K-State women’s basketball head coach Jeff Mittie announced the complete non-conference schedule for the upcoming 2025-26 season on Thursday.
The Wildcats’ non-conference slate features six home games, including a visit from SEC foe Texas A&M, participation in the 2025 Cancun Challenge in Cancun, Mexico, visits to 2025 NCAA Tournament participants Green Bay and Creighton and a neutral-site matchup against Ole Miss in the third annual Bill Snyder Basketball Classic presented by Southern Bank in St. Joseph, Missouri.
“This is a great schedule for our team,” stated Mittie about the slate. “We have opportunities to play quality programs in many different settings that will prepare and grow our team for the challenging Big 12 season.”
K-State’s 2025-26 non-conference schedule includes eight games against teams that reached the postseason in 2024-25, including seven teams that played in the NCAA Tournament (Columbia, Creighton, Green Bay, North Carolina, Ole Miss, San Diego State and South Dakota State) and one team that played in the WNIT (Troy).
K-State officially begins its 58th season of action on Monday, November 3, as the Wildcats host Omaha. This will be the third time the Wildcats will open a season against the Mavericks, as K-State started the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons against Omaha. K-State leads the series between the schools, 8-0 and won the last meeting on December 8, 2021, in Omaha, 87-56.
Omaha registered a 14-17 overall record in 2024-25 and will be led in the 2025-26 season by first-year head coach and former Texas guard Jamie Carey.
K-State will play its first road game of the season, as the Wildcats visit Dallas, Texas, to face SMU on Saturday, November 8. This will be the first meeting between the teams in Dallas and the third meeting overall.
The Mustangs will be led by first-year head coach Adia Barnes, who previously spent nine seasons at Arizona.
The Wildcats return to Bramlage to begin a four-game home stand on Monday, November 10, as the Wildcats host Lamar. K-State leads the series with the Cardinals, 5-0, capturing the last meeting between the programs, 73-55, on December 5, 2018, in Manhattan.
Lamar finished the 2024-25 season with a 22-8 overall record and a 17-3 mark in the Southland Conference.
The Wildcats continue action at Bramlage on Thursday, November 13, as K-State faces South Dakota. K-State leads the series with the Coyotes, 5-0 and won the last meeting, 84-81 in overtime, on November 19, 2015, in Manhattan.
South Dakota concluded the 2024-25 season with an 11-20 overall mark and a 5-11 record in the Summit League.
In its third game of the home stand, K-State will host Texas A&M on Sunday, November 16. K-State leads the overall series, 14-9 and won the last meeting, 89-50, on December 8, 2024, in College Station, Texas.
The Aggies finished the 2024-25 season with a 10-19 overall record, including a 3-13 mark in the SEC.
The Wildcats end the home stand on Tuesday, November 18, by hosting Sun Belt Conference member Troy. This will be the first meeting in the series between the programs.
Troy registered a 24-14 overall record and a 13-5 record in Sun Belt action. The Trojans reached the 2025 WNIT Final before falling at Buffalo.
K-State returns to the road, as the Wildcats visit Green Bay on Saturday, November 22. This will be the eighth meeting in the series, as the Wildcats are 5-2 against the Phoenix. The last meeting between the programs came in the 2024-25 season-opener on November 4, 2024, in Manhattan, a 92-45 K-State win.
Green Bay completed the 2024-25 season with a 29-6 overall record, including a 14-2 record at the Kress Center, and a 19-1 record in the Horizon League. The Phoenix won both the Horizon League regular season and tournament titles. Green Bay’s season ended in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, falling to Alabama, 81-67.
During the Thanksgiving holiday, the Wildcats will make its third appearance in the Cancun Challenge at Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya. The games will take place November 27-29. The Wildcats are slated to play three games in the event and are in the Mayan Division. Among its three games, the Wildcats will face Columbia, North Carolina and South Dakota State with the schedule of games yet to be set.
K-State has played in Cancun four times in its history. The Wildcats’ first trip to Cancun came in 1999 in the Cancun Tournament, followed by a trip to the Caribbean Classic in 2007. K-State has taken part in the Cancun Challenge in 2011 and 2018.
Fan packages are available for the Cancun Challenge and can be purchased at cancunchallenge.net.
K-State and Columbia will meet for the first time. This will be the 12th time the Wildcats will face an Ivy League opponent and the first time since the 2018-19 season, when K-State defeated Princeton in the Cancun Challenge.
Columbia ended the 2024-25 season in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, falling to West Virginia. The Lions completed the season with a 24-7 overall record and a 13-1 mark in the Ivy League.
The Wildcats will face the Tarheels for the third time in the history of the series and the second time in the last three seasons. K-State captured the last meeting against North Carolina, 63-56, in Estero, Florida, during the 2023 Gulf Coast Showcase.
North Carolina reached the 2025 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 with a 29-8 overall record.
K-State and South Dakota State will match up for the ninth time and the first time since Dec. 10, 2022, when the Jackrabbits ended a seven-game losing streak to the Wildcats with an 82-78 win in Kansas City.
South Dakota State completed the 2024-25 season by reaching the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, where the Jackrabbits fell to eventual national champion UConn. South Dakota State registered a record of 30-4 overall and secured the regular season and tournament Summit League crowns.
The Wildcats will challenge Ole Miss in the third annual Bill Snyder Basketball Classic on Sunday, December 7, in St. Joseph, Missouri, at Civic Arena at 2 p.m. Ticket information for the Bill Snyder Classic will be released in mid- to late-September. For more information, visit stjomosports.com. This will be the second meeting in the series between the schools and the first since December 15, 1977, in Columbus, Ohio, a 62-57 Ole Miss win.
Ole Miss reached the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, falling to top-seed UCLA, 79-62, in Spokane, Washington. Ole Miss notched an overall record of 22-11, including a 10-6 record in the SEC.
The Wildcats will play their final home non-conference game on Wednesday, December 10, at 11 a.m., as K-State hosts San Diego State in its second annual Education Day game. This will be the fourth meeting in the series as K-State owns a 2-1 mark between the schools including a 77-56 win over the Aztecs on December 5, 1998, in Manhattan.
San Diego State completed the 2024-25 season with a 25-10 overall record and reached the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
K-State will close out its 2024-25 non-conference regular season schedule on Sunday, December 14, as the Wildcats will visit Creighton and D.J. Sokol Arena for the first time since November 23, 2009. The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 16-5.
The Bluejays finished the 2024-25 season with a 26-7 overall record, including a runner-up finish in the Big East with a 16-2 mark and an at-large bid into the 2025 NCAA Tournament before falling to Illinois, 66-57, in the first round.
In preparation for the 2025-26 non-conference schedule, K-State will visit Tarleton State on Monday, October 27, for an exhibition game. The game will be played at Tarleton State’s new EECU Center, an 8,000 seat on-campus arena.
The 2025-26 Big 12 schedule, game times, promotional and television schedules will be released later this summer.
The 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship will be contested at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, March 4-8, 2025. Ticket information will be available later this year.
The Wildcats enter the 2025-26 season with the return of junior guard Taryn Sides. She will be joined by transfers Izela Arenas, Nastja Claessens, Jenessa Cotton, Tess Heal and Ramiya White and the freshmen class of Aniya Foy, Gina Garcia, Brandie Harrod and Jordan Speiser.
K-State women’s basketball season tickets for the 2025-26 season are available now. For more information on season ticket packages for the Wildcats’ home schedule, contact the K-State Athletics Ticket Office by calling 1-800-221-CATS or visit www.kstatesports.com/tickets.
2025-26 K-State Women’s Basketball Non-Conference Schedule
Day Date Opponent Time Location
Monday Oct. 27 at Tarleton State (exhib.) 7 p.m. Stephenville, Texas
Monday Nov. 3 Omaha TBD Manhattan, Kan.
Saturday Nov. 8 at SMU TBD Dallas, Texas
Monday Nov. 10 Lamar TBD Manhattan, Kan.
Thursday Nov. 13 South Dakota TBD Manhattan, Kan.
Sunday Nov. 16 Texas A&M TBD Manhattan, Kan.
Tuesday Nov. 18 Troy TBD Manhattan, Kan.
Saturday Nov. 22 at Green Bay TBD Green Bay, Wis.
2025 Cancun Challenge
Thursday Nov. 27 vs. TBD TBD Cancun, Mexico
Friday Nov. 28 vs. TBD TBD Cancun, Mexico
Saturday Nov. 29 vs. TBD TBD Cancun, Mexico
Bill Snyder Basketball Classic
Sunday Dec. 7 vs. Ole Miss 2 p.m. St. Joseph, Mo.
Wednesday Dec. 10 San Diego State 11 a.m. Manhattan, Kan.
Sunday Dec. 14 at Creighton TBD Omaha, Neb.
