s gonna be a tough pill to swallow.

I think had Mason Williams been healthy last year, he for sure would have played, I think if Mulder ended up being more like BRE, he would have played more, and I think Nelson who could have played more too, if he were B12 material - which would have given us an 11 man rotation. With as tough as our guys play on the defensive end, i think if TJ has 11 guys he could play and they produce, he will

 

[RezClone]

Fortunately for the Presidents, history knowledge is at an all time low.

So nobody will bat an eye when we claim President Singleton was America's Greatest lesser-known President.

 

[Cyched]

Excited to see what Otz can do with a Tang refugee

 

[bawbie]

TJ has consistently stuck with an 8 man rotation. We’ve got 4 guys returning that would be in that rotation, and then 9 guys (4 HS recruits, 5 transfers) competing for the other 4 rotation spots. Having more depth would be welcomed but this seems like overkill. Seems like instead of spending money on a 1-2 big name transfers, we just spread it across 5 mid tier and are hoping a couple of them pan out.

It sounds like Milan is all-in on the NBA draft, but if he ends up transferring for the price of what it took to sign 3 of these dudes who warm the bench it’s gonna be a tough pill to swallow.

But the worst case scenario is that we don't get either - and thats what would have killed the team next year. If we waited for Milan and didn't sign these guys, then Milan stays in the draft we end up with huge holes in the roster next year.

It's certainly not an ideal position to be in - but the fact that TJ identified 5 guys he wanted, got them to come here for their first visit, and then got every one of them to commit before leaving campus is an insane, unprecedented success

 

[Clonehomer]

Excited to see what Otz can do with a Tang refugee

Lesson #1: TJ will be in the huddle and not mopping the floor. So don’t get worried when you see a kid walk onto the floor with a mop. They are not spying on us, they are simply doing their job.

 

[bawbie]

I think the point about Milan not having anything left to prove is a good one as well.

If he comes back and is the focus of everyone's defense and shoots 35% next year - what happens to his draft stock?

 

[bawbie]

I disagree a bit on the statement that nobody on the team next year is "NBA ready" - Toure, with a bigger opportunity and an offseason of work is definitely an NBA ready player. He's defensively ready right now - he just needs to grow into the PG role.

 

[NENick]

I think Nelson and Mulder were not far from viable rotation guys. If Jefferson had been injured earlier in the year and out for the year, Mulder would've played. I was a little surprised TJ didn't try him vs Tennessee, since the one thing he seemed to be able to do is grab a couple rebounds (and foul, and shoot 100% from 3! Lol). Nelson was good at getting to the rim, but evidently his defense wasn't good enough to take minutes from Heise, Toure, or Batemon.

So, the question of how deep of a rotation TJ uses next year will depend on who among Johnson, Bond, Prather, and Manning demonstrate they can play without a drop-off. Same with the freshmen. Every new player looks good in highlight video. I'm excited and think this will be the season we see a consistent 9-man rotation.