In a few months, Iowa State’s heartfelt goodbyes to seniors such as , , and will turn into hellos to highly-touted incoming freshman such as , , , and Killyan Toure.
Iowa State sophomore sharpshooter Milan Momcilovic looks forward to mentoring all of those newcomers — especially Bateman and Mitchell, who like him hail from the state of Wisconsin.
“I’m definitely gonna help those guys out because I know what it was like,” said Momcilovic, who struggled to hit shots in the Cyclones’ 91-78 loss Sunday night to Ole Miss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Fiserv Forum. “(I) was in their shoes a couple years ago, so obviously take them under my wing and I’ll kind of show them the way.”
Momcilovic — who scored 20 points in ISU’s first round win over Lipscomb, but just five against the red-hot Rebels — helps form a strong core of returners for the Cyclones. Former transfers Nate Heise and Joshua Jefferson both announced their intention of returning to ISU next season. Standout point guard Tamin Lipsey, who faces a second straight offseason framed by injury rehab, will also be back, eager to guide all of his team’s incoming newcomers through the process of adapting to head coach T.J. Otzelberger’s rigorous daily habits and relentlessly grueling practices.
“Just looking forward to the future,” said Lipsey, who dealt with and continually reaggravated a groin injury suffered late this season. “(And) just getting healthy as quickly as possible.”
Otzelberger and his staff will also seek to fill voids and add depth by curating another crop of players from the transfer portal, which opened Monday and already features four Cyclones: Dishon Jackson, Demarion Watson, Kayden Fish and JT Rock.
Finding good program fits in that massive pool of vagabond athletes is one of the key reasons Otzelberger’s led ISU to NCAA Tournament appearances in each of his first four seasons. Expect that pattern to hold for the 2025-26 roster as the Cyclones seek to plumb the portal for both backcourt and frontcourt help.
“We do have a good core back, a really good core,” said Momcilovic, who scored in double figures in nine of ISU’s final 11 games. “I think we’ll be really good next year. I think I’ll taker another step and be great. Obviously, that didn’t happen (Sunday). Just gonna use it as more motivation and keep working harder.”
Heise and Momcilovic played their best basketball down the stretch this season. The 6-9, 240-pound Jefferson showcased his expansive skillset all season, setting career highs in points per game (13.0), rebounds (7.4), assists (3.1), steals (2.1), and field goal percentage (52.0).
“It should be a good year next year,” Jefferson said.
As for the 6-8 Momcilovic, becoming a strong mentor stands as just one of his offseason missions. The other one? Working to consistently dominate games as a scorer, both on the move and when spotting up from beyond the arc.
“Just taking more games over and being more aggressive,” Momcilovic said. “I feel like this year I took a decent step, but I feel like next year I can take a bigger step.”
