A proper send-off

Football

Kansas State (7-3, 4-3) will take on #11 Baylor (8-2, 5-2) today at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 PM and the game will be broadcast on FS1. For more details, here’s the How to Watch post from AMS.

It’s Senior Day in Manhattan. 31 players will be honored before the game including Cody Fletcher (LB), Noah Johnson (OL), Bronson Massie (DE), Jahron McPherson (DB), and last but definitely not least, Skylar Thompson (QB).

This will be Thompson’s last home game as a Wildcat. He will leave the program as its winningest quarterback since at least 1990, a distinction he earned partly by being talented enough to play as a redshirt freshman back in 2017, and partly by being determined and gritty enough to stay with Kansas State for the rest of his college career. He’s on pace to set school records for both pass efficiency and completion percentage, and he still has a shot at a 10-win season.

It’s difficult to overstate how much Thompson has meant to this program and its fans. From triumph to tragedy and everything in between, we have experienced it all with him. He’s #FAMILY and will be forever more. So long and thanks for all the fish.

Despite Baylor’s lofty ranking and slight statistical superiority, there’s not a whole lot to separate them from the Wildcats. That may be why Vegas likes Kansas State in this one, but probably only by 1 or 2, reflecting the Wildcats being at home.

Speaking of home games, this is the last one of the season, and as Drew Schneider notes, it’s important to be there and be loud. Attendance may be down on the average across college football landscape, but if you can’t show up on Senior Day for a game against a ranked opponent, how #EMAW are you even?

Win the dang day!

Basketball

Kansas State women’s basketball took on #5 North Carolina State in the preseason WNIT Tournament last night. Despite keeping pace with the Wolfpack for much of the first half, the Wildcats ultimately fell 90-69.

Ayoka Lee, who has set stat sheets on fire already this season, had 19 points and 11 rebounds for her third straight double-double. But it was Serena Sundell with the fireworks in this game, scoring a team-high 21 points (including 5 buckets from beyond the arc).

Next up, Kansas State has a three-game home stand beginning with a game against Abilene Christian. Tip off is scheduled for 6:30 PM and the game can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

Volleyball

The VolleyCats lost to #2 Texas in straight sets (19-25, 16-25, 13-25) in Austin yesterday. As the scoreline suggests, this was not an especially close contest and the Longhorns were far and away the better squad. But Kansas State’s Aliyah Carter did add 12 kills, while teammates Holly Bonde and Haley Warner had six each.

The Sunflower Showdown is up next for the VolleyCats. The two-match series starts on Friday at Bramlage Coliseum.