Thomas Pollard - Men's Basketball Coach - Iowa State University Athletics

Thomas Pollard

Title:
Data Analytics Specialist
Email:
tpollard@iastate.edu
Phone:
515-294-3662

Thomas Pollard is in his fourth season as a data analytics specialist with the Iowa State men's basketball program. Pollard joined the men's basketball staff after a decorated career in the Iowa State track and field and cross country programs.

During Pollard's tenure, the Cyclones have advanced to three NCAA Tournaments, including the Sweet 16 in 2024 and the second round in 2025.

In 2024-25, the Cyclones finished the year 25-10 overall and 13-7 in the Big 12 with an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Iowa State climbed to as high as No. 2 in the country in the AP Poll, the highest ranking in program history. ISU finished the season ranked No. 17 in the AP Top 25, the 12th time in program history the Cyclones have been ranked in the final poll. Iowa State ended the season in the AP Top 25 for the 32nd-straight week, the seventh-longest streak in the country. The Cyclones ended the season with four Top 25 victories, tied for the 10th-most in program history.

The 2023-24 Cyclones won the Big 12 Championship and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones finished with a 29-8 overall record and a 13-5 league record, the second-most wins in school history. The 37 games played are tied for the most in program history. The Cyclones went a perfect 18-0 at Hilton Coliseum, the fifth undefeated year in the building's storied history. Iowa State had seven Top 25 victories on the year, including two wins over Houston when it was ranked No. 1 and No. 2 and a victory over No. 7 Kansas.

The 2022-23 Cyclones finished 19-14 on the year and 9-9 in the Big 12. Iowa State advanced to the NCAA Tournament and the Big 12 Championship semifinals, while also playing in the championship game of the Phil Knight Invitational in November. Iowa State opened the year with a 13-2 record, with the only losses coming to eventual National Champion UConn in the PKI Championship and at Iowa. Over the first 15 games of the year, the Cyclones knocked off No. 1 North Carolina, No. 12 Baylor and No. 17 TCU.

Iowa State led the nation with six wins over AP Top 10 schools. The Cyclones were one of two teams to have eight or more wins against AP Top 25 teams, as Texas (10) and Iowa State (9) led the country. The nine AP Top 25 victories are tied for the most in school history in a season.

Pollard earned CoSIDA Academic All-America First-Team honors in 2022, becoming the 19th student-athlete in Iowa State Athletics history to be named to an Academic All-America Team at least twice and was the first male track and field/cross country student-athlete to earn multiple Academic All-America honors. Pollard was also a third-team selection in 2020.

Pollard had a busy final year in competition for the Cyclones. In the fall in cross country, he earned his first career All-American accolade with his 21st-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, helping lead the Iowa State men to a second-place team finish, the fifth top two team finish for ISU in program history and the best since 1994. He also became the first student-athlete in Big 12 history to earn five All-Big 12 honors in cross country and for the third time was named the Big 12 Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

During the indoor track and field season, he earned a bronze medal in the 5,000m run at the Big 12 Championships in Ames while posting new personal-bests in the 3,000m (7:54.37) and the 5,000m (13:38.82). Outdoors, Pollard collected a bronze medal in the 10,000m run at the conference championships, qualifying for the NCAA West Preliminaries in the event. At the Stanford Invitational in April, Pollard ran to a 10K personal best of 28:23.19.

Pollard maintained a 4.00 GPA across his academic career at Iowa State and was named Academic All-Big 12 in cross country five times and track and field on four occasions.

Pollard and his wife, Kami, reside in Ames.