Kansas State took another step in its rebuild Thursday when four-star wing Kam Cooper made his commitment official by signing a national letter of intent to play for coach Casey Alexander and the Wildcats.
Cooper, a 6-foot-6, 190-pound swingman, is rated as a four-star recruit by 247 Sports. He is currently playing his senior season at Manhattan High School, but he built much of his reputation at Bishop Gorman Prep in Las Vegas. Kansas State beat out several programs for him, including TCU, UNLV and Wichita State.
His connection to the program runs deeper than the recruiting ranking. Cooper is the son of longtime assistant John Cooper, who was on the staff at UNLV before joining Alexander in Manhattan this season.
For Kansas State, the signing matters because the program is still trying to steady itself after a rough stretch. Four seasons ago, the Wildcats looked to be heading in the right direction under former coach Jerome Tang, who took them to the Elite Eight in his first season. Since then, the slide has been steep: three straight missed NCAA Tournaments followed by Tang’s firing last March.
That opened the door for Alexander, who was at Belmont at the time. Because he arrived late, he did not have much time to reshape the roster right away. None of Tang’s holdovers stayed in Manhattan, leaving the Wildcats with just one returning player from last season, Andrej Kostic.
Alexander eventually filled out the roster, adding transfers Brandon Rechsteiner from Colorado State and Jaden Schutt from Virginia Tech. Both have become central figures for this year’s team, with Rechsteiner coming off back-to-back 26-point performances in wins over Cal State-Northridge and Creighton.
Cooper is the first player to commit in the 2027 class, and Kansas State is counting on signings like this to keep the rebuild moving in the right direction. In a Big 12 that remains one of the strongest leagues in the country, the Wildcats need that kind of momentum if they want to lay a foundation for the future. While an NCAA Tournament run this season looks unlikely, this signing gives Alexander another important piece to work with down the line.
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K-State Faces A Stressful TCU Trip With Bowl Stakes Hanging Over It
Fridays trip to Fort Worth turned into an unexpected waiting game for Kansas State, as a rare nationwide FAA ground stoppage kept the Wildcats charter from taking off. The team sat on the tarmac for about an hour before getting off the plane and heading back to Bill Snyder Family Stadium, where they waited for further instructions with their scheduled game at TCU looming.
For a Kansas State team trying to keep its bowl hopes in clear view, the timing of the disruption only adds to the stress of the weekend. It is still unclear if or when the Wildcats will be able to depart, leaving the logistics of the trip as much of a storyline as the matchup itself. [Read more 🡒]
Collin Klein Is Already Chasing A Big 12 Recruiting Edge
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For Kansas State, the broader message is clear: Klein and his staff are trying to build a pipeline that keeps the program competitive in the Big 12 for years to come. Targeting prospects from 2027 through 2030 shows a long-view approach, one that leans on early relationships and consistent evaluation as the Wildcats work to stack future classes before the rest of the league can fully catch up. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Heads To TCU With One Huge Question Hanging Over It
TCUs narrow loss to Arizona left the Horned Frogs still searching for the cushion they need in the bowl picture, and now they turn around to host Kansas State with three regular-season games left to sort it out. The matchup lands at an awkward time for both teams, with similar records and the kind of late-season wear and tear that can make even a routine November game feel a lot bigger than it looked in September.
For Kansas State, the trip sets up as a test of resilience as much as anything else, with injuries and recent losses shaping the conversation around what the Wildcats can realistically expect. Even inside the building, there is no clear consensus on how this one will play out, as staff members offered a range of score predictions that reflect just how uncertain the matchup feels. [Read more 🡒]