AMES, Iowa – Iowa State head football coach Matt Campbell has made incredible strides in recruiting since taking over the program three years ago.

His Cyclone classes have ranked among the best in school history, and his 2019 recruiting haul is on pace to be the best in the history of the program, as Campbell announced 20 players signed letters of intent in the early signing period today.

“When you look at this class, it’s a class that really fits the mold of the culture of our program,” Campbell said. “We got great leadership, young men with great character and families, and I think guys that really have been committed to us for an extended period of time. What I really appreciate about this group is that even before the season began they saw the vision of where this program was going and where it has the ability to go. All of these guys have big-time impact ability. We were able to touch on every position group. As you see us continue to build the program, it’s touching all those areas where you continue to allow great competition as well as building great depth within your program. This group certainly does that for us.”

ISU’s 2019 recruiting class is currently ranked 35th nationally, fourth in the Big 12 and has a composite rating of .854 by 247Sports, all totals which are on pace to set school marks.

Three players in this year’s class are four-star recruits by 247Sports in RB Jirehl Brock (Quincy, Ill.), RB Breece Hall (Wichita, Kan.) and DE Blake Peterson (Alcester, S.D.). Brock rushed for over 2,000 yards and was named Illinois’ Gatorade Player of the Year and Hall also eclipsed the 2,000-yard barrier and is invited to the 2019 All-American Bowl.

Both Brock and Hall are top-10 running backs nationally by 247Sports.

Peterson is the top player out of South Dakota and the No. 290 player nationally according to 247Sports.

Campbell had three Iowans ink with the Cyclones today in WR Darien Porter (Bettendorf), OL Jake Remsburg (West Des Moines) and LB Coal Flansburg (Solon).

Porter is rated as the fifth-best player in Iowa and the No. 63 wide receiver nationally by 247Sports and Remsburg is a two-time Des Moines Register Elite Team All-State pick.

“You look at the programs they come from, and all three guys come from high school programs where their football coaches are great leaders and developers,” Campbell said about the Iowa signees. “These are guys that know how to win and what it takes to be successful. All three of them lived that during their high school careers. I think it was really huge for us to keep young men from this state that really understand the values of this fanbase and what we are building here. It is great for us to get three of the best in the state of Iowa to stay home.”

Campbell also announced that Hall, Peterson, QB Easton Dean (Altamont, Kan.) and OL Jarrod Hufford (Newark, Ohio) will be early enrollees and begin classes at Iowa State in the spring semester. All four will compete in spring practice.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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(Learfield Sports) — The Iowa State women raced out to a 27-8 lead at the end of one quarter in a 94-46 win Wednesday, over Prairie View A@M as the Cyclones improve to 9-2. (Click on the left side of the audio bar below)

That’s Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly who rested senior standout Bridget Carleton in the second half.

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

UNDATED (AP) — There’s hope in 2019 for the Jaguars, Raiders, Giants and other teams who will finish last in the division this year. The Chicago Bears already won the NFC North to complete a worst-to-first turnaround and the Houston Texans are on the verge of securing the AFC South to become the second team to do it this season.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs offensive lineman Mitchell Schwartz joined wide receiver Sammy Watkins and cornerback Kendall Fuller in missing practice. All three are question marks heading into Sunday night’s showdown in Seattle, where the Chiefs will attempt to clinch the AFC West title and an easier path through the playoffs.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State junior running back David Montgomery has a big decision to make after the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28. If Montgomery decides to jump to the NFL, the Cyclones just signed two backs who could serve as his replacements as early as next season.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa has signed 20 players to national letters of intent, a group headlined by in-state linemen Ezra Miller of Holstein and Tyler Endres of Norwalk. Miller and Endres were two of Iowa’s four-star signees, joining linebacker Justin Jacobs of Ohio. The Hawkeyes also signed a quarterback in Alex Padilla, a two-time, first-team all-state pick out of Colorado.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s first full signing class under second-year coach Scott Frost was highlighted by a group of versatile and speedy prospects to fit the Cornhuskers’ spread offense. Wandale Robinson, a four-star prospect out of Kentucky, was maybe the biggest prize in the class of 25 signed by the Frost as the early signing period began.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas and Kansas State are already going head-to-head under their new coaches, even though they won’t meet on the field for months. That’s because Jayhawks coach Les Miles and Wildcats coach Chris Klieman are already targeting many of the same prospects as they try to assemble their initial recruiting classes in condensed timeframes.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Markis McDuffie scored 25 points and Wichita State dominated the final six-plus minutes in an 84-63 victory over Oral Roberts. Jaime Echenique scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbed six rebounds for the Shockers (7-4).

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Alessandro Lever scored 17 points and Grand Canyon won its first non-conference road game in three years by closing out Northern Iowa, 73-62 on Wednesday night.
Coming off a bad loss at Texas, the Lopes abandoned 3-point range, where they were just 6 of 25, and attacked the basket for a flurry of dunks, layups and free throws.

Lever attacked the basket and drew a fifth foul from Shandon Goldman, then attacked again to earn two free throws that put Grand Canyon up, 62-54 with 3:45 left. Tim Finke attacked the basket to draw two free throws, then made an acrobatic steal to set up a fast-break basket by Gerard Martin that put the game away.

The Lopes (6-5) held Northern Iowa to just two points over a 10-minute stretch of the first half to take a 21-9 lead, then scored 24 points over the final 6:40 to seal the win. A.J. Green hit five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 25 points for the Panthers (4-7).

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — D.J. Wilkins scored a career-high 17 points, Nick McGlynn had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Drake beat Rider 76-58 on Wednesday night. Drake (8-2) has won seven of its last eight games while Rider (4-5) has lost four of its last six.

Wilkins made five 3-pointers and both free-throw attempts, and McGlynn was 7-of-10 shooting. Nick Norton added 13 points and seven assists for Drake. Tyere Marshall had a season-high 21 points and eight rebounds, and Anthony Durham chipped in with 10 points for Rider.

Drake opened the second half with a 12-1 run, but Jordan Allen made consecutive 3s to pull Rider to 52-48 with just under 11 minutes remaining. The Bulldogs answered with a 17-4 run and led 69-54 with three minutes left. Norton scored seven points and McGlynn had five during the stretch.
It was the first meeting between the schools.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa signed 20 players to national letters of intent Wednesday, a group headlined by instate linemen Ezra Miller of Holstein and Tyler Endres of Norwalk. Miller and Endres were two of Iowa’s four-star signees, joining linebacker Justin Jacobs of Ohio.

The Hawkeyes also signed quarterback Alex Padilla, a two-time, first-team all-state pick out of Colorado. He will likely compete with Peyton Mansell for playing time after Nate Stanley departs following next season.

Iowa signed three tight ends, a position of need with Noah Fant off to the NFL and T.J. Hockenson in position to join him. The Hawkeyes brought in five Iowans, including linebacker Jack Campbell of Cedar Falls.

Iowa (8-4) closes out the season against Mississippi State (8-4) in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa men’s basketball junior forward Cordell Pemsl underwent season-ending surgery Tuesday afternoon. The announcement came Tuesday by head coach Fran McCaffery.

“Cordell’s procedure removed hardware near his knee from a previous surgery when he was in high school,” said McCaffery.

Pemsl (6-foot-8, 230 pounds) has seen action in only two games this season, playing 13 minutes against UMKC (Nov. 8) and 18 minutes versus Iowa State (Dec. 6).

“I tried to give playing this season another shot in the Iowa State game, but after a week of rest and recovery, the chronic irritation caused by the hardware has remained resulting in my inability to play in Saturday’s game versus UNI. After further discussions with the medical staff, we determined that the best course of action is to correct the problem at this time.”

The native of Dubuque, Iowa, has played in 68 career games, averaging 7.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa opened its final nonconference homestand by slogging its way to victory over a team that didn’t play like it came in with nine losses.

Tyler Cook scored 18 points, Luka Garza added 15 and No. 23 Iowa beat Western Carolina 78-60 on Tuesday for its third consecutive win.

Freshman Joe Wieskamp scored 10 points for the Hawkeyes (9-2), who forced 26 turnovers and led by as many as 27 points.

“I thought we fought,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “We had to fight.”

Iowa knew that Western Carolina could give it a game after the Catamounts took Furman — the team a spot below the Hawkeyes in this week’s AP Top 25 — to double overtime.

Iowa mostly dashed Western Carolina’s hopes early, using a 28-10 first-half run to go ahead 48-29 — even though the Catamounts shot 65 percent from the field. The Hawkeyes slowly pulled further ahead in the second half, as Maishe Dailey’s layup helped push the lead to 65-38. But the undersized Catamounts kept fighting to make the final score look closer than the game really was.

“They didn’t have enough size to guard all of us,” Cook said.

Marc Gosselin had 17 points for the Catamounts (3-10), the first team in the Southern conference to hit the 10-loss mark.

UP NEXT

Western Carolina plays at Bowling Green on Friday.

Iowa hosts Savannah State on Saturday.

Atlantic/CAM, Logan-Magnolia, Woodbine at OA-BCIG

Atlantic/CAM 39, Logan-Magnolia 36
Atlantic/CAM 69, OA-BCIG 9
Atlantic/CAM 78, Woodbine 6
Logan-Magnolia 54, OA-BCIG 30
Logan-Magnolia 78, Woodbine 6
OABCIG 48, Woodbine 36

Atlantic/CAM 3x winners: Garrett McLaren (106), Joe Weaver (120/126), Chase McLaren (138), Kadin Stutzman (145), Connor Pellett (160/170), Mitchell Williamson (182/195), Cale Roller (220/285).

Kuemper Catholic, Audubon, Coon Rapids-Bayard at Carroll

Carroll 72, Audubon 12
Carroll 72, Coon Rapids-Bayard 6
Carroll 63, Kuemper Catholic 14
Kuemper Catholic 48, Audubon 24
Kuemper Catholic 42, Coon Rapids-Bayard 30
Coon Rapids-Bayard 42, Audubon 24

Southwest Iowa, AHSTW, Abraham Lincoln at Tri-Center

AHSTW 60, Southwest Iowa 16
AHSTW 54, Tri-Center 30
AHSTW 42, Abraham Lincoln 40
Southwest Iowa 41, Abraham Lincoln 36
Abraham Lincoln 48, Tri-Center 36
Tri-Center 42, Southwest Iowa 36

Shenandoah, Bellevue West at Thomas Jefferson

Bellevue West 57 Shenandoah 15
Thomas Jefferson 63 Shenandoah 12
Thomas Jefferson 40 Bellevue West 36

Creston/O-M, South Tama at North Polk

Creston/O-M 63, North Polk 17
Creston/O-M 42, South Tama 28