Caleb Grill dismissed from Iowa State men’s basketball team

AMES — Caleb Grill is no longer a member of the Iowa State men’s basketball team.

Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger announced Wednesday afternoon in a statement that the 6-3 senior guard from Wichita, Kan., had been dismissed from the team “due to a failure to meet the program’s expectations.”

“We hold our players to high standards and there are expectations that our student-athletes are held accountable for,” Otzelberger said.

Grill averaged a career-high 9.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 25 games this season.

For the past month and a half, he’d been dealing with severe back pain stemming from an injury that occurred in the Jan. 17 win over No. 9 Texas.

Grill started his career at Iowa State before transferring to play for Otzelberger at UNLV. He returned to Ames when Otzelberger was tabbed to replace Steve Prohm before the 2021-22 season and went through senior night festivities before Tuesday’s 72-69 loss to West Virginia.

Grill shared a series of notes on Twitter late Wednesday afternoon that highlighted his love for Iowa State, appreciation for his coaches, teammates and fans, while also indicating he’s dealing with some mental health issues he needs to address.

“Unfortunately, I said something that I regret which has cost me the opportunity to finish out my dream at lowa State,” Grill tweeted. “I hope that all the players and lowa State fans can find it in their hearts to forgive me. In the end, I want to be remembered as a Cyclone no matter what my next step is. I love Ames and I love lowa State and I will hopefully become (a) booster or donor someday when I get older.”

Otzelberger meets with the media Thursday morning in advance of ISU’s regular-season finale Saturday at No. 11 Baylor.

Comments: robgray18@icloud.com