The Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represents
Kansas State University
Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...
in
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
competition. The program is classified in the
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...
, and is a member of the
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...
. The head coach is
Jerome Tang
Jerome Tang (born October 7, 1966) is a Trinidadian-American college basketball coach who is the head coach for the Wildcats of Kansas State University. He had previously been an assistant coach under Scott Drew from 2003 to 2022 at Baylor, wh ...
.
The program began competition in 1902. The first two major-conference titles won by the school were won by the men's basketball team, in 1917 and 1919 (in the
Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA) was a college athletic conference and the second college conference formed upon its foundation on January 12, 1907.David A. Campaigne and John R. Thelin, "Big Twelve Conference", in ...
). Kansas State has gone on to win 19 regular season conference crowns.
Jeff Sagarin listed the program 27th in his all-time rankings in the ''ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia''.
Following the 2021–22 season, the Wildcats have a record of 1,691–1,212.
History
Kansas State University has appeared in 31
NCAA basketball tournaments, most recently in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
. The team's all-time record in the NCAA tournament is 37–35 (). Kansas State's best finish at the tournament came in
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
, when it lost to
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
in the national championship game. The school has reached the Final Four 4 times, the Elite Eight 13 times, and the Sweet Sixteen 17 times. Included among K-State's tournament wins are some all-time classics, including an 83–80 win over
Oscar Robertson
Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson playe ...
's
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
team in
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
, which ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...
'' called "the most exciting game of the 1958 season," and a 50–48 win over second-ranked
Oregon State in
1981, which ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' listed as one of the greatest games in NCAA tournament history.
The team also had some notably successful seasons before the creation of the
NIT (1938) and the
NCAA tournament (1939), including conference titles in 1917 and 1919 under coach
Zora G. Clevenger. The
Helms Athletic Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owners ...
named Frank Reynolds the program's first
All-American player in 1917, and the
Premo-Porretta Power Poll
The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons.
The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...
retroactively ranked Kansas State #12 in 1910, #18 in 1916, #8 in 1917 and #7 in 1919.
[
The best season in the school's history may have been 1959, when the team finished the season ranked #1 in the final Associated Press Poll and ]Coaches Poll
The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officiall ...
. K-State has finished ranked in the Top 10 of one of the two polls on ten occasions (most recently in 2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
), and in the final top 25 polls 21 total times. The team has also posted a winning record at home every year since 1946.
After a lengthy period with little success during the 1990s and 2000s, the team returned to prominence under head coach Frank Martin. Following a twelve-year absence, the team returned to the NCAA tournament after the 2007–08 season. Following that season, Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley
Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State Universi ...
was named an All-American and Big 12 Conference Player of the Year. In the 2009–10 season, the team spent much of the year ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll
The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and br ...
and finished second in the Big 12. The team received a #2 seed in the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2009–10 basketball seaso ...
and advanced to the Elite Eight. Along the way, the Wildcats defeated Xavier in a double-overtime thriller, which CBSSports.com
CBSSports.com (formerly CBS SportsLine.com and SportsLine USA) is an American sports news website operated by Paramount Streaming, itself a division of Paramount Global. It is the website for CBS's CBS Sports division that features news, high ...
called "one of the best games in the history of the Sweet 16."
On March 31, 2012, Bruce Weber was announced as head coach after Frank Martin left for South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
. During the 2012–2013 season, Weber's first in Manhattan, Kansas State won its first regular season conference title since 1977 and advanced to the NCAA tournament. Weber's team won the conference title again in the 2018–2019 season. K-State has appeared in the NCAA tournament five times in Weber's seven seasons, including advancing to the Elite Eight in 2018.
Kansas State has a total of 36 All-Americans, 19 regular-season conference championships and nine conference tournament championships.
The program ranks in the top 25 nationally in the following categories:
The program also ranks in the top 40 nationally in the following categories:
Top 25 rankings
Kansas State University has finished in the final rankings of the AP Poll
The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and br ...
or Coaches Poll
The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officiall ...
on 21 occasions throughout its history, including one season at #1 in the final polls (pre-NCAA Tournament). The AP Poll
The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and br ...
first appeared in 1948, and has been published continuously since 1950–51. The Coaches Poll
The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officiall ...
began in the 1950–51 season. Currently, the final AP Poll
The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and br ...
is released before the tournament and the final Coaches Poll
The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officiall ...
is released after the tournament.
Rivalries
Kansas: Sunflower Showdown
Kansas State's main rivalry is with the Kansas
Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...
Jayhawks. The rivalry peaked in the 1950s when both teams were annually national title contenders. The 1987–88 season also proved to be momentous in the rivalry. In the first matchup of the season, on January 30, 1988, Mitch Richmond scored 35 points to lead Kansas State to a 72–61 win to halt KU's then-record 55-game home winning streak. On February 18, KU turned the tables, prevailing 64–63 at Ahearn Field House
Ahearn Field House is one of the athletic buildings on the campus of Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. It was the former home of the Wildcats men's basketball team, and is currently home to the K-State volleyball team and indoor track ...
in Manhattan to deny K-State a victory over KU in the old field house's last year. In what was supposed to be the rubber game, in the 1988 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament, Kansas State won a decisive victory by a 69–54 score. However, the biggest was yet to come. Both teams qualified for the NCAA tournament, and after three wins each in the tournament they faced each other on March 27 in Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit.
Found ...
, for the right to advance to the Final Four. Led by Danny Manning's 20 points, KU turned a tight game into a runaway and prevailed 71–58. Kansas would go on to win the national championship.
The rivalry slipped in significance after the 1988 season, and from 1994 to 2005 KU won 31 straight games against K-State, the longest streak for either school in the series. KU also posted a 24-game win streak against the Wildcats in Manhattan, which ended on January 30, 2008, when #22 Kansas State upset #2 Kansas 84–75.
Jeff Sagarin's rankings of the nation's top programs by decade in the ''ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia'' nicely track the history of the rivalry.[ In the 1950s, when the rivalry was at its peak, Kansas State finished the decade ranked as the #3 program in the nation and KU was ranked as #4.][ In the 1960s KU was ranked #9 for the decade and KSU was ranked #11. In the 1970s, the programs were again nearly even, with Kansas State ranked at #24 and KU at #25. In the 1980s some separation appeared, as KU finished the decade ranked at #19 and Kansas State at #31. The big difference appeared in the 1990s and 2000s when KU was ranked at #4 and #2 for the decades, while Kansas State does not appear anywhere in the top 40.][
The rivalry has become more relevant again in recent years, with both teams ranked in the ]AP Top 25
The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...
for many of their match-ups.
Missouri
As of the 2014–15 season, Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
is Kansas State's second most-played rival, with 235 games dating back to 1907. Kansas State leads the series 119–116. The series was last played in the 2011–12 season, before Missouri moved to the Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
. For nearly a century beforehand, the two schools shared conferences, beginning in the 1913–14 season in the Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest.
History
The MVC was established ...
, then in the Big Eight Conference and its predecessors from 1928 to 1996, and finally the Big 12 Conference from 1996 to 2012.
Wichita State
Kansas State had an ongoing in-state, out-of-conference rivalry with Wichita State
Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study ...
, dating back to 1932 and last played in 2003. Kansas State leads the series 20–11. The series had six games from 1932 to 1964, then six games on a home-and-home rotation from the 1969–70 to 1971–72 seasons, and most recently 19 home-and-home games every season from 1985–86 to 2003–04.
When Wichita State became a Top 25 regular in the early 2010s, there came interest in reviving the series. In February 2013, Kansas state senator Michael O'Donnell introduced a bill requiring Kansas and Kansas State to schedule Wichita State.
Postseason
NCAA tournament results
The Wildcats have appeared in the NCAA tournament 31 times. Their overall record in the NCAA Tournament is 37–35 () through the 2019 tournament.
From 2011 to 2015 the round of 64 was known as the Second Round, round of 32 was Third Round
NCAA tournament seeding history
''The NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
began seeding the tournament with the 1979 edition.''
NIT results
The Wildcats have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York Cit ...
(NIT) seven times. Their combined record is 6–8.
NCIT results
The Wildcats appeared in one of the only two ever National Commissioners Invitational Tournaments. Their record is 0–1.
Individual awards and accomplishments
Retired jerseys
The following players' jerseys have been retired by Kansas State, though their respective jersey numbers remain available for use. They represent the finest basketball players to come through Kansas State. The criteria for determining the honor includes statistical achievement, conference and national records, honors received (such as all-conference, All-American, Academic All-American), character and sportsmanship.
National honors
The following Kansas State players and coaches are in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
(with induction year):
*Bob Boozer
Robert Louis Boozer (April 26, 1937 – May 19, 2012) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Boozer won a gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics and won an NBA Championship as a member of the ...
(2010) (''as member of 1960 United States men's Olympic basketball team'')
*Cotton Fitzsimmons
Lowell Gibbs "Cotton" Fitzsimmons (October 7, 1931 – July 24, 2004) was an American college and NBA basketball coach. A native of Bowling Green, Missouri, he attended and played basketball at Hannibal-LaGrange Junior College in Hannibal, Mi ...
(2021)
* Jack Gardner (1984)
* Mitch Richmond (2014)
* Tex Winter (2011)
The following Kansas State players and coaches are in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National ...
(with induction year):
*Bob Boozer
Robert Louis Boozer (April 26, 1937 – May 19, 2012) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Boozer won a gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics and won an NBA Championship as a member of the ...
(2016)
*Rolando Blackman
Rolando Antonio Blackman (born February 26, 1959) is a Panamanian-American former professional basketball player. He was a four-time NBA All-Star who spent most of his career with the Dallas Mavericks.
Blackman was born in Panama City, Panama, ...
(2015)
* Jack Gardner (2006)
* Tex Winter (2010)
Kansas State players and coaches have won the following national awards:
''Player honors''
* USBWA National Freshman of the Year
Best freshman
::Michael Beasley
Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State Universi ...
– 2008
* Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award
Outstanding undersized senior
:: Jacob Pullen – 2011
* Pete Newell Big Man Award The Pete Newell Big Man Award has been awarded by the National Association of Basketball Coaches since 2000. It is presented to the top low-post player each season. The award is named after Pete Newell, the coach who ran the Pete Newell Big Man C ...
Top low-post player
::Michael Beasley
Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State Universi ...
– 2008
''Coaching honors''
* NABC Coach of the Year Award
Coach of the year
::Jack Hartman
Jack Hartman (October 7, 1925 – November 6, 1998) was an American gridiron football player and basketball coach.
Hartman played basketball and football collegiately at Oklahoma State University with his basketball tutelage under famed coach He ...
– 1981
* UPI College Basketball Coach of the Year
Coach of the year
:: Tex Winter – 1958
Conference honors
The Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associati ...
established the Conference Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards in 1957. These awards have continued into the Big 12 Conference era.
* Player of the Year
::Bob Boozer
Robert Louis Boozer (April 26, 1937 – May 19, 2012) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Boozer won a gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics and won an NBA Championship as a member of the ...
– 1958, 1959
:: Lon Kruger – 1973, 1974
:: Mike Evans – 1977, 1978
::Rolando Blackman
Rolando Antonio Blackman (born February 26, 1959) is a Panamanian-American former professional basketball player. He was a four-time NBA All-Star who spent most of his career with the Dallas Mavericks.
Blackman was born in Panama City, Panama, ...
– 1980
::Michael Beasley
Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State Universi ...
– 2008
* Coach of the Year
:: Tex Winter – 1958, 1959, 1960
::Cotton Fitzsimmons
Lowell Gibbs "Cotton" Fitzsimmons (October 7, 1931 – July 24, 2004) was an American college and NBA basketball coach. A native of Bowling Green, Missouri, he attended and played basketball at Hannibal-LaGrange Junior College in Hannibal, Mi ...
– 1970
::Jack Hartman
Jack Hartman (October 7, 1925 – November 6, 1998) was an American gridiron football player and basketball coach.
Hartman played basketball and football collegiately at Oklahoma State University with his basketball tutelage under famed coach He ...
– 1975, 1977
::Dana Altman
Dana Dean Altman (born June 16, 1958) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Oregon Ducks men's team. Previously he was head coach at Creighton, Kansas State and Marshall. Altman has won conference coach of the y ...
– 1993
:: Frank Martin – 2010
:: Bruce Weber − 2013
Wildcats to pros
The following former Wildcats have gone on to play professionally, either in the NBA or elsewhere. Kansas State University has had two overall #1 draft picks in the NBA since the draft began in 1947: Howie Shannon
Howard Shannon (June 10, 1923 – August 16, 1995) was an American basketball player and coach. He played professionally in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the early years of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He later coa ...
(1949) and Bob Boozer
Robert Louis Boozer (April 26, 1937 – May 19, 2012) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Boozer won a gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics and won an NBA Championship as a member of the ...
(1959).
* Tyrone Adams
* Ernie Barrett
Ernie Drew "Black Jack" Barrett (August 27, 1929 – April 21, 2023) was an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas State Wildcats. H ...
* Danny Beard
* Michael Beasley
Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State Universi ...
* Rolando Blackman
Rolando Antonio Blackman (born February 26, 1959) is a Panamanian-American former professional basketball player. He was a four-time NBA All-Star who spent most of his career with the Dallas Mavericks.
Blackman was born in Panama City, Panama, ...
* Bob Boozer
Robert Louis Boozer (April 26, 1937 – May 19, 2012) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Boozer won a gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics and won an NBA Championship as a member of the ...
* Jack Carby
* Norris Coleman
* Luis Colon
* Denis Clemente
Denis Clemente (born April 10, 1986 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player for the Brujos de Guayama of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played collegiately in the United States with the Kansas State ...
* Larry Comley
* Les Craft
* Roy DeWitz
* Justin Edwards
* Mike Evans
* Wally Frank
* Carl R. Gerlach
Carl R. Gerlach is a former Mayor of Overland Park, Kansas.
Gerlach was first elected as mayor in 2005, replacing Ed Eilert. He ran unopposed in his next two elections in 2009 and 2013. Gerlach then beat his first challenger for mayor in 12 y ...
* Thomas Gipson
* David Hall
* Rick Harman
* Ed Head
* Jordan Henriquez
* Steve Henson
Steven Michael Henson (born February 2, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player, who was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round (44th pick overall) of the 1990 NBA draft. He was an assistant basketball coach at ...
* Lew Hitch
* Steve Honeycutt
* Stephen Hurt
* Martavious Irving
* Jim Iverson
*Wes Iwundu
Wesley Deshawn Iwundu (born December 20, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Kansas State Wildcats.
College career
Iwundu was recruited by coach ...
* Mike Johnson
* Askia Jones
Askia Rahman Jones (born December 3, 1971) is an American-Venezuelan former professional basketball player. A 6'5" (1.96 m) shooting guard, Jones was not drafted by a National Basketball Association team, but did play in 11 games for the Minn ...
* Jerry Jung
* Curtis Kelly
Curtis Ezell Kelly (born April 11, 1988) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Magnolia Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional bas ...
* Darren Kent
* Dick Knostman
Richard W. Knostman (August 9, 1931 – March 16, 2022) was an American former professional basketball player.
He attended Wamego High School in Wamego, Kansas. A 6' 6" center, Knostman played at Kansas State University. He was a third-team Al ...
* Lon Kruger
* Ernie Kusnyer
* Don Matuszak
* Cartier Martin
* Jeremiah Massey
Jeremiah Massey ( mk, Џеремаја Мејси; born July 22, 1982) is an American-born naturalized Macedonian professional basketball player who last played Ciclista Olímpico of the Liga Nacional de Básquet. Standing at 6 ft 7 in (2.0 ...
* Don Matuzsak
* Rodney McGruder
Rodney Christian McGruder (born July 29, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas State Wildcats.
Colleg ...
* Pat McKenzie
* Steve Mitchell
* Willie Murrell
Willie Vernon Murrell (September 13, 1941 – December 6, 2018) was an American professional basketball player.
Murrell was born in Taft, Oklahoma. A 6'6" forward, he played at Kansas State University from 1962 to 1964. He averaged 20.6 points an ...
* Ed Nealy
* Jack Parr
* Pervis Pasco
* Nick Pino
* Cedrick Price
* Jesse Prisock
* Jacob Pullen
* Randy Reed
* Mitch Richmond
* Bob Rousey
* Jamar Samuels
* Matt Siebrandt
* Earl Seyfert
* Howie Shannon
Howard Shannon (June 10, 1923 – August 16, 1995) was an American basketball player and coach. He played professionally in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the early years of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He later coa ...
* Roy Smith
* Shane Southwell
* Jack Stone
* Roger Suttner
* Jerry Venable
* Dean Wade
* Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to:
Australian rules football
* Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon
* Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy
* Bill J. V. Wal ...
* Jeff Webb
* Chuckie Williams
Chuckie Williams (born December 31, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player.
Life
A guard, Williams played at Kansas State University from 1972 to 1976 for head coach Jack Hartman. One of the school's most potent long-rang ...
* Gene Williams
* Larry Williams
* Jari Wills
* Mike Wroblewski
Draft history
Former players as coaches
A number of former Wildcat players have gone to successful careers as head basketball coach
Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...
es, including:
* Bob Chipman – finished career as 21st-winningest coach in college basketball history
* Mike Evans
*Bill Guthridge
William Wallace Guthridge (July 27, 1937 – May 12, 2015) was an American college basketball coach. Guthridge initially gained recognition after serving for thirty years as Dean Smith's assistant at the University of North Carolina and summing ...
– National college coach of the year (1998)
*Steve Henson
Steven Michael Henson (born February 2, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player, who was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round (44th pick overall) of the 1990 NBA draft. He was an assistant basketball coach at ...
*Tim Jankovich
Timothy Robert Jankovich (born June 4, 1959) is a former American college basketball coach and former head coach at Southern Methodist University. During his first year (2007–08) at Illinois State, Jankovich led the Redbirds to a 13–5 second-p ...
* Gene Keady – 4x national college coach of the year; National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National ...
* Lon Kruger – Coached five Division I schools to the NCAA tournament
* Jim Molinari
*Brad Underwood
Bradley Cole Underwood (born December 14, 1963) is the current head coach for the Illinois men's basketball team. Previously, he served as head coach at Oklahoma State, Stephen F. Austin, Dodge City Community College, and Daytona Beach Community ...
Coaches
Kansas State has had 23 head coaches. A number of notable and successful coaches have led the Wildcats through the years. Following are all the coaches that have been at Kansas State.[
]
Conference membership history
*?–1912: Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The KCAC is the oldest conference in the NAIA and the second oldest in the United Sta ...
*1913–1927: Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA) was a college athletic conference and the second college conference formed upon its foundation on January 12, 1907.David A. Campaigne and John R. Thelin, "Big Twelve Conference", in ...
*1928–1947: Big 6 Conference
*1948–1957: Big 7 Conference
*1958–1995: Big 8 Conference
The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...
*1996–Present: Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...
Series records
Record vs. Big 12 opponents
Record vs. former Big 12 opponents
See also
*
* NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by school
This is a list of NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four appearances by school. Several teams have vacated Final Four appearances and are marked with an * with explanations listed below. The listed Final Four totals for those team ...
References
External links
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{{Big 12 Conference men's basketball navbox
Basketball teams established in 1902