With the nets cut down and a national champion crowned to end the 2025-26 college basketball season, it is officially time to look forward to next year and open the transfer portal.
The men’s college basketball transfer portal officially opened on Tuesday, April 7. It will close on Tuesday, April 21.
This is different from last season. Last year, the NCAA revised the transfer portal window to be shortened to 30 days and it opened after the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament were completed. This year, in order to prevent overlap with the Big Dance, the NCAA shortened the transfer window to two weeks and it didn’t open until after the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa State will need to replace Joshua Jefferson, Tamin Lipsey, Nate Heise, Eric Mulder and Dominick Nelson after losing them to graduation.
Here is a look at Iowa State men’s basketball players who have entered the portal with intent to transfer and play elsewhere next season, and incoming transfers who have chosen to take their talents to Ames.
Check back later for updates. This story will be updated for any additions and departures. Players are listed in alphabetical order.
Iowa State roster additions through the transfer portal
Leon Bond III
The first transfer portal commit for the 2026 cycle, Bond announced his commitment on Friday, April 10. A 6-foot-5, 200-pound guard from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, he will have year of eligibility remaining after spending the last two years at Northern Iowa and one season at Virginia before that.
Bond is coming off of a career-best year with the Panthers. He averaged 11.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists, while shooting 47.3% overall, 36.2% from 3-point range and 75.0% from the free-throw line. He earned All-Defensive Team honors in the Missouri Valley Conference and was one of the key players in helping Northern Iowa win the conference tournament and make its first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade.
Taj Manning
The second transfer portal commit for the Cyclones comes from in-conference rival Kansas State. Manning, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward, announced his commitment on April 11. He spent the last four years with the Wildcats and comes to Iowa State with one year of eligibility reamining.
The Grandview, Missouri, native earned a much bigger role this past season. He appeared in 30 games and averaged 4.2 points and 5.1 rebounds, while shooting 48.5% overall in 20.7 minutes per game. Manning was elevated to the starting lineup in January and held his spot for the remainder of the season. He made 17 starts as a redshirt junior.
Jaquan Johnson
The third transfer portal commit for the Cyclones, Johnson announced his commitment on April 11, less than one hour after Taj Manning. A 5-foot-11 point guard from Milwaukee, Johnson will arrive at Ames with two years of eligibility remaining.
In his first season a full-time starter at Bradley, he averaged 16.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game, while shooting 42.3% overall and 38.3% from deep. As a result of his productive, breakout year, he raked in numerous conference accolades, landing on the All-Missouri Valley Conference first team. He was also selected to the All-MVC Defensive Team and Most-Improved Team. He was also crowned as the Missouri Valley Conference defensive player of the year. The year before that, Manning broke Bradley’s freshman season record for steals, and he was named to the MVC All-Freshman team.
Tre Singleton
The Cyclones nabbed their fourth transfer portal commit, third in a single Saturday, when Northwestern forward Tre Singleton committed to Iowa State on April 11.
The 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward comes to Iowa State with three years of eligibility remaining. The Jeffersonville, Indiana native averaged 7.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in his lone season at Northwestern. He appeared in 34 games as a true freshman and made 31 starts. He shot 47.7% overall, but he went 9-of-54 (16.7%) from beyond the arc. Singleton also shot 73.8% from the free-throw line.
Singleton did get a taste of Hilton Coliseum, albeit in a preseason exhibition game. The Cyclones defeated the Wildcats, 80-72, in their final exhibition game on Oct. 26, 2025 before starting the regular season. Singleton had 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting, with five rebounds and three assists in the loss.
Ryan Prather Jr.
The fifth commit in a 72-hour stretch, Robert Morris guard Ryan Prather Jr. committed to the Cyclones on April 12. Prather is coming off of a career-best year at Robert Morris. As a redshirt junior, he started in all 33 games and averaged 15.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 0.9 steals per game. He shot 44.0% overall and 36.8% from deep. He shot 84.7% from the free-throw line. He earned All-Horizon League second-team honors. An experienced, veteran guard, the 23-year-old Prather will head to Ames with one year of eligibility remaining.
Iowa State outgoing transfers, departures
Cade Kelderman
The former walk-on turned scholarship player, Kelderman is the first Cyclone to enter the transfer portal. The Waukee native will have one year of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot-1 guard served a big role for the Cyclones over the final month of the 2024-25 season, with injuries limiting Keshon Gilbert and Tamin Lipsey down the stretch. He was rewarded with a scholarship after that season and appeared in 18 games this past season. His best performance came against Alcorn State, when he had seven points, seven assists and four steals in 15 turnover-free minutes.
Dominick Nelson
It is worth noting that Nelson ran out of eligibility, but his representatives, Seros Partners, announced that he is entering the portal. He played two seasons of college basketball at junior college Polk State, before making the Division I jump to Utah Valley, followed by a final season at Iowa State. He’ll need to appeal and get a waiver approved by the NCAA, but his time spent at the junior college level may open up an avenue to garner additional Division I eligibility and play elsewhere.
Nelson was the WAC Player of the Year at Utah Valley, but he had a more limited role at Iowa State. The quick 6-foot-5 guard was initially a prominent piece in the Cyclones’ rotation earlier in the season, before falling out for Iowa State’s budding freshmen. Nelson appeared in 24 games this past season, averaging 3.7 points and 0.9 rebounds across 8.3 minutes per game.
Mason Williams
Williams is headed to the transfer portal without ever suiting up for the Cyclones in a game. A source familiar with the situation confirmed the news to the Des Moines Register. Williams arrived at Iowa State from Washington State, where he averaged 13.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game during the 2024-25 season. He appeared in 27 games, with 22 starts, and shot 42.7% overall and 34.5% from beyond the arc. Williams had to undergo offseason hip surgery as a result of a preexisting injury, which forced him to miss the entirety of the 2025-26 campaign. He was healthy enough, however, to participate in practice again over the last couple of months, but he never got to showcase his abilities in a game.
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Tracking Iowa State men’s basketball players in the transfer portal
Reporting by Eugene Rapay, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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