Former Ames standout and women's basketball practice player walks on at Iowa State

Eric Steyer spent his freshman year at Iowa State handing out boxscores at basketball games and helping out as a manager for the school’s women’s basketball team.

But the more Steyer watched basketball, the more he realized he missed playing it.

“I just saw people playing and I’d been out of it for a while and I just started to miss it, I guess,” Steyer said.

Turns out, Steyer wasn’t done with basketball after all. He’s now on Iowa State’s men's team as the Cyclones’ lone walk-on for the 2017-18 season.

“Just getting back on the floor has been a lot of fun — and being a part of the team has been a lot of fun too,” Steyer said.

The last time Steyer suited up was during the 2016-17 season, as a senior for Ames High School. He averaged 10.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game that season for the Little Cyclones.

Steyer said he heard from a few colleges that were interested in him. But the feeling wasn’t mutual. Steyer wanted to go to college — and he wanted to go to Iowa State.

So Steyer walked away from the game. He spent his freshman season going to class, interning for the school’s athletic department and helping as a scout player for the women’s basketball team.

During men’s and women’s basketball games at Hilton, Steyer would hand out boxscores. At practice, he’d sometimes simulate one of the best players on an opposing team Iowa State would play later that week — like Baylor’s Lauren Cox.

"In the days leading up to an opponent, I would have the role of a certain player," Steyer said.

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That was fun, but it wasn't enough. Then one day, Steyer's mother, Jodie Steyer, the associate head coach for the Iowa State women’s basketball team, noticed that Eric was shooting with the men’s basketballs one day instead of the women’s.

“I knew something was up,” Jodie Steyer said.

She was right. Steyer was wanting to make a return. As it turned out, there was an opening on the men's roster. Steyer’s mom spoke with Iowa State men’s coach Steve Prohm, who said he was looking for a walk-on. After Steyer and Prohm met, he joined the Cyclones.

Steyer has spent his summer lifting with the Cyclones and playing the YMCA’s Capital City League. There hasn’t been too much rust to shake off since Steyer got plenty of time on the court while he was with the women’s team.

“Just getting on the court and just getting some live action was just nice,” Steyer said.

Even though Steyer likely won’t see many minutes, if any at all, he’s just happy to be back on the court. Stayer said he didn’t realize how much he missed it until the basketball season rolled around last season and he wasn’t playing.

“I was just so used to having basketball every day,” Steyer said. “So once I didn’t have it, it was just like a lot of empty space and a lot of free time. I just didn’t really know what to do with all that free time.”

Now that he has it back in his life, Steyer couldn’t be happier.

“It’s been quite a bit of fun,” he said.

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