Nate Heise, a Lake City, Minn., native and brother of former Gophers women’s hockey standout and PWHL star Taylor Heise, committed to Iowa State to play basketball on Tuesday after four seasons at Northern Iowa.
Committed ❤️🌪️💛 pic.twitter.com/MrkvULS0ip
— Nate Heise (@heiseman_1) April 2, 2024
Heise started all 32 games for Northern Iowa last season, averaging 13.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists across 32.9 minutes per game, all of which were career highs. Heise had entered the transfer portal shortly after the season.
Heise helped the Panthers to a 19-14 overall record with a 12-8 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference. They lost in the semifinals of the conference tournament to Indiana State, the top seed in the National Invitational Tournament that knocked out the Gophers. The Panthers did not make the NCAA Tournament, nor the NIT.
Iowa State, meanwhile, was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, just bowing out on Thursday in the Sweet 16 to third-seeded Illinois. The Cyclones were 29-8 in 2024 and beat then-No. 1 Houston in the Big 12 championship game in mid-March.
The Cyclones are expected to return the bulk of their roster, including leading scorer Keshon Gilbert as well as Curtis Jones and Tamin Lipsey. Heise further bolsters an Iowa State roster that appears poised for another NCAA Tournament run.
