After a 2025 campaign for the Iowa State Cyclones that was filled with ups and downs, the other shoe finally dropped and former head coach Matt Campbell left for Penn State after 10 seasons with the team. The program had shaped itself around Campbell in the decade he was in Ames, and with his departure, in the age of the transfer portal, it could only mean one thing: Iowa State football was going to look very different in 2026. 

After Campbell’s departure, a mass exodus began. Iowa State leads the country with 51 outgoing transfers, including every 2025 starter on the offense and defense. In 2026, the team will have to rebuild from the ground up.

It will be an active year for the Cyclones in the transfer portal. Between Jan. 2 and Jan. 16, players across the nation will have the chance to transfer to any program they would like. 

The Cyclones are slated to pick up many players from Washington State, who will follow new head coach Jimmy Rogers.

Below is a list of every incoming transfer arrival that will join the Cyclones for the 2026 season. Updates will be made as new players commit to Iowa State.

Jaylen Raynor

Senior quarterback Raynor is, without a doubt, the highest-profile transfer the Cyclones have landed this season. A three-year starter at Arkansas State, Raynor follows his former offensive coordinator, Keith Heckendorf, who will serve as Iowa State’s new quarterbacks coach. 

Raynor has 67 career touchdowns and is a dual-threat quarterback. In 2025, he posted 423 rushing yards on top of 3,361 passing yards. Raynor also lit up the Cyclones when they traveled to Arkansas State early in the season, logging 222 passing yards and 83 rushing yards.

Cody Jackson
Redshirt senior wide receiver Jackson transferred in from Tarleton State. In 2025, he logged 53 receptions for 799 yards and six touchdowns. Before joining Tarleton State, he played a season at Oklahoma, where he made limited appearances and a season at Houston.

DeAndre Carter

Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Carter makes the jump to the Cyclones from Auburn. Carter primarily made special teams reps for the Tigers in 2025.

Tristan Exline

Senior linebacker Exline transfers in from Texas Permian Basin. Exline was an impact player in his three years at the school. In his career, he has logged 272 tackles, 39 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and three interceptions. Iowa State will certainly mark a leap in competition for Exline, but he has shown that he can be a game-changer in the right situations.

Gavin Proudfoot

Redshirt senior offensive lineman Proudfoot heads south from Northern Iowa to join the Cyclones in 2026. In his three years with the Panthers, the Minnesota native has seen limited action.

Maasai King

Redshirt senior offensive lineman King moves to Iowa State from Akron. King spent two seasons at Lackawanna College before he transferred to Akron. In 2025, he appeared in 11 games.

Caleb Schmidt

Junior long snapper Schmidt transfers in from Minot State. The Minnesotan made 10 appearances in 2025 and 11 in 2024.

Keyon Washington

Redshirt sophomore defensive back Washington joins the Cyclones after a season at Bowling Green. Washington appeared in 10 games and started in seven. He logged 37 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. Prior to his season at Bowling Green, Washington spent the 2024 season at West Virginia, where he did not see the field.

Montreze Smith Jr.

Redshirt sophomore linebacker Smith makes the jump from Austin Peay. A Georgia native, Smith redshirted his freshman season at Duke in 2024. In 2025, at Austin Peay, he broke out and won a laundry list of accolades: FCS Central Freshman All-American, UAC Freshman of the Year and First-Team All-UAC.

Tyler Fortenberry

Redshirt senior tight end Fortenberry transfers in from Arkansas State. In 2025, Fortenberry had 294 receiving yards for two touchdowns. Fortenberry is somewhat of a journeyman. After graduating from high school in Mississippi, he stayed in-state and joined Copiah-Lincoln Community College, where he played his first two seasons. He flipped to Vanderbilt for the 2024 season, where he did not see the field. But he found success for Arkansas State in 2025 and will look to keep his momentum at Iowa State in 2026.

Caden Crawford

Redshirt senior defensive lineman Crawford joins Iowa State after departing from South Dakota. He returns to the state of Iowa to end a collegiate career in which he was a Hawkeye for three seasons and saw limited action before breaking out last year at South Dakota. Named second-team All-Conference in 2025, Crawford has spent a lot of time on the opposing side at Jack Trice Stadium, most recently in Week 1, where he recorded six tackles and two tackles for loss against the Cyclones. 

Caden Maas

Redshirt junior offensive lineman Maas transfers in from Sioux Falls. Maas, a Watertown, Wisconsin native, played an important role for Sioux Falls and will look to do it on a bigger stage during his final two years of eligibility at Iowa State.

Cade Myer

Graduate transfer offensive lineman Myer makes the leap from D2 football for the Colorado School of Mines to Iowa State. Myer was a standout guard for the Orediggers and is a two-time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference All-Conference player. In his final year of eligibility, the Texan could be an impact player for the Cyclones.

Gavin Broscious

Redshirt senior offensive lineman Broscious transfers in from Michigan State. Broscious was a key player in the trenches for the Spartans in 2025 and made appearances in 11 games. It was Broscious’s first year with a large role in the Michigan State offense after battling injuries in his first three seasons with the team.

Brody Miller

Redshirt freshman safety Miller follows Rogers from Washington State. The Shakopee, Minnesota native appeared in five games for the Cougars last season, primarily making special teams reps.

Adlai Lounsbury

Redshirt freshman kicker/punter Lounsbury, who grew up in Van Meter, Iowa, will return to the state with the Cyclones for the 2026 campaign. He will follow up a season at Washington State in which he made no appearances.

Braden Awls

Senior safety Awls transfers in from Toledo. The three-year starter recorded five interceptions last season and was named All-MAC First Team. Awls was one of the top targets for a Cyclone team looking to rebuild for the 2026 season. The Toledoan recorded 52 tackles last season and is slated to be a leader for Iowa State in his final year of eligibility.

Braden Smith

Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Smith transfers from Tarleton State to Iowa State. Smith began his collegiate career as a defensive lineman before switching to the offensive line. The Texan was a FCS All-American in 2025 and will look to take his skills up to a grander stage with the Cyclones in 2026. 

Carter Pabst

Sophomore wide receiver Pabst also follows Rogers from Washington State. In his freshman season, Pabst logged 168 yards. 

Colin Amick

Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Amick makes the jump from Montana to Iowa State. The Washington native was named to the Freshman All-FCS Team and played a role in bringing Montana to the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs.

Sullivan Schlimgen

Sophomore linebacker Schlimgen will be a Cyclone in 2026 after transferring from Washington State. Schlimgen, from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was a standout for the Cougars in 2025 and was one of the biggest pieces Iowa State could have picked up from defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit’s move from Washington State.

Omari Hayes

Redshirt junior wide receiver Hayes transfers in from Tulane. Hayes spent a season at Florida Atlantic before transferring to Tulane, where he played an important role in bringing the Green Wave to the College Football Playoffs. In the team’s 2025 campaign, Hayes logged 515 receiving yards and a touchdown. He will likely be a key asset for the Cyclones in 2026.

Jake Taylor

Redshirt senior offensive lineman Taylor transfers to Iowa State from Oklahoma. Taylor was a highly ranked recruit out of Nevada in the class of 2022, but has been hampered by injuries during his time at Oklahoma. He missed the entire 2025 season with injuries, but will look to get back in the saddle for the Cyclones in 2026.

Max Baloun

Redshirt senior defensive lineman Baloun, another Washington State transfer, also battled injuries in the 2025 season. Baloun found success early in the season before he was injured in the Cougars’ fourth game and was medically redshirted. He’s earned from Bobbit’s scheme during his time at Washington State and should slot easily into Iowa State’s defensive line.

Duhron Goodman

Senior safety Goodman leaves Washington State in favor of the Cyclones. Goodman has entered the portal a few times in his collegiate career. He first played at Portland State in 2023 before going back to his home state of California to play for the College of the Canyons in 2024. In 2025, with the Cougars, Goodman played in nine games before going down with an injury.

Trevor Bindel

Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Bindel also jumps over from Washington State. He made three appearances for the Cougars in his true freshman season.

Donovan Fitzmaurice

On Monday, sophomore defensive tackle Fitzmaurice announced his transfer from Washington State to Iowa State. Fitzmaurice, a Saint Louis native, logged one sack in nine appearances in his freshman season.

Damarius Russell

Redshirt freshman safety Russell moves from Washington State to Iowa State. Russell was a three-star prospect out of Waseca, Minnesota, in the 2025 class and made limited appearances for the Cougars in his true freshman season.

Trillion Sorrell

Redshirt freshman defensive back Sorrell makes the jump from Washington State to Iowa State. Sorrell, who made limited appearances in 2025, was a former recruit for the Cyclones out of Edina, Minnesota, in the 2025 class before committing to Washington State.