Despite bringing in the best transfer portal class of his career at Kansas State, Jerome Tang and the Wildcats were listed on the bubble in Joe Lunardi’s way-too-early bracketology update.
The Wildcats earned the second-to-last bye in the update, earning a 10-seed ahead of five other teams on the bubble.
While Kansas State missed the tournament after some key injuries and losses in Tang’s second year with the program, the former Baylor assistant hit the portal hard and made some impressive additions. Kansas State earned the nation’s 12th-ranked transfer portal class, trailing just West Virginia and Kansas in Big 12 class rankings.
Kansas State added eight transfers this offseason with an overall player grade of 91.25. The group includes six four-star transfers in Illinois’ Coleman Hawkins, Michigan’s Dug McDaniel, Samford’s Achor Achor, Kentucky’s Ugonna Onyenso, Villanova’s Brendan Hausen, and Arkansas’ Baye Fall, as well as two three-stars in UIC’s CJ Jones and Cal State Fullerton’s Max Jones.
In 2023-24, the Wildcats had a disappointing season that resulted in a tenth-place finish in conference play. Kansas State’s 8-10 conference record was enough for the team to miss the tournament outright and wind up in the NIT.
While the team will still have to put things together in 2024-25, Jerome Tang and the Wildcats appear to be much more suited for the daunting task of conference play in the best conference in America. Should the Wildcats get hot early, they could emerge as a Big 12 title contender in Tang’s third year.
