Freedom basketball star Donovan Davis commits to Iowa State

Freedom basketball star Donovan Davis commits to Iowa State

Donovan Davis had a number of great options, but only one was the right choice for him.

The Freedom High School basketball standout announced May 6 he will continue his basketball career in college at Iowa State University.

He committed to the Cyclones during a public announcement inside the Freedom fieldhouse in front of a huge crowd of family and supporters.

"I'm pretty excited," Davis said. "To have the opportunity to play college basketball has always been a dream of mine. And, you know, to play for a really good team like Iowa State, I mean, it's a dream come true."

The 6-foot-8 Davis announced May 1 he would take official visits to Wisconsin, Iowa, Marquette, Nebraska and Iowa State. Davis had offers from those five schools along with Syracuse, Colorado State and Cal-Berkeley.

He is the No. 32 overall recruit in the 2027 class, according to rivals.com.

Davis, who is wrapping up his junior year at Freedom, was a Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association all-state pick in Division 3 this past season. He was the North Eastern Conference player of the year and made the league’s all-defensive team.

He averaged 21.7 points, 12.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game for the Irish this past season.

Davis joins a Cyclones program coached by Milwaukee native T.J. Otzelberger, who guided Iowa State to its third Sweet 16 appearance in five years this past season. Otzelberger, who agreed to a 10-year contract extension through 2036 after the season, was a two-year captain at UW-Whitewater, where he earned his business administration degree in 2001 and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction in 2004.

Iowa State finished the 2025-26 season with a 29-8 record, tied for the second-most wins in school history. The Cyclones were ranked No. 8 in the final AP top 25 poll.

Otzelberger has recruited Wisconsin heavily during his time at Iowa State. This past season’s roster included Jamarion Batemon of Milwaukee Academy of Science, Anthony Rise of Brookfield Central, Milan Momcilovic of Pewaukee and Xzavion Mitchell of Oshkosh North.

This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Donovan Davis commits to Iowa State for basketball