SLATE: K-State Golf headed back to NCAA Regionals

Baseball

After a stunning weekend series that saw them take two of three from a then-ranked Texas Tech squad, your Kansas State Wildcats sit in a tie for 2nd place in the Big 12 with Oklahoma State. Yes, K-State is 11-7 in Big 12 play, and is just one of four teams (of the nine that play) above .500 in conference play. Wild.

But that momentum didn’t last long, as the K-State offense was stymied by the Wichita State bullpen on Tuesday night, as the Cats fell to the Shockers in Wichita 1-0. With the win, WSU claims the series sweep this season over K-State. Next up for the Wildcats is a return to Tointon Family Stadium, as they face the Ohio Valley Conference leaders Southeast Missouri State for a three game set starting on Friday, May 5th with a 6pm game. All three games will be available, as usual, on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, or you could head out to the park if you’re in Manhattan, it’s supposed to be a wonderful weekend weather-wise.

Basketball

Just announced yesterday, the K-State women will be headed to St. Joseph, MO on Saturday, December 9th, 2023 to face off against former Big 12 foe Missouri at the 2023 Bill Snyder Basketball Classic. Of course the game itself is big news, as the former long-time conference mates haven’t played since 2017 (when then-No 19 Missouri beat K-State 73-59 in Columbia as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge), but also because of the event itself. This will be the inaugural playing of the classic named for St. Joseph-native Snyder, better known in Wildcatland for his prowess leading the K-State football program to national relevance. It’s also a homecoming of sorts for Jeff Mittie, who began his head coaching career at Missouri Western, located in St. Joseph. K-State and Missouri both finished the 2022-23 season in the WNIT.

Jerome Tang and his staff have picked up their first portal addition of this offseason, as former North Texas guard Tylor Perry has elected to join K-State for his final season of eligibility instead of joining former UNT head coach Grant McCasland in his new digs in west Texas. Perry, an Oklahoma native, began his collegiate career in the Sunflower State at Coffeyville Community College where he helped lead the Ravens to the 2021 NJCAA National Championship (over fellow Kansas program Cowley County) and was named NJCAA Tournament MVP.

This past season at UNT, Perry led the Mean Green with 17.3 points per game on their way to winning the 2023 NIT Championship, while also averaging 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. That 17ppg came on the slowest-paced D1 team in the country, and it’s very easy to where that average could shoot north of 20 in K-State’s much higher-paced system.

With Perry’s addition, K-State now has three open scholarships to fill (presuming Keyontae Johnson stays in the NBA Draft), and are stilling looking for a wing and a forward, with the third likely being “best available” regardless of position.

Football

K-State fared very very well in the 2023 NFL Draft, with four players being selected, the most since 2003. The pairing of Felix Anudike-Uzomah, 31st overall and K-State’s first 1st Round pick since 2009, and Julius Brents, 44th overall, became the second-highest pair of K-State draft picks in school history (combined selection total of 75 beating out 1997’s Chris Canty (29) and Kevin Lockett’s (47) 76 - but still behind 2003’s Terrence Newman (5) and Terry Pierce’s (51) 56). Josh Hayes was the darkhorse of the draft, from not even being on our radar as a possible pick to being selected in the 6th round, and Deuce Vaughn also went in the 6th round. Also a fun story: all four players were selected by their “home” teams - FAU to KC, Brents to Indanapolis, Hayes to Tampa Bay, and Deuce to Dallas. Of course, Deuce’s selection by Dallas, where he dad works as a scout, led to one amazing - and dusty-room-making - phone call. Overall, 10 Wildcats will be headed to NFL teams this offseason to attempt to make rosters:

• Felix Anudike-Uzomah, EDGE - Chiefs, 1st Round
• Julius Brents, CB - Colts, 2nd Round
• Josh Hayes, S - Buccaneers, 6th Round
• Deuce Vaughn, RB - Cowboys, 6th Round
• Ty Zentner, K/P - Eagles, UDFA
• Malik Knowles, WR - Vikings, UDFA
• Adrian Martinez, QB - Lions, UDFA
• Kade Warner, WR - Buccaneers, UDFA
• Ekow Boye-Doe, CB - Chiefs, Mini-camp
• Sammy Wheeler, TE - Bears, Mini-camp

Golf

For the second straight year, the K-State men’s golf team is headed to a NCAA Regional. After their strong season, they were named as the 5-seed in the 2023 NCAA Bath (Michigan) Regional, joining 1-seed Illinois, 2-seed Florida, 3-seed (and defending National Champion) Texas, and 4-seed Oregon atop a group of 13 schools all vying for inclusion in the 2023 NCAA Championship. The top five teams and the low individual not on an advancing team at the regional advance to the championship, which means K-State should be a favorite to advance to their first championship in school history.