Iowa State Basketball Has One Player Ranked in Top 100

The Iowa State Cyclones have a lot of new faces on the roster heading into the 2026-27 men’s college basketball season.

Two of their stars from last season, forwards Joshua Jefferson and Milan Momcilovic, have moved on. Jefferson was selected in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft, and Momcilovic transferred to the Kentucky Wildcats.

Point guard Tamin Lipsey, who thought he had exhausted his eligibility, is back for a fifth season. His return is huge for a team that won’t have Killyan Toure in the lineup until mid-January, at the earliest, after suffering a shoulder injury this offseason.

Having Lipsey back gives the team a much higher ceiling. Not only is he one of the best point guards in the country, but he is also regarded as one of the best players overall. Over at CBS Sports, the trio of Cameron Salerno, Matt Norlander and Gary Parrish ranked the top 100 and one players in men’s college basketball.

Tamin Lipsey is one of best players in men's college basketball

“When he suits up, Iowa State is a completely different club. He fills a major creation void for this Cyclones' team, and he is an elite defender. He is Otzelberger's version of Baltimore Ravens' legend, Ed Reed. Iowa State forced a turnover on 23% of possessions when Lipsey was on the floor last season. He will take your ball,” wrote Isaac Trotter.

Coming in at No. 75 was none other than Lipsey, who is back in Ames for a fifth season after being part of a lawsuit in Indiana that cleared nearly 100 athletes for returning to their respective sports for the 2026-27 school year.

However, if his situation were more clear-cut, he would be much higher on this list. There are some rankings that have him as a top-10 player in the nation, with one placing him as the No. 2-ranked player in men’s college basketball.

For now, he is eligible via an injunction, but it is anyone’s guess how long he will be in the mix and available to play. But as long as he is suiting up, the team’s outlook changes drastically. Regarded as the best point-of-attack defender in the country heading into the 2025-26 campaign, he will bring that same hard-nosed defense along with a steady hand on offense with an elite assist-to-turnover ratio.

Lipsey is one of 10 fifth-year seniors who made the list. 16 other players are representing the Big 12 on the list, with only the SEC, with 30, and the Big Ten, with 23, having more players in the top 100.