Iowa State Cyclones Receive Devastating Injury News on Top Transfer

The Iowa State Cyclones made a rather significant addition in the transfer portal this offseason, bagging former Eastern Washington guard Mason Williams. Unfortunately, Iowa State won't actually get to see Williams on the floor during the 2025-26 campaign.

Williams has undergone hip surgery and will miss his entire junior season, the school has announced. It's a crushing blow for Iowa State, as Williams was expected to help replace the production lost by departed leading scorers Curtis Jones and Keshon Gilbert.

Last year, Williams averaged 13.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists over 28.1 minutes per game on 42.7/34.5/83.7 shooting splits. He logged 20 points or more seven times, topping out at 35 points on 12-of-15 shooting during a loss to Idaho State in January.

The 6-foot-5 wing arrived at Eastern Washington in 2023 and had a very limited role during his freshman year, playing in 17 games and posting 3.8 points and 1.2 assists a night.

Iowa State's basketball program has definitely been on the rise. The Cyclones went 25-10 last season, going 13-7 in Big 12 conference play. They ultimately lost to Ole Miss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Otzelberger took over as Iowa State's head coach in 2021 and has led the team to the Big Dance in each of his first four seasons at the helm. He has taken the Cyclones to the Sweet 16 twice during that span, and during the 2023-24 campaign, Iowa State went 29-8 and was ranked as high as fourth in the AP top 25 poll.

But after losing Williams for next season, Otzelberger's job just became that much more difficult.

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