K-State Slate: 7.4.15 - America!

BracketCat celebrates freedom with another edition of the roster countdown. Learn more about #64, redshirt senior Aaron Bennett.

Diehard purple fans know the odds of Kansas State winning the national championship this year are long, and maybe longer than usual given the personnel the Wildcats must replace. The experts now give us some numbers, giving Kansas State 150/1 odds of winning the playoffs, and +1200 to win the Big 12 conference title (Drew Sharper, The Spread).

We often talk about the difficulty of recruiting to Kansas State, but our problems are nothing compared to the recruiting disadvantage at the service academies. The mothership's Kevin Trahan takes a closer look at the three toughest jobs in college football.

If your weekend is going really well, you need a bit of fan trauma to break up the monotony of cheer and happiness. Jason Kirk helps out by seeing your favorite team in your most hated rival's colors?

Kansas State did not exactly set the world on fire this past season, but the team showed significant improvement overall, and played stellar defense down the stretch. With six newcomers joining the team for the 2015-16 season though, second year coach Jeff Mittie is looking for more offense and a balanced attack. Mittie also praised the NCAA rule change that will have the women playing four 10-minute quarters rather than two 20-minute halves next season (Ken Corbitt, Topeka Capital-Journal).

Bruce Weber announced a new signing on Thursday. Ron Freeman (6'5", 175) is a shooting guard from Inglewood, California and has spent the past year at a prep school, where he averaged 16.6 points on 48% shooting (38% from 3-point range). Freeman will be one of six freshman on scholarship for the 2015-16 season on a team that will include 10 new players.

Kansas State's high jumpers were busy this past week with national competitions. Kim Williamson and Christoff Bryan both managed top-three finishes at the National Senior Championships in their home country of Jamaica, with Williamson winning the title and Bryan finishing a close second.

Meanwhile, several current and former Wildcats took part in the USATF Championships. Erik Kynard won the men's high jump event, tying a personal best record of 2.37m in the process. A'Keyla Mitchell and Terrell Smith finished 11th and 21st respectively in the 200m event. Mitchell clocked a blazing 22.84, the fastest wind-aided time in school history. Shot putter Dani Winters, in her first appearance at the USAs after a stellar junior campaign, finished a respectable 16th in the event.