MANHATTAN, Kansas (Randy Peterson) – Kansas State women’s basketball will enter its 2016-17 season with high expectations, as the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll has ranked the team with a fifth place finish in an announcement by the league office on Wednesday. This is the highest preseason ranking for the program since the 2004-05 season when the Wildcats were slotted in third.
Entering the 2016-17 season, K-State head coach Jeff Mittie returns nine letter winners from the 2015-16 squad that recorded a 19-13 overall record and reached the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
K-State was slotted for a seventh place finish in the 2015-16 poll and exceeded the expectation by one place, finishing sixth with an 8-10 league mark. The eight league wins were the most by K-State since the 2011-12 season. The Wildcats have exceeded their preseason predicted finish in 14 of the previous 19 seasons that have featured a preseason poll and a final standing.
The Wildcats will be led into the 2016-17 season by Preseason All-Big 12 selection Breanna Lewis and 2016 All-Big 12 Second Team selection Kindred Wesemann. Overall, K-State returns 75 percent of its scoring and assists and 87 percent of its rebounding.
Joining Lewis and Wesemann as returning letter winners are seniors Jessica Sheble, Kelly Thomson and Erica Young; juniors Shaelyn Martin and Kaylee Page; sophomores Kayla Goth and Anna Hammaker.
In addition to the returning letter winners, Kansas State welcomes in five newcomers for the 2016-17 season including: junior guard Karyla Middlebrook, redshirt freshman forward Lanie Page, freshman guard Mercedes Brooks, freshman forward Peyton Williams and freshman forward Eternati Willock.
Kansas State will begin its 2016-17 season with an exhibition game on Friday, Nov. 4, against Washburn at 5:30 p.m. The Wildcats will begin the non-conference schedule on Friday, Nov. 11, against Chicago State at 5:30 p.m.
