SLATE: National Signing Day Part 2

Football

Today is the first day of the “regular” signing period for prospective student-athletes in collegiate football. It’s National Signing Day!

Chris Klieman and the Kansas State Wildcats signed 12 high school prospects and one JUCO prospect back in December in the early signing period, and are currently expected to add at least four more today:

• Adryan Lara, QB, Goodyear, AZ, 6’2”, 215, 0.8696, 5.7, 79
• Silas Etter, ATH, Eudora, KS, 6’3”, 210, 0.8438, 5.6, 75
• Jacob Parrish, ATH, Olathe, KS, 5’11”, 165, 0.8181, 5.4, 73
• Tyson Struber, ATH, Galva, KS, 6’2”, 188, 0.8464, 5.5, 75
• Vaai (Uso) Seumalo, DT, Maunaloa, HI (Garden City CC), 6’4”, 305, 0.8412, 5.4, 76 (ESPN JC50)

There’s also still the possibility of signing JUCO transfer Vaai Seumalo from Garden City CC, but the recruiting experts seem to think he might be a late qualifier and not sign today (or even end up on campus). Correction: Silas Etter is not expected to make it to K-State and instead end up at JUCO next year (probably Butler). He was the first of the 2022 class to commit, and was big on helping to recruit other members of the recruiting class. Expect him to still end up at K-State in a year or two.

Of course it’s not just the high school and JUCO guys, the Wildcats have also landed some impact transfers. The first big name was Adrian Martinez, the talented QB from Nebraska who will play his final year of eligibility in Manhattan. Joshua Hayes comes to Manhattan after spending last season at Virginia, but started his career with Klieman at North Dakota State. Branden Jennings is an instant-impact linebacker who started his career at Maryland, and has three years of eligibility remaining as a true sophomore. Shawn Robinson comes in from Missouri, and is no stranger to the Big 12 as he started his career as a quarterback at TCU, before heading to Missouri where he eventually converted to safety, the position he will play in Manhattan for his final season. Three of these four were 4-star recruits out of high school.

Those four have come in on scholarship, and the Wildcats are expected to add at least 3-4 more transfers. Joining that group of four, but initially not on scholarship, is Will Honas, also coming from Nebraska. His name is familiar with Wildcat fans who follow recruiting, as he was very nearly a Wildcat when he transferred from Butler CC in 2018, but the Wichita native decided last minute to head to Lincoln instead of playing for Bill Snyder.

Basketball

There are still two basketball games tonight, despite the snow storm that covered a large swath of the Great Plains and Midwest (and somehow got in-person classes cancelled at K-State for today...).

The women are in Ames to take on No. 11/13 Iowa State at 6:30pm (Big 12 Now on ESPN+), and will be looking to get some revenge for the loss back in early January. The Wildcats led that game until the final seconds, when a banked 3pt make put the Cyclones on top.

The men are still expected to play tonight at 8:00pm in Manhattan, taking on an Oklahoma State team with a nearly identical record to the Wildcats. That game will actually be on ESPNU, and expect a pretty spartan crowd between the weather and the negative momentum from the program right now.