BOSTON – Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger has been named a finalist for the 2022 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award.
The Jim Phelan Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top Division I coach, is named in honor of a legendary bow-tied coach who spend his entire career at Mount Saint Mary’s University.
Otzelberger, who is in his first season leading the Cyclones, has orchestrated one of the nation’s top stories, helping ISU improve from a 2-22 record last season to a 22-12 record and a Sweet Sixteen appearance this season. The +20 win improvement is the second-best in college basketball history and ISU is the first team to go from two wins the season before to the Sweet Sixteen.
The Cyclones started the season 12-0, the second-best start in school history and rose to as high as No. 8 in the Associated Press Top-25 Coaches Poll. ISU won the Upsie NIT Season Tip-Off with wins against Xavier and Memphis and owns wins against Big Ten regular season champions Wisconsin and Big Ten Tournament champions Iowa.
Otzelberger broke the school record with five wins over top-25 teams, the most-ever by a first-year head coach at Iowa State.
The Cyclones earned their 21st NCAA Tournament berth and reached the sixth Sweet Sixteen in school history.
