Caleb Grill Was Dismissed From Iowa State's Basketball Team as He Fought Mental Illness

Missouri may have had a pretty quick exit from the 2025 NCAA Tournament, losing in the first round against the 11 seed Drake, but arriving at the tournament was nonetheless the culmination of a redemption story for one of the team's star players, Caleb Grill. Caleb began his career with Iowa State but was dismissed from the team in 2023.

Following his return to the tournament, many want to know what led to Caleb's dismissal and what he has said about it. Here's what we know.

Caleb was dismissed from Iowa State because, according to Coach T.J. Otzelberger, he had failed to meet program expectations, per ESPN. In a post on Twitter (now X) at the time, Caleb explained his departure in part by saying that he was struggling with mental illness, although he didn't offer much detail on what he was going through. He also thanked his coach for giving him the opportunity to play.

"Lastly, 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," he wrote. "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," he explained.

While we still don't know exactly what he was referring to or what behavior ultimately led to him getting dismissed from the team, he made it clear that he's been in a much better head space at Missouri.

“I give a lot of credit to our doctors. They knew what was best for me and got me on the right track,” he told The Columbia Missourian. “I appreciate Coach Gates giving me that opportunity. It could have been easy to look me off, but when people really got to know me, they really knew who I was, and they knew what I was going through at Iowa State, and people wanted to help out, and that’s what they’ve done."

“They’ve made me a better person here, and they’ve got me right back on track of where I needed to be," he continued. "When I made a decision to come to school, part of it had to do with basketball. Most of it had to do with what would help me become better and create a better version within myself.”

Whatever Caleb's mental health struggles might have been, it seems like he's feeling much better these days than he did in the immediate aftermath of his dismissal. Missouri may have lost in the first round, but Caleb seems to be on a much better path.