Blake Wetherington - Men's Basketball Coach - Iowa State University Athletics

Blake Wetherington

Title:
Graduate Assistant
Email:
blakew1@iastate.edu
Phone:
515-294-8692

Blake Wetherington completed his fourth season at Iowa State and his first serving as recruiting and scouting coordinator. Wetherington, who spent the previous three seasons as a graduate assistant, assists the staff in developing and maintaining Iowa State men's basketball's brand, as well as other recruiting and scouting duties such as graphic design.

The 2021-22 Cyclones surprised the nation with one of the best turnarounds in the history of Division I college basketball, winning 20 more games than a season ago and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones finished the season 22-13 overall and earned five wins against nationally-ranked opponents.

ISU was one of the nation's top defensive teams, finishing fifth nationally defensive efficiency, 22nd in scoring defense and 11th in 3-point field goal defense. Izaiah Brockington was the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and an All-Big 12 First Team selection, while Tyrese Hunter was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

During his time in Ames, Wetherington has been key in the development of three future NBA players in Marial Shayok, Talen Horton-Tucker - an eventual NBA Champion, and Tyrese Haliburton, who was selected as the No. 12 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

In Wetherington's first season with the program, ISU finished 23-12 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big 12 Tournament. The Cyclones finished ninth nationally in adjusted offense, leading the Big 12 in scoring offense (76.9) and field goal percentage (47.6), while also ranking among the league leaders in 3-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage.

ISU defeated six ranked opponents during the season and had four players earn All-Big 12 honors. Shayok led the way, earning a spot on the league's first team and later being named an All-American.

In 2019-20, ISU had a pair of players named All-Big 12, while five earned Academic All-Big 12 honors from the league. Haliburton was a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award prior to suffering a season-ending injury in February.

Wetherington joined the ISU program after five years at Murray State, the last of which he served as a graduate assistant for the Racers.

As graduate assistant at MSU, he handled the daily operations of the program, assisted in the scouting of opposing teams and coordinated on-campus recruiting visits. Wetherington designed a weekly recruiting graphic system and media for in-home and on-campus recruiting visits.

Wetherington also played a vital role in player development, assisting in drills during practice as well as skill development. Additionally, he oversaw and managed the student manager program for the Racers.

Prior to becoming a graduate assistant at MSU, Wetherington served as a student manager for the program from 2013-17. His first two seasons inside the program were under the direction of former Iowa State head coach Steve Prohm.

In his time at Murray State, the Racers won a pair of Ohio Valley Conference regular season titles and the 2018 OVC Tournament. MSU advanced to the postseason three times during Wetherington’s time at the school.

Wetherington coached and mentored two OVC Player of the Year winners in Jonathan Stark and Ja Morant, who was selected as the No. 2 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and later was named the NBA Rookie of the Year.

The Mayfield, Kentucky, native was coordinator of Matt McMahon Camps for two years. He has also worked camps at Xavier, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M and Duke.

Wetherington has extensive knowledge in technological areas, including multiple scouting software platforms. He was selected as one of 22 graduate assistants across all levels of college basketball to participate in the inaugural GA Top Connect GALA.

He graduated from Murray State in 2017 with a bachelor of science in business and business administration. He earned his master’s degree in youth development from Iowa State in the summer of 2020.