Kansas State’s first Big 12 road map under Casey Alexander is set, and the schedule immediately throws the new coach into the deep end.
Alexander, hired to replace Jerome Tang, will open conference play at Baylor on Jan. 2 in what will be his Big 12 debut. That’s the only guaranteed meeting with the Bears this season, though there’s a chance the two sides cross paths on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas during the Players Era tournament. Baylor brought in Tang as its associate head coach this offseason.
The Wildcats’ toughest repeat assignments are clear: Kansas, Cincinnati and Arizona State all show up twice on the men’s slate, while everyone else in the Big 12 appears once under this year’s scheduling matrix. Kansas State gets Kansas at home on Jan. 23 before heading to Lawrence on Feb. 27.
The nonconference portion gives Alexander plenty of chances to settle in before the league grind starts. Kansas State opens with an exhibition against Missouri on Oct. 23, then another exhibition against Nebraska on Oct. 26 in Grand Island, Nebraska. The regular season begins Nov. 3 against South Dakota State, followed by games against Cal State Northridge, Creighton, Montana and Campbell.
The early stretch also includes a late-night matchup with Gonzaga in Las Vegas on Nov. 24 at 11:30 p.m. CT, plus a potential follow-up game on Nov. 26 against Baylor or Alabama.
From there, the Wildcats travel to Seton Hall on Dec. 4 and keep stacking home dates with IU Indy, Little Rock, Lindenwood and Omaha. Wichita State visits Kansas City on Dec.
Once Big 12 play begins, the pace tightens quickly. Kansas State hosts Houston on Jan.
5, Arizona on Jan. 9 and TCU on Jan. 16, with road trips to West Virginia, Arizona State, Iowa State, Utah, BYU, Cincinnati, UCF and Baylor mixed in. The regular season closes with Cincinnati on March 6 before the Big 12 Tournament runs March 9-14 in Kansas City.
The women’s schedule is out too, and Jeff Mittie’s team enters 2026-27 with expectations attached. Kansas State women’s basketball opens Nov. 2 against Wichita State, then plays Southern Indiana, UTRGV, Montana and Minnesota in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The nonconference slate also features SMU, Missouri, NC State and Villanova in Fort Myers, Florida, along with Creighton, Iowa State and several home dates in December.
Conference play starts with a trip to BYU on Dec. 30 and rolls through Utah, UCF, Arizona, West Virginia, Iowa State, Houston, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Kansas, TCU, Texas Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma State and Colorado. The Wildcats host Kansas on Feb. 20 and Baylor on Feb. 25 before finishing the regular season at Colorado on Feb.
- The Big 12 Tournament is scheduled for March 3-8 in Kansas City.
In Other News...
Kansas States Fast Start Faces Its First Real Test Under Collin Klein
Kansas State has spent the opening stretch of the season looking like a team comfortable in its own skin under Collin Klein, which is no small thing this early in a new era. The Wildcats have started fast, and in a Big 12 landscape already crowded with statement wins and early-season questions, that matters. BYU has already made noise with its win over Arizona, Oklahoma State has shown it can hang defensively with Oregon, and Utah has kept rolling, so Kansas States clean start has fit right in with a conference that seems eager to sort itself out quickly.
The real challenge now is whether that momentum holds once the schedule starts asking harder questions. Early September can flatter a lot of teams, but it also reveals which ones have the depth, discipline and adaptability to keep building instead of just collecting good first impressions. For Kansas State, the coming weeks will be about proving that Kleins fast start is more than a September snapshot, especially with the rest of the Big 12 already offering plenty of evidence that the top tier wont stay crowded for long. [Read more 🡒]
K-State May Have A Backfield Advantage Most Teams Don't
Joe Jackson is no longer Kansas States starter in the backfield, but the Wildcats have hardly lost him from the offense. Through two games, he has still been productive as a runner and receiver, piling up 106 rushing yards, a touchdown and 96 receiving yards with two more scores while sharing the workload with Rodney Fields.
Collin Klein has praised Jacksons role even with Fields now handling the primary carries, and that kind of one-two punch can be a real edge for an offense trying to stay multiple. For K-State, the encouraging part is not just that one back has emerged, but that both players have already shown they can matter in different ways every time they touch the ball. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Fans Just Got An Early Look At Casey Alexanders Big 12 Test
Kansas State fans got an early glimpse at what the 2026-27 Big 12 grind will look like, as the university released its conference schedule for Casey Alexanders first season in the league. The Wildcats will play every Big 12 opponent home and away, giving the new coach a full dose of the challenge that comes with navigating one of the countrys deepest conferences.
The slate brings several eye-catching home dates to Manhattan, including Arizona, Cincinnati, Colorado, Kansas and TCU, while the league opener sends Kansas State to Baylor on Jan. 2. Tickets for both conference and non-conference games are already on sale, with additional single-game opportunities set to roll out on specific dates as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]