Preview // K-State Continues Homestand Saturday Night vs. Bellarmine

GAME 2

KANSAS STATE (1-0) VS. BELLARMINE (0-1)

Saturday, November 8, 2025 | 7:01 p.m., CT | Bramlage Coliseum (11,010) | Manhattan, Kan.

TICKETS

Single-game tickets are available for as low as $14.

There are a variety of season, mini-plan and group ticket packages available. These can be purchased online at kstatesports.com/tickets, by calling (800) 221.CATS or by visiting the Bramlage Coliseum Ticket Office, Monday-Friday, 8:30 am to 5 pm.

EVENTS/PROMOTIONS

Volleyball vs. Colorado at Morgan Family Arena, 1 p.m. CT

Cheer Youth Clinic

TELEVISION

ESPN+ (online link)

Ben Boyle (play-by-play)
Missy Heidrick (analyst)
Sophie Smith (sideline reporter)

RADIO

K-State Sports Network

Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580

Satellite Radio: none

Online: Varsity Network [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)
Stan Weber (analyst)

LIVE STATS

kstate.statbroadcast.com

COACHES

K-State: Jerome Tang [Charter Oak State College '07]

Record at K-State: 62-42/4th Year

Career Record: 64-42*/4th Year+

vs. Bellarmine: 1-0

Bellarmine: Doug Davenport [Bellarmine '10]

Record at BU: 0-1/1st Year

Career Record: 0-1/1st Year

vs. K-State: 0-0

LAST GAME STARTERS:

K-State (1-0)

G: #4 P.J. Haggerty

G: #34 Nate Johnson

G: #1 Abdi Bashir Jr.

W: #14 Mobi Ikegwuruka

W: #21 Khamari McGriff

Bellarmine (0-1)

G: #2 Tyler Doyle

G: #8 Kenyon Goodin

F: #11 Brian Waddell

F: #23 Sam Donald

F: #32 Jack Karasinski

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: K-State leads 1-0

At Home: K-State leads 1-0

At Bramlage Coliseum: K-State leads 1-0

Active Streak: K-State, 1

First Meeting: K-State won 83-75 (11/10/23)

Last Meeting: K-State won 83-75 (11/10/23)

Jerome Tang vs. Doug Davenport: First meeting

A K-STATE WIN WOULD…

Make the Wildcats 2-0 for the 4th time in 5 seasons.
Move the Wildcats to 2-0 all-time vs. Bellarmine.
Move coach Jerome Tang to 41-9 at Bramlage Coliseum.
Give the Wildcats a 190-62 non-conference mark since 2006.
Extend its home non-conference mark to 148-18 since 2006.

K-STATE CONTINUES HOMESTAND SATURDAY NIGHT VS. BELLARMINE

K-State (1-0) continues its 4-game homestand to open the 2025-26 season by hosting Bellarmine (pronounced BELL-er-men) (0-1) on Saturday night at Bramlage Coliseum. The game will tip off at 7:01 p.m., CT on ESPN+. Saturday's game will wrap up the first week of the regular season.

This will be just the second meeting and the first since an 83-75 win by the Wildcats on Nov. 10, 2023. K-State is 14-1 against teams from the Atlantic Sun Conference, including 12-0 at home.

Led by first-year head coach Doug Davenport, who is taking over for his legendary father, Scott, returns 7 lettermen from a squad that posted a 5-26 record and finished 12th in the ASUN with a 2-16 mark. The Knights opened the season with a 104-59 loss at Georgia on Monday night.

LAST TIME OUT

K-State erupted for 60 points in the second half to shake off a poor offensive start, as the Wildcats opened the 2025-26 season with a 93-64 win over UNC Greensboro on Tuesday night
The Wildcats scored just 12 points in the first 11 minutes off the game, falling behind by as many as 10 points, before scoring 21 of the last 33 points to pull to within 34-33 of the Spartans at the half. The squad scored 22 of the first 31 points to take a 12-point lead and forced a timeout, then after a layup by UNCG, rattled off 15 straight points to go ahead 70-45 win with under 10 minutes to play. The lead grew to as many as 32 points.
K-State shot just over 50 percent (34-of-67) from the field, including 59.5 percent (22-of-37) in the second half, while hitting on 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from 3-point range. The 14 made 3-pointers tie for the seventh-most in any game and are the most-ever in a season opener.
Three Wildcats - P.J. Haggerty (27 points), Nate Johnson (22) and Abdi Bashir Jr. (16) - scored in double figures, as Haggerty and Johnson became the first Wildcat duo to post 20-point games since Arthur Kaluma (23) and Cam Carter (21) did it against No. 6/6 Iowa State on March 9, 2024.

SPECIAL NIGHT IN THE OPENER

Junior Nate Johnson nearly made history in his first game in a Wildcat uniform, as he narrowly missed the school's first recorded triple-double, as he finished with 22 points on 8-of-11 field goals, including 6-of-7 from 3-point range, to go with 9 rebounds and 9 assists in 31 minutes.
Johnson's 6 made 3-pointers are the most by a Wildcat in a season opener, while his 9 assists tie Aaron Swartzendruber vs. Kansas City in 1996 and Larry Reid vs. UTSA in 2000 for the most in an opener. He finished the game with an impressive +47 +/- rating.
Junior All-American candidate P.J. Haggerty and Johnson became the first duo to go over 20 points in a season opener in nearly 18 years since Michael Beasley and Blake Young went for 32 and 22 points, respectively, against Sacramento State on Nov. 9, 2007. Haggerty's 27 points, which came on 10-of-20 field goals and 6-of-7 free throws, are ninth-most by a Wildcat in an opener and the most since the aforementioned Beasley, who had 32 points in his first career game.

SEASON OPENER INS AND OUTS

K-State is now 95-27 all-time in season openers dating back to the first season in 1903, including an 83-10 mark at home. The Wildcats have a 31-3 record in openers played at Bramlage Coliseum, which includes a 16-game winning streak from 1995-2012.
K-State has now won 20 of its last 23 season openers with home losses to Northern Colorado in 2013 and Drake in 2020 and to No. 21/22 USC in the Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas event in 2023 at the T-Mobile Center.
Head coach Jerome Tang is now 3-1 in openers, as the Wildcats successfully opened his tenure with a 93-59 win over UTRGV on Nov. 7, 2022, before an 89-65 win over New Orleans to open 2024-25 and the 93-64 win over UNC Greensboro.

HOME SUCCESS UNDER JEROME TANG

The Wildcats have been impressive at Bramlage Coliseum under head coach Jerome Tang, posting a 40-9 mark with a 19-2 mark in non-conference play. Last season, the team went 10-6 at home (10-5 at Bramlage Coliseum) with losses to LSU, No. 12/11 Houston, Texas Tech, Arizona State and No. 10/10 Iowa State.

NOTES ON BELLARMINE

Led by first-year head coach Doug Davenport, Bellarmine returns 7 lettermen (Luke Anderson, Tyler Doyle, Kenyon Goodin, Jack Karasinski, Grant Neal, Myles Watkins and Grant Whitaker) from a squad that went 5-26, including a 12th-place finish in the Atlantic Sun with a 2-16 mark.
Karasinski, who transferred from William & Mary in 2024-25, made a big impact in his first season, as he averaged a team-best 15.4 points on 53.4 percent shooting, including 35 makes from 3-point range on 38.5 percent shooting. Goodin (7.1 ppg.), Doyle (6.4 ppg.) and Watkins (6.1 ppg.) also return after averaging better than 6 points per game.
Among the newcomers are transfers Darrius Bolden, who played at John Wood Community College and UW-Stevens Point, Donovan Hunter, who played in 10 games at Kent State in 2024-25, and Brian Waddell, who played 4 seasons at Purdue. The team also has 5 true freshmen.
Bellarmine averaged 72.7 points per game a season ago on 46.7 percent shooting, including 36.2 percent from 3-point range, while allowing 80.1 points on 48.1 percent shooting.
The Knights were picked 10th in both the preseason ASUN poll by the league coaches and media. Queens College (coaches) and North Alabama (media) were the preseason picks to win the league title.
Davenport takes over for his legendary father, Scott Davenport, who led the Knights to 426 wins and .684 winning percentage from 2005-25, including the 2011 Division II national title and 4 trips to the Division II Final Four. In 2020-21, the elder Davenport guided the school to the Division I ranks, winning the 2022 ASUN Tournament championship.

LAST GAME OUT

Bellarmine opened the season with a 104-59 loss at Georgia on Monday night, as the Bulldogs shot 54.3 percent (38-of-70) from the field and 90.5 percent (19-of-21) from the line while holding the Knights to 40.4 percent (23-of-57) shooting and forcing 22 turnovers.
Karasinski led the way with 23 points, hitting on 10-of-17 field goals, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range, to go with 8 rebounds. Hunter and Waddell added 9 and 7 points, respectively.

SERIES HISTORY

This will be the second meeting between K-State and Bellarmine, as the Wildcats posted an 83-75 win over the Knights at home on Nov. 10, 2023.
K-State is 14-1 against teams from the ASUN, including 12-0 at home. The Wildcats have faced eight current members, including 1-0 vs. Austin Peay, 1-0 vs. Bellarmine, 1-0 vs. Central Arkansas, 2-1 vs. Eastern Kentucky, 1-0 vs. Jacksonville, 2-0 vs. Lipscomb, 1-0 vs. North Alabama and 3-0 vs. North Florida.

LAST MEETING:

K-STATE 83, BELLARMINE 75 (Nov. 10, 2023)

Powered by 18 points from senior Tylor Perry and 17 from junior Cam Carter, K-State ushered in a new year at Bramlage Coliseum with a hard-fought 83-75 win over a pesky Bellarmine squad.
The Wildcats (1-1) led by as many as 19 points in the second half before the Knights (0-2) used a late 10-4 rally to close to within single digits with under a minute to play. The team had a 79-63 lead after a dunk by senior David N'Guessan with 2:11 to play before the visitor scored 7 straight to close the gap to 79-70 with 51.6 seconds.
After Perry knocked down a pair of free throws, they got a 3-pointer from Bash Wieland, who had team-high 17 points off the bench, to get within 81-73 with 35 seconds left. However, they could get no closer as Perry canned another pair of free throws to extend the game back to double figures.

DRISCOLL HAS HISTORY WITH BELLARMINE

Associate head coach Matthew Driscoll went 4-2 vs. Bellarmine while head coach at North Florida after the Knights joined the ASUN during the 2020-21 season. His Osprey teams won the last 3 meetings, including a season sweep in 2024-25 with a 98-83 win in Louisville, Ky., on Jan. 11 and a 95-88 victory at home on Feb. 6.

HAGGERTY AMONG THE BEST

Junior P.J. Haggerty is the among the best players to ever transfer to K-State, as he is coming off a career-best year in 2024-25, in which, he became the first Memphis Tiger since 2008 to be named an AP All-American while becoming the first Division I player to average at least 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game to go with 6.5 free throws per game since Ja Morant in 2018-19. He is the only Division I player to average at 21 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game in each of the last 2 seasons.
Haggerty ranked third nationally in both scoring (21.7 ppg.) and total points (759) in 2024-25, while his 759 points were an AAC single-season record and the most since Dajuan Wagner (762) set the school season record in 2001-02.
Haggerty was a consensus Second Team All-American in his lone season at Memphis, while was just the second Tiger to be named the AAC Player of the Year as well as Most Outstanding Player at the AAC Tournament. He was also a finalist for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year award, the Wooden Award and the Riley Wallace Award as the most impactful transfer.
Haggerty, who has also made stops at TCU (2022-23) and Tulsa (2023-24), has scored more than 1,400 points (1,433) in his college career, connecting on 48.4 percent from the field and 79.1 percent from the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in 64 of 72 career games with 25 games of 25 or more points, including two 30-point games and one 40-point game. He scored a career-high 42 points vs. Wichita State on March 14.

HAGGERTY'S PRESEASON ACCOLADES

2025-26 Jersey Mike's Naismith College Player of the Year Watch List
2025-26 NABC Preseason Division I Player of the Year Watch List
2025-26 Jay Bilas Preseason First Team All-American
2025-26 @CBB Analytics Preseason First Team All-American
2025-26 CBS Sports Preseason Third Team All-American
2025-26 The Field of 68 Preseason Third Team All-American
2025-26 Preseason All-Big 12 Team (coaches)
2025-26 Jerry West Award Preseason Watch List (one of 20)

HAGGERTY ALSO GREAT AT LINE

In addition to his scoring prowess, P.J. Haggerty is also great at getting to the free throw line, as he ranked in the top-3 nationally in both free throws made and attempted in the past 2 seasons, including second in attempts (309) and third in makes (237) in 2023-24 while at Tulsa and second in both makes (224) and attempts (274) in 2024-25 while at Memphis.
Haggerty has made 461 free throws on 583 attempts in the past 2 seasons, averaging nearly 7 makes on nearly 9 attempts in his last 66 games played.
Last season, Haggerty connected on 81.8 percent from the free throw line with an AAC-best 224 makes on 274 attempts. He went perfect from the line in 6 games, including 14-of-14 vs. Tulane on March 15 in the AAC Tournament. He made 27 straight free throws at one point during the season.
Haggerty drew 7.9 fouls per 40 minutes as a sophomore at Tulsa in 2023-24, finishing behind only National Player of the Year Zach Edey with 309 free throw attempts, while his 237 free throws were the third-most in the country.

BASHIR GOOD FROM 3

Junior guard Abdi Bashir Jr. is among the best returning 3-point shooting in the country, as he led the NCAA in 3-point field goals/game (3.85) while he was second in total 3-point field goals (127) and 3-point field goals attempted (332) in 2024-25). He broke both the Monmouth and CAA single-season record for 3-pointers (327).
Bashir connected on a career-high 10 3-pointers in his 38-point performance against Rutgers on Nov. 18, 2024. The 10 treys tied for the second-most in Monmouth history. He made at least 5 3-pointers in 12 games, while he had 8 triples in back-to-back games vs. Northeastern (2/24/25) and Elon (2/27/25).
Bashir has made 178 3-point field goals in his 66-game college career on 38.4 percent shooting, which is nearly 3 made 3-pointers per game.
As a sophomore, Bashir led Monmouth and the CAA in scoring at 20.1 points per game, while he was 16th in scoring and 25th in total points (663) in the NCAA. He posted five 30-point games, which tied for the most in program history, while he scored 20 or more points in 13 other contests. He scored a career-high 38 points at Rutgers on Nov. 15, 2024, which were the most points scored against the Scarlet Knight since 1977.
Bashir also had notable performances against Michigan State (20 points), Wichita State (15 points), Stephen F. Austin (30 points), Seton Hall (28 points), Lehigh (22 points), Princeton (26 points) and Auburn (15 points) in 2024-25.

BASHIR ALSO A TWIN

Junior Abdi Bashir Jr. and his brother Abdul are among 9 sets of twins playing Division I basketball in 2025-26, including one of 3 sets of identical twins (Illinois' Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic and Texas State's Dimp and Ky Pernell).
They also one of 3 sets playing at different schools, joining Ethan (Air Force) and Eli (Le Moyne) Greenberg and Tajuan (Seton Hall) and Takai (Oregon) Simpkins.

TWINS PLAYING DIVISION I BASKETBALL

Abdi and Abdul Bashir (K-State, Auburn)
Micah and Marley Curtis (North Dakota)
Cameron and Cayden Boozer (Duke)
Dominykas and Dovydas Butka (Campbell)
Ethan and Eli Greenberg (Air Force, Le Moyne)
Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic (Illinois)
Dimp and Ky Pernell (Texas State)
Tajuan and Takai Simpkins (Seton Hall, Oregon)
Donny and MJ Yeager (Oakland)

1750 WINS AND COUNTING

K-State enters the 2025-26 season as one of the winningest programs in Division I history, as the Wildcats have posted a 1,756-1,255 (.583) all-time record which includes 32 NCAA Tournament appearances and 21 conference championships.
The current 1,757 wins are the 43rd-most in Division I history, including the seventh-most among current Big 12 schools.

SUCCESS IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY

K-State has posted a 189-62 (.752) record in non-conference play since the 2006-07 season. During that span, the Wildcats have a 147-18 (.890) mark at home venues (includes games played at Bramlage Coliseum, INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita and the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City) in non-conference play, including a 131-14 (.903) mark at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State's 12-1 non-conference mark in 2022-23 was the best since the 2009-10 team went a program-best 13-1. Last season, the team went 7-6 in non-conference play, including 4-1 in Bramlage Coliseum.

Year	Overall	Home	Bramlage
2006-07	11-4	7-0	7-0
2007-08	10-4	8-1	7-1
2008-09	12-3	11-0	10-0
2009-10	13-1	9-0	8-0
2010-11	12-3	9-1	8-1
2011-12	11-1	7-0	6-0
2012-13	11-2	9-0	8-0
2013-14	10-3	7-1	7-1
2014-15	7-6	6-2	5-2
2015-16	11-2	8-0	8-0
2016-17	11-2	8-0	8-0
2017-18	11-2	8-1	8-0
2018-19	10-3	7-0	6-0
2019-20	7-6	6-2	6-1
2020-21	4-5	4-5	4-5
2021-22	8-5	6-1	6-1
2022-23	12-1	8-0	7-0
2023-24	10-3	8-1	7-1
2024-25	7-6	4-2	4-1
2025-26	1-0	1-0	1-0
Total	189-62	147-18	131-14

RECAPPING EXHIBITION PLAY:

MISSOURI 100, K-STATE 91 [Exh.]

Junior P.J. Haggerty paced all scorers with a game-high 23 points and 6 assists while senior Nate Johnson added 14 points, as K-State opened exhibition play with a 100-91 loss at Missouri on Oct. 24 at Mizzou Arena.
Haggerty scored his 23 points on 8-of-14 field goals, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, and 5-of-7 free throws to go with his game-high 6 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals in 25 minutes. Johnson made 5-of-11 shots, including 2-of-5 from long range, to go with a team-high 6 rebounds.
Four Tigers scored in double figures, including 16 points each from junior Anthony Robinson II and graduate Jayden Stone, as Missouri connected on 54.8 percent (34-of-62) from the field with 54 points in the paint and 29 fast-break points. The Tigers return 3 starters and 7 lettermen from one of the most potent offenses in the country, ranking ninth nationally at 83.6 points per game.
The Wildcats shot nearly 50 percent from the field (49.3 percent; 33-of-67), while getting 44 points in the paint and 35 points from their bench, as head coach Jerome Tang used a platoon-type system for much of the first half. Nine other players scored at least 5 points, including 7 points from junior Elias Rapieque and freshman Andrej Kostic.
Haggerty, Johnson and Rapieque were joined in the starting lineup by junior Abdi Bashir Jr. and senior Khamari McGriff, playing the first 3 minutes before being replaced by sophomore David Castillo, senior C.J. Jones, Kostic, sophomore Mobi Ikegwuruka and junior Dorin Buca for the next 3 minutes. The platooning went on every 3 minutes until the original starters came back in at the 8:43 mark in the midst of a 14-0 run by the Tigers.
Robinson scored 11 of his 16 points during the pivotal 14-0 run in which Missouri took control of the game. The Tigers flipped a 16-10 deficit into a 24-16 lead before a timeout by Tang with 8:43 to play. The lead grew to 46-32 with 2:10 remaining before the Wildcats closed to 47-39 on a layup by Haggerty.
K-State twice closed to within 6 points in the early moment of the second half, including 63-57 on a 3-pointer by Johnson and 65-59 on 2 free throws by Johnson. However, the explosive Tigers scored 17 of the next 21 points to take an 82-63 lead with 8:16 to play. The Wildcats scored the last 7 points, including a layup by Buca, a 3-pointer from Taj Manning and 2 free throws from Jones.

K-STATE 112, NEWMAN 90

P.J. Haggerty and Abdi Bashir Jr. combined for 52 points, as K-State posted the second-most points in a home exhibition game with a 112-90 victory over Division II Newman on Friday night at Bramlage Coliseum.
The 112 points tied for the third-most scored by the Wildcats in an exhibition game, including the most at home since a school-record 122-point effort against the University of Windsor on Nov. 29, 1979. Overall, it was the ninth 100-point game in the school's exhibition history.
K-State shot 60 percent from the field, hitting on 42 of 70 field goal attempts, with 64 points in the paint, 34 fast-break points and 31 points off turnovers. The Wildcats had 27 assists, while posting 19 steals.
Haggerty led all scorers with 27 points, connecting on 11-of-14 field goal attempts, to go with a game-high 10 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals in 29 minutes, while Bashir added 25 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 5 3-pointers. The duo was joined in double figures by senior Khamari McGriff and sophomore David Castillo, who each scored 11 points.
Newman led for more than 6 minutes behind a barrage of 3-pointers, as 13 of its first 16 made field goals came from long range. The Jets finished with 18, including 5 from sophomore Jayden Schoen and senior Brandon Wilson.

'CATS PICKED 9TH IN BIG 12 POLL; HAGGERTY NAMED TO ALL-BIG 12 TEAM

K-State was picked ninth in the 16-team Big 12 preseason poll, while junior transfer P.J. Haggerty was one of 10 selections to the Preseason All-Big 12 by the league coaches.
The Wildcats totaled 117 points in the preseason poll, just 3 points behind eighth-place Cincinnati and 27 points ahead of 10th-place TCU.
Reigning regular-season and tournament champion Houston was selected first with 224 points and 14 of the 16 first-place votes followed by second-place BYU (204 points, one first-place vote) and third-place Texas Tech (200 points). The rest of the top-7 included Arizona (179 points, one first-place vote), Iowa State (170), Kansas (163) and Baylor (137).
The rest of the preseason poll included eighth-place Cincinnati (120) followed by K-State, TCU, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Utah, UCF, Colorado and Arizona State.
Haggerty's selection marks the second straight year that a Wildcat has been named to the preseason all-conference team (Coleman Hawkins, 2024) by the league coaches. He is one of nine players in school history to be chosen for preseason all-conference honors dating to Manny Dies in 1998-99. Others include Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly in 2010-11, Rodney McGruder in 2012-13 and Marcus Foster in 2014-15 and Barry Brown Jr. and Dean Wade in 2018-19.

WHAT'S BACK FOR K-STATE

K-State returns 4 players (C.J. Jones, David Castillo, Mobi Ikegwuruka and Taj Manning) from the 2024-25 season, in which, the Wildcats posted a 16-17 record, including a tie for ninth in Big 12 play with a 9-11 mark.
Jones played in all 33 games with 9 starts in his first season in 2024-25 after starting his college career at UIC where he played in 62 games from 2022-24. He averaged 5.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 18.9 minutes per game.
Castillo played in 32 games as a true freshman in 2024-25, averaging 2.4 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 10 minutes per game.
Ikegwuruka played in 24 games as a sophomore, scoring in 15 games.
Manning has seen action in 22 games with a start in his K-State playing career, which dates back to the 2022-23 season.

WHAT'S NEW FOR K-STATE

The team welcomes 10 newcomers, including 5 Division I transfers (Abdi Bashir Jr., P.J. Haggerty, Marcus Johnson, Nate Johnson and Khamari McGriff), 4 international players (Dorin Buca, Andrej Kostic, Stephen Osei and Elias Rapieque) and one freshman (Exavier Wilson).
Bashir was the top 3-point shooter in the nation at 3.85 per game as a sophomore at Monmouth in 2024-25, where he was a First Team All-CAA selection.
Haggerty was a consensus Second Team All-American at Memphis last season, where he ranked third nationally in scoring at 21.7 ppg.
Johnson has scored more than 1,900 points in his college career, including more than 1,600 points at the Division I and II ranks at Wheeling and Bowling Green.
Johnson transferred after 3 seasons at Akron where he became the first Zip to be named both the MAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year in 2024-25.
McGriff was part of 99 wins in 4 seasons at UNC Wilmington, where he developed into the CAA's Top Six man and was named to the All-CAA Tournament team.
Buca is one of the tallest players in school history at 7-foot-2, playing for Akern Libertas Livorno in 2024-25 in the Italian Series A2.
Kostic was a member of the Serbian U18 and U19 National Teams, winning gold at the 2023 European U18 Championship. He grew in the KK Crvena Zvezda club team.
Osei played at Casper College in 2024-25, where he scored in 15 of 26 games with 3 20-point games and 7 double-doubles.
Rapieque was a member of the German U18 and U20 National Teams, playing at the 2023 and 2024 European U20 Championships. He grew in the ALBA Berlin club team.
Wilson scored more than 1,700 career points in his prep career at Tolton Catholic High School in Columbia, Mo., which ranks second behind only Michael Porter Jr.

FIVE INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS

K-State's 5 international players (juniors Dorin Buca, Mobi Ikegwuruka and Elias Rapieque, sophomore Stephen Osei and freshman Andrej Kostic) are the most on any Wildcat team in school history.
Buca (Perugia, Italy), Kostic (Belgrade, Serbia) and Rapieque (Berlin, Germany) are the first Wildcat players from their respective countries.

RECAPPING LAST SEASON

During a roller coaster of a season that included a 6-game losing streak followed by a 6-game winning streak, K-State could not overcome an up-and-down non-conference season, as the Wildcats finished with a 16-17 overall record, including a tie for ninth place with TCU in the new-look 16-team Big 12 with a 9-11 mark.
Among the 16 wins were 10 over teams that advanced to the postseason (3 NCAA Tournament, 1 NIT and 6 College Basketball Crown), including ranked wins over No. 3/3 Iowa State, No. 16/17 Cincinnati, No. 16/17 Kansas and No. 23/23 West Virginia.
K-State won 6 of its first 8 games before losing its last 3 non-conference games (at St. John's, Drake and Wichita State) to enter Big 12 play with a 6-5 record. After a 70-67 win over No. 16/17 Cincinnati in the Big 12 opener, the Wildcats lost their next 6 league games (at TCU, at Oklahoma State, No. 12/11 Houston, Texas Tech, at No. 9/10 Kansas and at Baylor). After an impressive win over No. 23/23 West Virginia, the team rattled off 5 more victories, including an 80-61 win at No. 3/3 Iowa State and back-to-back home wins over No. 16/17 Kansas and No. 13/13 Arizona. However, the Wildcats couldn't keep the momentum going with 4 straight losses (at BYU and Utah, Arizona State and at UCF). The team won 3 of their last 4 before falling to Baylor at the Big 12 Championship.
Seniors Coleman Hawkins and David N'Guessan were both lauded for their outstanding seasons, as Hawkins was named to the All-Big 12 Third Team while N'Guessan was selected to the Honorable Mention team.
Hawkins was the only Division I player in the country to average at least 10 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. The Wildcats' leading scorer (13.3 ppg.) and rebounder (7.2 rpg.), N'Guessan led the Big 12 with a 64.4 field goal percentage while ranking in the league's top 20 in both scoring and rebounding.

HARTMAN TO BE INDUCTED INTO NATIONAL COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME

Legendary head coach Jack Hartman, who won a school-record 295 games during his illustrious 16-year tenure from 1970-86, will be among eight individuals who will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
Hartman was the only head coach in the eight-man induction class, which included Dave Meyers (UCLA), Sihugo Green (Duquesne), Lennie Rosenbluth (North Carolina), Wayne Estes (Utah State), Sam Lacey (New Mexico State), John Rudometkin (USC) and Tom Stith (St. Bonaventure).
Hartman won nearly 600 games in his legendary career, which included stints at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College from 1955-62 and Southern Illinois from 1962-70. He won a NJCAA national championship at Coffeyville in 1961-62, going a perfect 32-0, while he led the Salukis to the 1967 NIT Championship with a 24-2 record.
Hartman led K-State to a 295-169 (.636) record, 3 Big Eight regular-season conference titles (1971-72, 1972-73, 1976-77), 2 Big Eight Tournament championships (1977, 1980) and 9 postseason appearances (7 NCAA Tournaments) during his 16 seasons as head coach.
Hartman saw the Wildcats post 20 or more wins 7 times, including 24 wins in both 1976-77 and 1980-81. He also guided the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament 7 times (1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982), including 4 trips (1972, 1973, 1975, 1981) to the Elite Eight.
Hartman is the sixth person with K-State to be named to the Hall of Fame, including the fourth men's basketball head coach following Jack Gardner (2006), Tex Winter (2010) and his former player Lon Kruger (2022). In addition, former Wildcat players Rolando Blackman (2015) and Bob Boozer (2016) have also been elected to the Hall of Fame.

Preview // K-State Continues Homestand Saturday Night vs. Bellarmine

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Players Mentioned

Abdi Bashir Jr.

Dorin Buca

David Castillo

P.J. Haggerty

Coleman Hawkins

Mobi Ikegwuruka

Marcus Johnson

Nate Johnson

C.J. Jones

Andrej Kostic

Taj Manning

Khamari McGriff

David N'Guessan

Stephen Osei

Elias Rapieque

Exavier Wilson

Kansas State University Athletics

Preview // K-State Continues Homestand Saturday Night vs. Bellarmine

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Abdi Bashir Jr.

Dorin Buca

David Castillo

P.J. Haggerty

Coleman Hawkins

Mobi Ikegwuruka

Marcus Johnson

Nate Johnson

C.J. Jones

Andrej Kostic

Taj Manning

Khamari McGriff

David N'Guessan

Stephen Osei

Elias Rapieque

Exavier Wilson

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