The Iowa State women’s basketball season doesn’t start for another three months.
The official schedule hasn’t been released yet, but the Cyclones usually open their season in early November.
But former NIACC all-American and current Iowa State Cyclone Reggi Spotts has learned this summer all about the Cyclones’ passionate fan base.
“I love Ames,” Spotts said earlier this summer while attending the NIACC women’s basketball youth basketball camp. “It’s a great town.
“I love the people there. It’s really a college town. The season hasn’t even started yet and I can already feel the love from the town. We went to the farmer’s market the other weekend and so many people stopped by our tent wishing us the best for the season. We are working hard. That’s for sure.”
Spotts spent the majority of the summer living in Ames and working out with the Iowa State women’s basketball team.
“Monday through Thursday we do a shooting workout,” Spotts said, “and a team workout, too.
“Coach (Bill) Fennelly’s goal this summer is for us to get closer, become a team and learn how each one of us plays so we can play better together.”
Spotts, who was a first-team NJCAA Division II all-American during her sophomore season at NIACC, said the Cyclones have been bonding as a team during the summer months.
“I love them,” Spott said of her new teammates. “They are great. We had my birthday (this summer) and they got me presents and surprised me.
“They’re just great people and I think and I definitely think we will be an unselfish team and play great together.”
As a sophomore at NIACC, Spotts averaged 18.8 points per game and scored 600 total points, seventh most in the NJCAA. She helped lead the Trojans to back-to-back NJCAA Region 11-B championships and to the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Division II national tournament, finishing the season 28-4.
Spotts was the 2025-26 ICCAC women’s basketball player of the year and was the 2025-26 ICCAC female athlete of the year.
Spotts scored 1,043 career points, which ranks fourth on the school’s career scoring list.
Spotts made 125 career 3-point goals (6th on the school’s career list). She collected 394 career rebounds (13th on school’s career list) with 181 assists (13th on school’s career list) and 182 steals (5th on school’s career list).
“Coach (Brad) Vaught and coach Taylor (Moen) helped me further my game,” Spotts said. “In high school, I played a lot of sports so at NIACC I got to just focus on basketball.
“Focusing on one sport and having the support group that I had and the whole NIACC community definitely helped.”
At the NIACC women’s youth basketball camp, Spotts introduced herself to the young campers and delivered a simple message.
“I used to be in their shoes,” she said. “I told them earlier when I introduced myself that I was literally in your shoes just a few years ago.
“I went to camps like this. I had a dream once and now I am living out my dreams.”
