Iowa State basketball kicks starter Caleb Grill off the team but mystery remains as to the cause

Iowa State basketball player Caleb Grill has been removed from the Cyclones team for a ‘failure to meet the program’s expectations.’ 

Grill ‘said something’ which has since ‘cost him’ an opportunity to finish out his basketball career with his home state school. His dismissal was announced Wednesday. 

It is unclear exactly what comments he made. Grill has not been specified what he said, nor has head coach T.J. Otzelberger.

The 22-year-old was the Cyclones’ third-leading scorer and leading 3-point shooter by percentage.

‘We hold our players to high standards and there are expectations that our student-athletes are held accountable for,’ Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said in a release.

Caleb Grill has been kicked off the Iowa State basketball team for comments which he ‘regrets’

Grill was averaging 9.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 25 games for the Cyclones this season. He led the team with 36.8 percent shooting from behind the 3-point line.

‘Unfortunately, I said something that I regret which has cost me the opportunity to finish out my dream at Iowa State,’ Gill wrote as part of a lengthy social media statement. 

‘I hope that all the players and Iowa State fans can find it in their hearts to forgive me.’ 

‘One day when I am brave enough, I hope to be able to share my story about my mental health and my mental illness I have been battling through all season.

‘While everyone was commenting about the hair, or funny actions on the court, it was a way for me to get out of that state of mind and feel like me being myself instead of the dark place I have been in this season.

‘If it was not for the love and support from family network back home … I am not sure I would be alive and I would have made a decision that would have affected so many people’s lives.’

Iowa State (17-12, 8-9 Big 12) has lost four in row and sits in sixth place in the conference. The Cyclones finish their regular season Saturday at No. 7 Baylor.

Otzelberger originally recruited Grill to South Dakota State, but then he took the UNLV job. Grill played for Iowa State in 2019-20, transferred to UNLV for one season before following Otzelberger back to Ames ahead of the 2021-22 season.

Grill was brought to Ames by coach T.J. Otzelberger after their time at UNLV and South Dakota

Before his removal from the team, Grill was the third highest-scorer for the 17-12 Cyclones