Primarily a collection of news links about all 11 Horizon League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.
Fortunately for Iowa State, two of the five players coming on visits are
perfect options to be the Cyclones’ next star player.
The other is
Ryan Prather Jr., a junior from the Robert Morris Colonials. In his most recent season, he
was Robert Morris’s top player, averaging 15.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.6
assists per game.
Ryan Prather Jr. can be go-to scorer for Iowa State
Nov 4, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Robert Morris Colonials guard Ryan
Prather Jr. (2) goes to the basket as Iowa Hawkeyes guard Bennett Stirtz
(14) defends during the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. | Jeffrey
Becker-Imagn Images
He was an elite scorer in the Horizon League, with his best game coming
against the Detroit Mercy Titans, where he put up 29 points. But also had
decent games outside of the conference.
Against the Iowa Hawkeyes on opening night, he had 12 points. Against the
Drake Bulldogs, he had 12 as well.
Prather is a very similar player to Johnson. They both score the ball well,
rebound and assist at a high level, and are overall dynamic scorers. While
it would be great to have both, Iowa State really only needs one of the two
to commit, as they would likely have similar roles.
We are going to lean with Johnson to be the guy that Iowa State needs. While
Prather Jr. has the size advantage by six inches, Johnson excels at scoring
the basketball a bit better, while also doing it in a tougher conference. In
addition, Iowa State already has size, and more so, strictly needs a
score-first player.
26. DeSean Goode, 6-foot-8 sophomore forward, Robert Morris
Goode shined in his sole season at Robert Morris, earning Horizon
League Player of the Year honors with averages of 15.2 points and 8.7
rebounds per contest. He led the league in total rebounds (287),
offensive rebounds (104) and field-goal percentage (.629). After
beginning his college career at IU Indy, Goode will join his third
school in as many years.
Leaving: Mikale Stevenson (eligibility), Maximus Nelson
(eligibility), Darius Duffy (eligibility) Deangelo Elisee (eligibility,
working on a waiver), Corey Hadnot II (portal), Yuval Levin (portal),
Ebrahim Kaba (portal),
Already added in portal: Edir Ortiz (Division II Seton
Hill)
Needs: Size and scoring. The 6-foot-9, 235-pound Ortiz is a
good start to rebuilding frontcourt depth and Quentin Morgan is a promising
player there, but some depth would help. Meanwhile, the Mastodons will need
to replace a combined 34.3 points in the backcourt from Hadnot (likely to be
one of the most coveted mid-major players in the portal) and Stevenson.
Women
Purdue Fort Wayne
Leaving: Alana Nelson (eligibility), Jordan Reid
(eligibility), Lauren Lee (eligibility), Rylee Bess (portal)
Needs: Experience. The Mastodons are losing four of their
five late-season starters, including three who spent a half-decade or more
in college basketball. Lili Krasovec seems ready to be a star and the
freshman class even beyond Bess looked to contain several future standouts,
but some stapgap pieces (potentially more from the NAIA, where PFW has had
significant success) would be welcome.
