Four-star Minnesota guard Eli King commits to Iowa State

New Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger and his staff have offered only three prospects in the 2022 recruiting class so far. One of those three committed last week in Ames point guard Tamin Lipsey.

Now, two of the three have committed.

Eli King, a four-star guard out of Caledonia, Minnesota, committed to the Cyclones on Tuesday, showing Otzelberger's ability — so far — to lock down his top targets.

Rivals gives the 6-foot-3 King, who is AAU teammates with Lipsey on D1 Minnesota, four stars and ranks him the No. 84 overall prospect in the 2022 class. He also held offers from Minnesota, Stanford, Iowa, Marquette and Northern Iowa. It's thought that his decision came down to the Cyclones and the Hawkeyes, and he was also considering Minnesota and Stanford.

Steve Prohm's Iowa State staff offered King last July. He was Otzelberger's second offer as the Cyclones' head coach in late March, right after Lipsey. Otzelberger already knew the King family, as he coached Eli's older brother, Owen, at South Dakota State.

The Cyclones have now landed two of their early priority 2022 targets. They have one other 2022 offer out to four-star wing Alex Karaban, out of the New Hampton School in New Hampton, New Hampshire.

King is also the third Minnesota prospect Iowa State has landed since Otzelberger took over. Minnesota is a state this new staff has wanted to prioritize, with the hire of assistant coach Kyle Green really demonstrating that. That prioritization has paid early dividends with King, Minnesota transfer Gabe Kalscheur and Denver transfer Robert Jones, who are all from Minnesota.

Matthew Bain covers recruiting and pretty much anything else under the sports sun for the Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Network.  Contact him at mbain@dmreg.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.