The recruiting class of 2026 took yet another punch in the gut, learning that incoming freshman Christian Wiggins will miss the entire 2026-27 season.
Wiggins had just begun his first couple of practices for the Cyclones over the summer and was having a strong start to the summer before he suffered a torn Achilles tendon on June 26, in a team practice.
The Cyclones have dealt with an injury to Yusef Gray Jr., another 2026 signee who is still recovering from a torn labrum that he sustained back in February.
“He didn’t look like a freshman out there; he looked like a poised veteran,” head coach T.J. Otzelberger said.
Wiggins was ranked as one of the top recruits in the country and the highest-ranked recruit for the Cyclones for the 2026 class. The freshman guard, given the chance to play right away for Iowa State, was very impressive.
The four-star recruit from Wayzata, Minnesota, racked up his fair share of accolades before Ames.
Wiggins was the 2025-26 Gatorade Player of the Year in Minnesota and led his team to a 25-4 record during the regular season.
Wiggins posted a stat line of 21.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.6 steals a game in his senior season.
The good news for Cyclone basketball is that Wiggins underwent a successful surgery on the torn Achilles, but now has a long road to recovery. The time it takes for an athlete to recover varies on several factors, but Wiggins could see a return in the summer of 2027.
Missing Wiggins is a hit to Iowa State, but it is something that they will recover from. The difficult part is stopping the momentum of the freshman’s maturity and their ability to set the standard early on.
Iowa State has had a few who have been impact players right away, especially last season with the additions of Killyan Toure, Dominykas Pleta and Jamarion Batemon. This is not the case for all freshmen, though.
Wiggins appeared to be one of those key impact freshmen right away for the Cyclones.
“I think that Christian was at the top of that list in terms of ready to play and ready to impact,” Otzelberger said
With the new five-year rule in the NCAA, Wiggins will have four years of eligibility remaining and will hope to return stronger and ready to compete next season.
With the new rule, there is no opportunity to medically redshirt, as the players just get five years.
The backcourt for Iowa State will still have a lot of talent next year, with returners Toure and Batemon, along with transfers Jaquan Johnson, Ryan Prather Jr., and Leon Bond III.
