How Jackson Kiss' flip to UNLV impacts Iowa State basketball roster
Iowa State basketball coach T.J. Otzelberger opens up on Jackson Kiss flipping to UNLV and whether or not the Cyclones will make roster additions.
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.