Kansas State opens the 2026 season on September 5th, and the timing matters. Bill Snyder Family Stadium should be buzzing, and after an offseason full of turnover, there’s a fresh wave of optimism around the program. The staff looks almost entirely new outside of a few holdovers, but the Wildcats do bring back a core of players who could shape what this season becomes.
On offense, Avery Johnson, Joe Jackson, Garrett Oakley, and John Pastore are back. On defense, Zashon Rich, Travis Bates, Wesley Fair, and Rex Van Whye return.
That veteran group will matter even more with Collin Klein entering his first season as a head coach at any level. In a Big 12 that is expected to be top-heavy, he’ll lean on those returners to help guide Kansas State through the league.
The schedule, though, gives the Wildcats a real opening. Kansas State avoids the conference’s top three preseason favorites - Texas Tech, BYU, and Utah - entirely. The toughest game on paper is a home matchup with Houston, and the Wildcats also get the bottom three teams, Iowa State, Colorado, and Cincinnati, on the road, spaced out across the league slate.
Kansas State plays nine Big 12 games in all, with five against teams picked in the bottom half of the conference. Of the four games against teams projected in the top half, two come at home. Arizona State and TCU are both second-half road trips, but both teams are still picked to finish below Kansas State.
Preseason odds are just that - preseason odds - but they do point to a path where K-State could make some noise in Klein’s first year. The Big 12 has a habit of refusing to make sense, and every season seems to produce at least one team that crashes the party.
With the top three drawing the heaviest expectations, the gap between Kansas State and the middle of the league feels narrow. Add in a schedule that doesn’t ask too many brutal questions, and a run is there for the taking.
That run starts with Nicholls, and there’s no wiggle room there. The Colonels went 4-8 last year and are also breaking in a new head coach in 2026. It’s the kind of opener that should also give Kansas State a chance to work younger players into the mix.
Washington State comes to Manhattan a week later, and that one carries more intrigue. The Cougars had a solid season last year, but head coach Jimmy Rogers left for Iowa State and took 37 players with him through the transfer portal. There’s buzz around Pullman, but Kansas State should still be in position to handle business if it comes out sharp in week one.
Then comes Tulane, the final non-conference test. The Green Wave got revenge in 2024 after losing in 2022, but the 2026 version could look very different from the last two Kansas State saw.
Willie Fritz is now at Houston, Jon Sumrall is at Florida, and Tulane lost 50 players to the transfer portal after its playoff run. Will Hall has plenty on his plate, though the program’s consistency since 2022 gives it some credibility.
On paper, the non-conference slate looks workable for Klein and the Wildcats. Three wins should be the expectation, and if Kansas State doesn’t get there, the bar probably needs to move.
Even if the offense takes a little time to settle in, there’s a good chance the Wildcats are in the top 25 before they head to Cincinnati to open Big 12 play. The Bearcats are expected to struggle, but road conference openers are never simple, and this one won’t be any different.
If Kansas State gets through September at 4-0, the conversation changes fast. The coaches and players can talk all they want about one-game seasons, but that first month could define the shape of 2026. A 4-0 start would leave plenty on the table, and if the Wildcats want to stay in the Big 12 title hunt, that kind of beginning feels close to essential.
In Other News...
K-State Just Added A Preseason Test To A High-Pressure Rebuild
Kansas States rebuild under first-year coach Casey Alexander is getting an early measuring stick, with the Wildcats set to face Nebraska in an exhibition game on Oct. 26 at Eihusen Arena in Grand Island. Its the kind of preseason test that can reveal a lot about a team before the games count, especially for a roster that has been turned over almost completely.
Sophomore guard Andrej Kostic is the lone returning player, which leaves Alexander leaning on a wave of newcomers to settle in quickly. Among the pieces expected to help smooth that transition are transfers Brandon Rechsteiner and Jaren Schutt, former Virginia Tech teammates who arrive with some built-in familiarity as Kansas State tries to piece together a new identity. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Fans Can Feel One Massive Homecoming Taking Shape
Collin Kleins move has set off the kind of homecoming that feels bigger than a routine coaching change. Long before this weeks news, he was already woven into Kansas States identity as a former star quarterback and a previous assistant, and his return gives the program a familiar face with real ties to the place and the people inside it.
For the Wildcats, the appeal goes beyond nostalgia. Klein already knows some of the players hell be leading, including quarterback Avery Johnson, which should help smooth the transition as the program shifts into a new era. Even on the other side of the move, there is an acknowledgment that his departure requires adjustment, a reminder that this kind of change reaches well beyond one sideline. [Read more 🡒]