K-State Basketball's Latest Laud Displays No Room For Error Next Season

Kansas State football has been drawing a lot of preseason hype with their portal additions and coaching changes.

Now, their basketball counterparts can join in on the buzz in Manhattan, too. After a disastrous start to the portal, Kansas State has been active the past month, drawing players who have shifted the expectations for next season. CBS Sports' Isaac Trotter added to the praise toward the Wildcats, especially compared to last season.

"I think this team is a lot more high-floor than last year's team," Trotter said Saturday on KCSN. "I just don't know how this team doesn't just be rock solid, at worst. Haggerty is just such an offensive elevator, Johnson makes a lot of sense there."

Kansas State had Tournament expectations last year after star acquisitions like Coleman Hawkins and Dug McDaniel. Unfortunately, it fell way below making the postseason after losing in the Big 12 Tournament to Baylor. The Wildcats' mid-season win streak displayed slight hope at clinching a Tournament spot but needed to maintain perfection to stand any chance.

However, the upside to this season already has many fans ecstatic. The Wildcats added star players like PJ Haggerty, Nate Johnson, and Abdi Bashir Jr. With this in mind, though, coach Jerome Tang is on the hot seat to uphold these expectations. Like many onlookers, Trotter sees no reason that Kansas State shouldn't be in the Tournament in 2026.

"I would throw Kansas State in that second tier in the Big 12," Trotter said. "I don't see this team missing the Tournament, like this just doesn't make sense to me if they missed it."

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