Rex Van Wyhe has moved himself into the middle of the conversation at linebacker for Kansas State, and the senior’s rise keeps building. The speedy defender from Iowa Central Community College has already been tapped to represent the Wildcats at the 2026 Big 12 Football Media Days, a sign he’s pushing toward a larger leadership role after earning a spot in the top four of the rotation this season.
Van Wyhe, born Feb. 20, 2004, is majoring in construction science and management and brings a skill set that shows up in multiple phases of the game. He handles tackling and zone coverage well, and his work on special teams has been a steady part of his value since arriving in Manhattan.
His path has included time in four games in 2023 while preserving a redshirt, leaving him with three years of eligibility. That season, he finished with four tackles, including three against Baylor with a tackle for loss. He also had a stop and a pass breakup against TCU, and saw action against Kansas and NC State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, logging 58 defensive snaps.
The workload jumped in 2024. Van Wyhe was part of the defensive rotation in every game, finishing with 31 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss on 174 defensive snaps. He was also all over special teams, playing 189 snaps on kickoff return, kickoff coverage and punt coverage units.
That work showed up in the box score, too. He tied for second on the team with four special teams tackles, including three on kickoff coverage, and opened the season with a career-high four tackles against UT Martin.
He matched that total against Arizona and West Virginia, added three stops in the final two games of his sophomore season at Iowa State and in the Rate Bowl against Rutgers, and posted a career-high-tying tackle for loss against Tulane and Cincinnati. He also earned Academic All-Big 12 honors after the season.
In 2025, Van Wyhe entered camp battling Gabe Powers for the job next to the now-departed Desmond Purnell and new Texas Tech middle linebacker Austin Romaine. He wound up playing in every game as a regular part of the linebacker rotation, finishing with 31 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss on 169 defensive snaps while adding 155 special teams snaps. He also recovered a fumble at Utah.
Again, his special teams production stood out. Van Wyhe ranked second on the team with four special teams tackles, three of them coming on punt returns. He tied his career high with four tackles against TCU, Utah and Colorado, had three stops against Army, Kansas and Oklahoma State, registered a full tackle for loss against TCU and half a tackle for loss against Colorado, and finished the season as an Academic All-Big 12 performer.
Before Kansas State, Van Wyhe built his reputation at Iowa Central under head coach Jesse Montalto. Rivals rated him the 11th-best overall community college prospect in the Class of 2023, and ESPN ranked him No. 2 among community college linebackers. His 2022 season earned him NJCAA second-team All-American, first team all-conference and all-region honors after he piled up 79 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, a recovery and two pass breakups in 11 games.
He also turned in big numbers in Kansas NJCAA play, including a season-high 13 tackles at Garden City, 10 at Butler, and a pair of sacks at Ellsworth, where he forced two fumbles and recovered one. He added a sack and a forced fumble at Highland.
At Central Lyon High School in Rock Rapids, Iowa, Van Wyhe was a three-year letter-winner under head coach Curtis Eben, a two-time all-district selection and a second-team all-state pick as a senior. He finished that season with 65 tackles, eight tackles for loss, two sacks and two interceptions, and helped lead the Lions to a state runner-up finish in 2020.
He was also an academic all-state performer and competed in baseball, track and field and basketball, with his basketball team reaching the state runner-up game in 2021-2022.
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