NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State men's basketball head coach Ryan Pedon has announced the addition of Noah Cleveland, beginning for the 2026-27 season.
"We are so excited about the addition of Noah Cleveland," said Pedon. "We have followed Noah closely since our staff arrived at Illinois State in 2022, and we have been big fans of his ever since. We were Noah's first Division I offer years ago, and we are excited to now have the opportunity to coach him as a Redbird. Noah and his family have deep-rooted connections to Illinois State University and our Bloomington-Normal community. For these reasons and more, he is a perfect fit for our program. On the court, Noah will bring a mixture of toughness, physicality and athleticism to our current roster. He also brings a winning pedigree that is very important to us. He has been very well-coached throughout his high school and college experiences and that will serve Noah very well in his next step as a Redbird. Last, I would like to acknowledge Illinois Wesleyan Head Coach Ron Rose and his staff for the tremendous influence they have had on Noah's success over the past year."
A Normal, Illinois, native, Cleveland spent last season – his first in college basketball – at Illinois Wesleyan, where he was named a NCAA Division III All-American by both the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and by D3hoops.com, in addition to being named the D3hoops.com National Rookie of the Year. He was the first player in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) history to be named Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in the same season, in addition to being named First Team All-CCIW.
Additionally, he was the NABC District 8 Player of the Year and First Team All-District 8. He was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week three times during the year, earned five CCIW Player of the Week Awards, helping the Titans to the Elite Eight.
He averaged 18.8 points and 11.3 rebounds per game for the 26-5 Titans, despite playing the final handful of games with a cast on his left hand. He also had 53 assists, 49 blocked shots, and 45 steals during the season. He made 59.6 percent of his shots from the field (201-for-337) and had 86 offensive rebounds. He had 16 double-doubles during the year – sixth-most in the country, and he eclipsed the 20-point plateau 11 times, including twice in the team's NCAA Tournament games, and he also scored 30+ points three times.
He ranked ninth in NCAA Division III in total rebounds, and 12th in rebounds per game, while his 49 blocked shots were 31st best in the country. He scored a career-high 36 points at Washington University on December 18, making 12-of-20 shots from the field, 2-of-4 from long range, and 8-of-14 from the free throw line with 12 rebounds, eight of those coming on the offensive end. He had 17 rebounds on February 4 against Wheaton, while he flirted with a triple-double in that same game with nine assists (his career-high) and 12 points. He added 32 points against Elmhurst on February 7, making 14-of-17 shots from the field with three assists.
Cleveland attended Normal Community High School, where he was voted to the Illinois High School Association Third Team All-State squad, helping lead the Ironmen to a runner-up finish in the 2024 state tournament. Coming from a basketball family, his mom (Marla) played basketball at ISU, his dad (Mark), played at Hanover, and his older brother (Zach) just finished his college career at Liberty. His sister (Grace) was an All-American volleyball player at Purdue University.
The Redbirds are coming off a 23-13 season in 2025-26, advancing to the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament with wins over Kent State, Wake Forest, and Dayton.
