AMES — In the new age of college sports, the transfer portal is an area that has grown into such a large aspect of recruiting. In a way, it has become a free agency for college athletics. Although some coaches may not agree with the premise of the transfer portal being the way it is, it’s something that is here to stay, so teams had better buy into it.

For Iowa State, it is beginning to adapt to the new era of college hoops and use the transfer portal to its advantage. Although the Cyclones lost five players to the portal, they brought in four that they believe have a good chance of being high-impact players this season.

Three of the transfers are coming from top-tier conferences and have experience against some of the top schools in the country. One of them was a key player for a lower-level team.

Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly emphasized that experience was a huge part of who they would target in the portal, and he showed that with the players he and his staff went out and got.

“They understand what it means to play at this level, so it is not as big of a transition,” Fennelly said. “Obviously, it’s a transition to a new school, a new system, and new verbiage, but they’ve already been through that hard part, so they’ve all added a lot.”

Fennelly admitted that he is still trying to learn what to do in the portal and that the whole process is still new for him and his staff.

“The portal is like speed dating,” Fennelly said. “I mean, you gotta get moving. They go in the portal and you better get ready, get organized, and have a plan. It could not have worked out better for us.”

An aspect that Iowa State was looking to add from the portal was shooting. Hannah Belanger was the Cyclones’ highest volume shooter from behind the arc last season, knocking down 74 at a 38.9% rate. But, Belanger graduated. 

Lucky for Iowa State, two of its transfers excel from behind the arc. Junior guard Kenzie Hare is a transfer from Marquette, where she averaged 14 points per game on 42.5% three-point shooting as a sophomore a year ago. Junior guard Lily Hansford is an Oregon State transfer, who shot a little over 45 percent from three-point range and had eight points in the Sweet 16 against Notre Dame.

“I’m looking forward to bringing an outside presence with shooting the ball, and being able to pass it into our bigs that have been so successful here,” Hansford said. “Using my length to my advantage, things like that are what I want to bring to this program.”

Hare started all but one game for Marquette a year ago and knows how to be a competitor. There are no easy games in a league with teams like UConn and Creighton, just like the Big 12.

“The Big East was very physical, a lot of those teams have high IQ,” Hare said. “The way you guard things has to be done a certain way. Coming here is more learning, which I love, but I think the Big East definitely helped me prepare for that.”

Despite being the second-leading scorer on a 23-9 Golden Eagles team, Hare knows that she can provide more than just putting the ball through the net, and is willing to take that kind of role.

“Whatever it takes to win on any given night,” Hare said. “Whether it’s hustle plays or scoring – obviously, we already have a lot of that – so kinda just whatever coach [Fennelly] needs or whatever the team needs.”

Junior guard/forward Sydney Harris is another one of the Cyclones’ transfers, but she comes from within the conference. Harris played at TCU for a year but was battling an injury for the first half of the season.

In the last stretch of the year, Harris averaged 9.4 points while grabbing 3.2 rebounds an outing. She dropped a season-high of 27 against Big 12 opponent Cincinnati as well.

“Whatever I need to bring that day,” Harris said. “When we play different teams, there will be different matchups. If we are struggling in one area, hopefully I can try to bring that up.”

The final transfer for Iowa State is center/forward Lilly Taulelei, who started as a freshman in 22 out of 31 games for Massachusetts. She averaged 6.7 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Fennelly mentioned that Taulelei suffered an ankle sprain in practice, and she will likely be sidelined for five weeks.

Fifth-year senior Emily Ryan is ready for her farewell tour as one of the most decorated players in school history. She has seen many players come in and out during her time, but she has stayed consistent. 

A new transfer or freshman class can be exciting, but there is also a sense of uncertainty around it. The new group of transfers has gelled well with the returning players through their first few weeks of practice. 

“It’s a really fun group on and off the court,” Ryan said. “On the court, they all bring something different, and it adds a lot of versatility to our team. Off the court, they just mesh so well with the group we already had established, so that transition has been pretty seamless.”

The Cyclones tip off the 2024-25 season Oct. 30 in an exhibition game against Central College at Hilton Coliseum.