Kansas State came into this college basketball season with high expectations - and for good reason. The Wildcats brought in a wave of talent that had fans and analysts alike circling their games on the calendar. On paper, they looked like a team poised to make serious noise in the Big 12 and punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
But so far? It hasn’t quite clicked.
The latest bracket projections from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi paint a sobering picture: Kansas State isn’t just out of the projected field - they’re not even on the bubble. That’s a stark contrast from the preseason buzz, where a Tournament berth felt like the floor, not the ceiling.
Meanwhile, Nebraska is surging. The Cornhuskers are off to the best start in program history and have earned a No. 5 seed in Lunardi’s latest update. That’s the kind of leap Kansas State was hoping to make - and still could, but the road just got a lot steeper.
Let’s rewind a bit. The Wildcats opened the season 5-0 and looked every bit like the team we expected.
But then came a four-game skid that raised real questions. The offense stalled, PJ Haggerty’s production dipped, and the defense struggled to get stops.
It started to feel less like a team on the rise and more like a rerun of last year’s up-and-down campaign.
Losses to Indiana and a ranked Nebraska team are one thing - but the blowouts at home to Seton Hall and Bowling Green were something else entirely. Those are the kinds of games a Tournament team wins - or at least competes in. Instead, Kansas State looked overmatched, disjointed, and out of rhythm.
They’ve managed to stop the bleeding with back-to-back wins, but let’s be honest: they haven’t come against elite competition. If the Wildcats want to re-enter the national conversation, they’ll need to start stacking quality wins - and fast.
The good news? There’s still time.
Conference play is looming, and the Big 12 always offers plenty of opportunities to build a resume. It starts Saturday against South Dakota - a game Kansas State can’t afford to overlook.
Looking Ahead: Carnell Jackson and the 2026 Football Vision
While the basketball team is still searching for consistency, Kansas State football is already looking ahead to a bounce-back year in 2026. After a disappointing 2025 campaign that saw Big 12 title hopes vanish before the season really got rolling, there’s a renewed sense of urgency in Manhattan.
New head coach Collin Klein is bringing the energy, and he made it clear from day one that the program’s goals are sky high. One of the faces of that future? Carnell Jackson, a three-star defensive tackle out of Auburn who’s already talking about championships.
“I wanna see us make it to a bowl game,” Jackson said in a recent interview. “Obviously, I want to make it to the playoffs, but I most definitely wanna win that championship.”
That kind of mindset is exactly what Klein wants to build around - players who aren’t just here to compete, but to elevate the program to new heights. Jackson had offers from schools like Houston and West Virginia, but it was Kansas State’s culture that won him over.
“The culture, the team, and the family,” he said. “I thought Kansas State was a really nice place, and the family drew me in. The way the fans interact with the team, I thought that was nice, and the way the coaches take on the players.”
It’s that family-first atmosphere, paired with high expectations and a fresh coaching vision, that has Kansas State football aiming for a serious turnaround in 2026.
So while basketball works to regain its footing and football eyes a new era, there’s no shortage of storylines in Manhattan. The pieces are there - now it’s about putting them together.