Seiler, Klein to stay on with Cats

Football

As was widely reported yesterday by various sources, former Kansas State assistants Collin Klein and Blake Seiler will be staying in Manhattan for the 2019 season. Klein will be quarterbacks coach, while Seiler will continue his excellent work with the Kansas State defensive line. As both were formerly coordinators, this is a bit of a demotion, but in practical terms, it puts both Klein and Seiler back in roles where they really stood out in the past.

The rest of Chris Klieman’s staff will be announced in due course.

Basketball

The Wildcat Classic tips off at the Sprint Center in Kansas City tonight, with Kansas State (8-2) taking on Vanderbilt (7-2). Game time is 6 PM CST, and you can follow the action live on ESPN2. The Wildcats are 6-4 all-time in this series, including an 84-79 win last season.

Bruce Weber has never lost to Vanderbilt in his career, but he’s also dealing with high expectations and a spate of injuries to key players. He’s getting a star effort from Barry Brown, Jr., but is hoping Austin Trice will also step up, especially in rebounding. Trice was expected to be strong in that skill but has barely shown up and indeed didn’t even take the floor against Georgia State.

Kansas State has little margin for error. The Wildcats had to rally to pull off a win over Southern Miss in their last game, and that was due mostly to Kamau Stokes and his 16 points in the second half. He’s had 33 points in the last two games and credits improved mechanics for the sudden surge in his performance.

Let’s hope he’s the difference between a win and a loss against the Commodores tonight.