SLATE: K-State Looks to Build a Culture and a Roster in Coach Klieman’s Image

A smattering. We have an actual smattering of news today!

Football

BracketCat inched closer to the midway point on his 100-day introduction of the K-State roster with his feature of No. 54, Emporia offensive lineman Hayden Perry.

Drew Schneider, meanwhile, applied his analytical eye to 2020 recruit Sam Shields and concluded that the Manhattan High offensive lineman’s combination of size and mobility bode well for his future as a Wildcat.

K-State has revealed the names of team members who will attend Big 12 Media days. The list is about who you would expect. Some “other” school’s attendees also show up in the article, but we’ll treat them as footnotes.

For subscribers to The Athletic (and, really, if you appreciate in-depth sports writing, you should be one) Max Olson delves into Chris Klieman’s attempt to bring a championship-winning blueprint from FCS to the FBS level. Some of the coach’s messaging (“get better every day,” “be good at the little things,” “be humble and be hungry”) is built on familiar mantras, though perhaps with a different energy than players have been accustomed to. The biggest challenge will be building the depth chart. But building the culture comes first.

At about 2:00 today, look for Drew’s primer on evaluating K-State’s recruiting class. Is it as much better than past years as we think it is?

Soccer

After a national search to replace assistant head coach Jessica Smith, who stepped down for personal reasons, Coach Mike Dibbini has chosen Kansas Weslyan head coach Kathleen Benton to join the K-State Staff. Dibbini should be familiar with Benton’s abilities, since she served as an assistant on his staff for four years when he led the Kansas Weslyan program.

Baseball

The athletic department posted its weekly update on K-State baseball players, past and present. Evan Marshall is the only ‘Cat presently in the big leagues, but a trio of alums are knocking on the door, playing in triple-A. Among the collegiate players, seniors-to-be Casey Ford, Brett Lockwood and Luke Hauswirth have pitched particularly well, while sophomore Kamron Willman leads all K-State hitters with a .432 average and a .512 on-base percentage.

Golf

Women’s golf team members Darby Deans and Reid Isaac were both named Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-American scholars for the 2018-2019 school year. Deans was honored for the second time. Both are business administration majors.

Women’s Basketball

First-year assistant coach Ebony Haliburton gets today’s feature introduction at K-State Sports Extra. She hopes to share personal lessons she has learned through her basketball and personal life to motivate and inspire student-athletes on Jeff Mittie’s squad.

Men’s Basketball

In their wrap of Tyrese Halliburton’s play in for the FIBA World Cup, the Ames Tribune quoted Bruce Weber on the team’s play and the significance of representing the good ol’ U-S-A. Now, will Weber’s exposure to top-level players in a competitive forum lead to inroads in recruiting?