Iowa State Transfer Point Guard Tyrese Hunter Includes Purdue Basketball in Top 6

In his first season of college basketball, Hunter started in all 35 games for Iowa State — a program record for a freshman — and garnered Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors. He was also named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team following the 2021-22 season. He ranked second on the Cyclones with 11.0 points per game while also registering 3.5 rebounds and a team-high 4.9 assists per contest. 

Hunter broke the Iowa State freshman records for assists (172) and steals (71) and finished the season fifth in steals and sixth in assists all-time among Big 12 freshmen. 

The 6-foot, 178-pound guard had 20 games with double-digit scoring, including a career-high 23 points against LSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Hunter was 7-for-11 shooting behind the arc against the Tigers, the second-most 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game by any Cyclone. 

Hunter was a four-star recruit out of St. Catherines High School in Racine, Wisconsin, as part of the 2021 recruiting class. He received 25 offers out of high school, including those from Creighton, Arizona State, Connecticut, Florida, Louisville, Miami and Minnesota, among others. 

His top-six announcement comes soon after Purdue target Nijel Pack, a transfer out of Kansas State, unveiled his commitment to Miami while bringing in a two-year NIL deal worth $800,000. 

This offseason, the Boilermakers are without Jaden Ivey, Isaiah Thompson and Eric Hunter Jr. However, Hunter will still have the option of returning to Purdue for his final year of eligibility. 

Ivey and Hunter have both declared for the 2022 NBA Draft, while Thompson announced he is transferring to Florida Gulf Coast for his senior season.