Led by a superstar transfer, Kansas State basketball and Jerome Tang look to recreate the magic of the 2022-23 season.
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Kansas State basketball.
Since that magical year one under Tang, where they made it all the way to the Elite 8, things haven’t been near the same. They’ve gone 17-21 since, and have missed the tournament in back-to-back seasons. Last year, they started rough, but went on a surprising late run to try to sneak on the bubble, but couldn’t do enough to stay.
Tang’s strategy of bringing in an elite guard and wing, then surrounding them with role players, hasn’t worked out since Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson. Tylor Perry and Arthur Kaluma didn’t pan out, and neither did Dug McDaniel and Coleman Hawkins.
This year, they didn’t grab an obvious forward, but brought in PJ Haggerty from Memphis, an All-American player and one of the best scorers in the country. His presence alone will win them a few games next year. They do bring in some talented transfers, though, including Nate Johnson from Akron. Johnson was the MAC POY last year and will be a great piece in the backcourt with Haggerty.
In the frontcourt, they add Bashir and McGriff. Bashir is one of the highest volume shooters in the country, and while we might see a little less, he can dominate a game if he’s hot. The bench is a little weak, but if the starters pan out, they could sneak into the tournament.
It’s not a hot seat season for Tang, but another tournamentless season will certainly warm that seat up. They’ve got plenty of non-conference opportunities to pick up resume wins; it’s just up to them to capitalize.
Head coach:Â Jerome Tang (4th season at Kansas State, 4th season overall)
2024-25 record: 16-17 (9-11)
2025 postseason finish:Â No tournament
Notable departures:Â
- David N’Guessan (13.3 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.4 APG)
- Dug McDaniel (11.4 PPG, 4.9 APG, 2.8 RPG)
- Brendan Hausen (10.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 0.8 APG)
- Coleman Hawkins (10.7 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 4.3 APG)
- Max Jones (9.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.8 APG)
- Achor Achor (7.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 0.7 APG)
Notable non-conference games:Â
- vs. Cal (Nov. 13)
- vs. Mississippi State (Nov. 20) – Hall of Fame Classic
- vs. Nebraska OR New Mexico (Nov. 21) – Hall of Fame Classic
- at Indiana (Nov. 25)
- vs. Seton Hall (Dec. 6)
- at Creighton (Dec. 13)
Projected Rotation
PG: PJ Haggerty (6-4, 195, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 21.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.8 SPG, 47.6 FG%, 36.4 3P%, 81.8 FT% (Memphis)
SG: Nate Johnson (6-3, 215, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 14.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.7 SPG, 43.9 FG%, 80.3 FT% (Akron)
SF: CJ Jones (6-5, 195, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 5.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 40.7 FG%, 30.9 3P%, 67.4 FT%
SF: Abdi Bashir (6-7, 175, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 20.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.5 SPG, 37.7 FG%, 38.3 3P%, 86.8 FT% (Monmouth)
C: Khamari McGriff (6-9, 230, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 11.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 1.1 BPG, 65.1 FG% (UNC Wilmington)
6: David Castillo (6-1, 180, So.)
2024-25 stats: 2.4 PPG, 0.8 APG, 0.6 RPG, 0.4 SPG, 22.1 FG%, 25.4 3P%, 88.0 FT%
7: Marcus Johnson (6-7, 265, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 16.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.9 SPG, 43.0 FG%, 39.4 3P%, 89.8 FT% (Bowling Green)
8: Stephen Osei (6-10, 200, So.)
2024-25 stats: 11.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 0.8 APG (JUCO)
9: Andrej Kostic (6-6, 210, Fr.)
KK CRVENA ZVEZDA MTS BEOGRAD U19 TEAM
10: Mobi Ikegwuruka (6-6, 215, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 2.1 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 0.1 APG, 0.6 SPG, 60.0 FG%
Kansas State Basketball team MVP: PJ Haggerty
One of the easiest picks for team MVP in the whole country. Haggerty was a second-team All-American last year and finished 5th in the country in scoring last season. He’s an efficient scorer, with 47-36-82 shooting splits, and averaged nearly 2 steals a game for Memphis last year.
Kansas State will rely heavily on Haggarty. He will have the ball in his hands every time they’re on offense. Kansas State paid a hefty price in order to get him, but he’s absolutely worth it.
Kansas State Basketball make-or-break player: David Castillo
There was a lot of excitement surrounding Castillo last year. Castillo was their third-highest recruit in program history, and the highest since 2009. Things did not go according to plan for him. He averaged 2.4 PPG and played just 10 minutes a game. What’s more concerning was his shooting percentages. He shot just 22.1 FG% and 25.4 3P% from the field. In five games in March, he shot 1-10 from the field.
Heading into year 2, he’ll have to be better. They’re looking for him to be a spark off the bench, and if he can provide that, it simplifies everything and makes this team just that much better. That would be a big jump from what we saw freshman year, and if he can’t translate, the bench looks concerning.
Key analytic: Defensive Efficiency
Defense wins championships? That hasn’t been the case for Kansas State, but they’ve brought it defensively every season under Tang. Since joining the team in 2022-2023, Kansas State has finished in the top 40 every season in defensive efficiency. They don’t allow a ton of points per possession and keep them in most games because of it.
They just need to translate offensively. In the year they made the Elite 8, they finished 37th in that category on KenPom. The two seasons following, they’ve failed to reach the top 100. If they can improve offensively, we know that defensively they’ll be just fine, and that could be the difference.
Kansas State Basketball 2025-26 projections
Projected conference finish: 9th in the Big 12
Projected postseason ceiling:Â NCAA Tournament Round of 64 Exit