Whether Jerome Tang will sue K-State over an $18.7 million buyout clause remains up in the air. Attorneys for Tang, the four-year former men’s basketball coach who was fired in February, sent a draft of a lawsuit that claimed he was owed that amount, athletics director Gene Taylor told The Mercury recently. No lawsuit has been filed. If a suit were filed, Tang’s contract stipulates that it must be filed in Riley County District Court. It’s not clear whether any negotiations or discussions have been conducted since then or what the status of those are. To view the full article…
Author: Tim Everson
A second 7-footer is headed to Manhattan. Kansas State men’s basketball and head coach Casey Alexander have signed Xavier forward Pape N’Diaye from the transfer portal, the team announced on Saturday. The 7-foot sophomore appeared in 29 games for the Musketeers during the 2025-26 season, averaging 2.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in limited minutes. New Mexico transfer JT Rock is the Wildcats’ other 7-footer, standing at 7-foot-1. Despite the low usage, N’Diaye ranked second on the team and seventh in the Big East with 1.0 blocks per game. He also went 9-of-21 on 3-point attempts for the Musketeers. N’Diaye showed…
Former Wildcat senior safety VJ Payne was picked with the 12th pick of the seventh round (228th overall) by the New York Jets. It’s the fifth-straight year and the 37th draft overall that the Wildcats have had at least two players picked. A four-year starter for the Wildcats, Payne played in 52 career games, which is tied for 11th in school history. He started 42 career games including 41-consecutive games to end his career, which stood as the longest streak on the team at the time of his graduation. A two-time All-Big 12 honorable mention pick, Payne ended the 2025…
It took until Day 3, but Kansas State football is sending another player to the next level. Wildcat senior center Sam Hecht was picked with the fourth pick of the fifth round (144th overall) of the 2026 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers Saturday afternoon. A former walk-on, the 6-foot-4, 303-pound offensive lineman was a first-time All-Big 12 selection by the leagues coaches and earned honorable mention for the league’s offensive lineman of the year award. He played in 42 games as a Wildcat, and started in the last 25 of them. During the 2025 season, Hecht played 759 offensive…
After a couple of quiet days in the transfer portal for Kansas State and head coach Casey Alexander, another new Wildcat is headed to Manhattan. Miami forward Timotej Malovec, originally from Slovakia, committed to the Wildcats after a season in South Beach, according to reports Tuesday afternoon. Malovec appeared in 33 games with the Hurricanes, averaging 4.2 points and 1.3 rebounds. The 6-foot-8, 214-pound sophomore shot 35% from the floor and 33.3% from 3, hitting 37-of-111 attempts, including six games with three or more 3s made. Read the rest and subscribe at The Mercury
The first morning of the 2026 women’s basketball transfer portal season brought bad news for Kansas State fans. Star freshman sharpshooter Jordan Speiser is hitting the portal, according to a report from On3 Monday morning. She will enter the portal with a “Do Not Contact” tag, a designation preventing college coaches from initiating communication with a player, allowing athletes to manage their recruitment by having schools reach out only after the player makes initial contact. It’s often used by players who already have a destination school in mind. A former five-star from Warrentown, Mo., Speiser came on strong late in…
Kansas State has suspended women’s soccer head coach Colleen Corbin for two weeks following the use of a racial slur — even though her use of the term was objecting to its use — The Mercury confirmed Tuesday. According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Corbin had asked players not to play pregame music that included some swear words, including the N-word, before K-State’s exhibition versus Arkansas on March 7, in Kansas City. In a conversation about the music, she reportedly said the N-word, and players complained to the university. Corbin later used the word again when relaying the…
Collin Klein has had almost the full head-coaching experience over the last several months. He’s accepted a job at his alma mater to rapturous acclaim, built a staff, and filled a roster. But on Thursday, the former Wildcat Heisman finalist and Ring of Honor inductee will run his first practice as a head coach when K-State opens 2026 spring practice. “It’s exciting,” Klein said on Wednesday afternoon in his opening spring press conference. “I think I’m just excited to see the players get to reap the rewards of what they’ve done for these last three months.” To view the full…
A top-10 salary in the Big 12 and over $1 million in potential bonuses highlight new Kansas State men’s basketball head coach Casey Alexander’s contract, which The Mercury obtained Monday afternoon. K-State announced last week that Alexander signed a five-year deal worth $17 million before any bonuses. He will make $3.3 million in the first year, and that will increase by $50,000 every year through the 2030-31 season. That ranks eighth currently in the Big 12 of the 13 available salaries of coaches who are still employed. Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley and Cincinnati’s Wes Miller were fired earlier this month…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An improbable run through the Big 12 Tournament ended after four games in four days for the 12th-seeded Kansas State women Saturday afternoon at the T-Mobile Center. The Wildcats ran out of steam midway through the fourth quarter, falling to the veteran and size-laden top-seed TCU, 74-62. K-State had a slim lead at the break, thanks in part to first-half TCU turnovers and four 3-pointers in the second quarter, but the Horned Frogs caught fire in the third quarter and couldn’t be caught. The loss ends one of the best Big 12 Tournament runs for the…