WATERLOO — There is just under a month to go before the Iowa State basketball team reports for duty and begins the summer grind.
The Cyclones will be doing so without one of their signed incoming freshmen. On May 19, four-star forward Jackson Kiss, who was originally committed to Iowa State, announced that he was flipping to UNLV instead.
As a result of Kiss’ change of plans, the Cyclones now have three incoming freshmen and the No. 24 recruiting class for 2026, according to 247 Sports’ rankings.
While Kiss’ decommitment and flip to UNLV was a surprise for Cyclone fans, Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger affirms that there is no bad blood over the late change.
“Unbelievable young man, committed to our program for a period of time and as we got into approaching into the summer, Jackson was looking for an opportunity for more immediate playing time than what we may have available in our program and we totally support him in that endeavor,” Otzelberger told the Register. “We want to have guys that we have the opportunity that fits them at that point in time. For Jackson, as he’s continued on his journey and he’s settled on things that, for him, as a freshman, the most important thing is getting on the court and getting minutes, and — right now — in our program that may be tough to do when you’re competing against guys who have the experience that our guys do.”
Iowa State still has a trio of incoming freshmen from the recruiting class of 2026: four-star big man Dorian Rinaldo-Komlan, four-star guard Christian Wiggins and three-star point guard Yusef Gray Jr.
There are also five additions through the transfer portal, two of them are frontcourt pieces: Tre Singleton (Northwestern) and Taj Manning (Kansas State). Jaquan Johnson (Bradley), Ryan Prather Jr. (Robert Morris) and Leon Bond III (Northern Iowa) will bolster the backcourt.
The 6-foot-8, 230-pound Kiss originally committed to Iowa State back in October and signed in November. He is a consensus four-star big man with a versatile skill set. He plays with a high motor on both ends of the court and possesses playmaking abilities and solid footwork.
A native of New Zealand, he moved stateside to help cultivate his basketball career. He attends Utah Prep and was a former teammate of consensus first-team All-American A.J. Dybantsa. He also served as a member of New Zealand’s 2024 U-17 national team, helping them take fourth place at the 2024 FIBA U-17 World Cup, the highest finish in team history.
Despite Kiss’ departure, the Cyclones are prepared to move forward with summer preparation with their current roster and not make any changes.
There is still an opportunity to make a late roster addition through the transfer portal, but that doesn’t seem to be a focus at the moment. However, Otzelberger and his staff aren’t completely ruling out that option.
“We just take things as they come, it’d be reasonable to think that our roster is set and we stay where we’re at,” Otzelberger said. “But, you never want to say never. You just don’t know what could happen, so I’d say at this point, we’re looking at our roster like we have our team in place and we’re moving forward. We’re not looking at that as a position we need to fill, but at the same time, you just never know how things continue to evolve.”
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: How Jackson Kiss’ flip to UNLV impacts Iowa State basketball roster
Reporting by Eugene Rapay, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
