AMES, Iowa – Iowa State head football coach Matt Campbell has placed the Cyclone football program on the national radar with yearly appearances in the national rankings and five-straight bowl berths.

The fruits of his labor have paid off on the recruiting trail, as the Cyclones announced their early signees of the 2022 class today.

This year’s class is the highest-rated in school history, and it’s not even close. Campbell and his staff have completed a December signing period class ranked in the top-30 in all three major recruiting services. The 2022 Cyclone class is rated No. 22 nationally and third-best in the Big 12 by Rivals, and 247Sports rates it as the third-best class in the Big 12 and 24th overall.

Campbell is excited to bring this talented group to Ames.

“We could not be more thrilled to welcome this 2022 class into our football program,” Campbell said. “This group has believed in our program and the vision we have. We are grateful to continue to build with them leading the way. It is a well-balanced, talented class that we believe can make an impact on our program immediately and over the next five years. We have always believed in recruiting high-character young men who have a passion for academics, and a genuine love for the game of football. This group embodies those values and we are thrilled to build our future around them.”

This class features five players who earned four-star status through the various recruiting services. Eight players are ranked in the top-600 by 247Sports, including four-star pickups DT Hunter Deyo (Council Bluffs, Iowa) and WR Greg Gaines III (Tampa, Fla.), who are both top-325 players nationally.

Gaines III led his Tampa Bay Tech team to an undefeated record and a state championship game appearance on Friday. A top-40 wide receiver nationally, Gaines III has 32 touchdown catches in his career.

Deyo, a four-star recruit by Rivals, 247Sports and On3, headlines a group of four Iowans in this class in TE Gabe Burkle (Cedar Rapids), LB Jacob Imming (Sergeant Bluff) and Will McLaughlin (Defiance). Deyo was a Des Moines Register Elite Team All-State member and Imming and McLaughlin were both first-team all-state selections and ranked as the No. 5 and No. 6 players in Iowa, respectively, according to 247Sports.

Campbell has always placed a priority on recruiting players out of winning programs, and this year’s class features 10 players who have won or are currently competing for a state championship. McLaughlin (Harlan) and Deyo (Lewis Central) led their programs to state titles in Iowa, while Andrew Keller (Waunakee, Wis.) played a huge role in leading Waunakee H.S. to an undefeated (14-0) championship season.

Quaron Adams (Chandler H.S., Chandler, Ariz.) won state titles in 2019 and 2020. Trevon Howard won the 2020 national championship for IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) and James Neal won a state title in 2020 (Grayson H.S., Loganville, Ga.) and Tommy Hamann (Wayzata H.S., Minneapolis, Minn.) was a 2019 state champion. The two four-year college transfers in this class, MJ Anderson (Christian Brothers H.S., St. Louis, Mo.) and Colby Reeder (Salesianum H.S., Hockessin, Del.), were also state champions as preps.

AMES, Iowa – The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced its 2021 Academic All-America Football Team today, recognizing the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performance on the field and in the classroom.

For the second season in a row a pair of Cyclones were named to the distinguished team in seniors Charlie Kolar (TE) and Brock Purdy (QB). Kolar was named to the first team and Purdy was a second-teamer.

Kolar, who is ISU’s first three-time first team CoSIDA Academic All-American in school history, also received the top honor by being named CoSIDA Academic All-America Division I Football Team Member of the Year.  For Division I football, Kolar is the 16^th FBS player in the history of the award to earn three first team honors.

Kolar is the third Cyclone athlete to be the top scholar-athlete in a sport from CoSIDA (Lisa Koll, WTF&CC in 2008-09; Christina Hillman, WTF&CC in 2015-16).

It’s been an award-winning season for Kolar. The only All-American and Academic All-American in school history was recently named the winner of the William V. Campbell Trophy, given annually to the nation’s best scholar-athlete football player.

Kolar, who earned All-Big 12 First Team honors for the third-straight season, owns all of ISU’s tight end school records in his fabulous career, including career receiving yards (2,148), career receptions (164) and career touchdowns (22). He is the only three-time All-American in Cyclone football history.

Kolar, who has caught a pass in 35-straight games, the second-longest streak in school history and the nation’s fifth-best active streak, finished off his career with another fantastic season.

The Norman, Okla., native is second on the team in receptions (58) and receiving yards (723), both single-season school marks by a tight end. His 5.2 catches per game ranks fourth nationally among FBS tight ends.

Kolar graduated in the fall of 2020 with a 3.99 cumulative GPA in mechanical engineering. In March of 2021, Kolar received the prestigious Wallace E. Barron All-University Senior Award, honoring outstanding seniors who display high character, outstanding achievement in academics and university/community activities.

A two-time CoSIDA Second Team Academic All-American and four-time All-Big 12 quarterback, Purdy is the greatest signal-caller in school history, owning or sharing 32 school records.

Purdy ranks in the Big 12 career Top 10 in completions (7^th, 970), passing yards (8^th, 11,966) and total offense (8^th, 13,129), all school records. He finished off his career with a 16-1 record as a starter vs. Big 12 teams at Jack Trice Stadium.

A native of Gilbert, Ariz., Purdy led the Big 12 in passing yardage (248.7), total offense (267.3) and completion percentage (73.1), the fourth-best clip in the NCAA. His four games completing 80 percent or more of his passes (min. 15) attempts ties for first in the nation.

A communications studies major, Purdy holds a cumulative 3.66 GPA and is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection.

AMES, Iowa – Head coach Jamie Pinkerton announced the 2022 Iowa State softball schedule Monday, which features three home Big 12 series and the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk game at the Cyclone Sports Complex.

The Cyclones’ 2022 slate includes 14 opponents that made an NCAA Regional last season and 12 games against six teams that finished 2021 ranked inside the NFCA Coaches Poll top 15 – No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Oklahoma State, No. 7 Arizona, No. 10 Washington and No. 12 Texas.

Iowa State opens the year with 36 consecutive games away from the friendly confines of the Cyclone Sports Complex, including six tournaments on the road. The Cyclones will begin the season close to home at the Doc Halverson UNI-Dome Classic (Feb. 11-13) in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

ISU will then venture to Las Cruces, N.M. for five games at the Troy Cox Invitational (Feb. 18-20) before the prestigious Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic (Feb. 25-27) in Palm Springs, Calif. Iowa State will take part in the Wildcat Invitational (March 4-6), hosted by Arizona, followed by a return trip to the state of California for the Fullerton Tournament (March 11-13) and Pacific Tournament (March 17-19).

The Cyclones will get one final non-conference tune-up with a three-game series at future Big 12 foe BYU on March 25-26.

Big 12 competition begins on the road against Texas (April 1-3) before the Cyclones step back out of conference play for their home-opener, a midweek contest against Northern Iowa on Wednesday, April 6. Iowa State remains home for back-to-back series against Oklahoma State (April 8-10) and Texas Tech (April 14-16).

An eight-game homestand concludes Wednesday, April 20 as the Cyclones host St. Thomas at the Cyclone Sports Complex. Iowa State hits the road to square off against defending national champions Oklahoma (April 22-24) before returning home for the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series against Iowa (April 26).

Iowa State closes the month of April with a road series at Baylor (April 29-May 1) and will take a quick trip down I-35 for its final midweek contest of the season at Drake (May 4). The Cyclones conclude the regular season with a home series against Kansas (May 6-8).

The Big 12 Softball Championship will return to Oklahoma City, Okla., May 12-14, at the USA Hall of Fame Stadium Complex, also home to the NCAA Women’s College World Series. Beginning this season, the Big 12 Championship will move to a single-elimination bracket format involving all teams.

To view the entire 2022 schedule, click here.

A number of Iowa Hawkeye and Iowa State Cyclone football players have been named to the Sporting News and American Football Coaches Association All-American Teams.

Iowa junior center Tyler Linderbaum was named a first-team All-American by both outlets, becoming a consensus first-team All-American by all of the postseason award outlets. He started 34 consecutive games at Center for the Hawkeyes and Iowa posted a 26-8 record during that span.

Senior defensive back Rily Moss was named a first-team choice by the AFCA. Moss also earned third-team honors from the AP and second-team honors from the FWAA. He had four interceptions this season and is tied for 11th in career interceptions with 10.

Iowa senior defensive back Matt Hankins was named a second-team choice by the AFCA. He started 37 consecutive games in the Iowa secondary before suffering a season-ending injury following the Hawkeyes’ win over Minnesota. He had 4 interceptions this season.

Iowa State junior tailback Breece Hall was named a first-team choice by both the Sporting News and AFCA. Hall was honored by all the postseason lists. Hall piled up 1,472 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground this year.