A new season for Kansas State brings no shortage of new faces, as first-year coach Casey Alexander inherits just one holdover from last season’s disappointing 12-20 team.
Thirteen new scholarship players join lone returnee Andrej Kostic to give the Wildcats a new look as they tip off the season Tuesday night against South Dakota State in Manhattan, Kan.
Partly due to that turnover, the Wildcats were picked to finish in a tie for 14th out of 16 teams by the Big 12 coaches.
For Alexander, the longtime successful coach at Stetson (2011-13), Lipscomb (2013-19) and Belmont (2019-26) making his first dive into Power Five basketball with a career record of 303-180, the challenges of coaching a new roster in a new place look manageable.
“We’ve got everything we need,” Alexander said. “You always want more, and more is always better. But we’ve got what we need to be successful, and I’m really excited about our future.”
Among the newcomers are guards Brandon Rechsteiner and Jaden Schutt, previously of Colorado State and Virginia Tech, respectively. Rechsteiner averaged 12 points per game last season in Fort Collins, while Schutt scored 7.7 ppg for the Hokies.
The pair played together at Virginia Tech in 2024-25, and they’ll lead the backcourt.
“(Rechsteiner and Schutt) will be starters; they’ll play significant roles,” Alexander said when asked about the leaders on his roster. “They’re going to be a really important part of the whole process from beginning to end.”
Alexander also pointed to Murray State transfer Brock Vice as a key contributor.
“Brock’s presence is great,” he said. “He’ll be someone we count on as well.”
South Dakota State should provide an immediate challenge. Led by Summit League Preseason Player of the Year Joe Sayler, the Jackrabbits were picked third in the preseason poll.
Sayler has missed just two games in two seasons for South Dakota State, starting every other contest and averaging 13.5 points per game.
South Dakota State went 14-18 a season ago under then first-year coach Bryan Petersen. This year, Petersen will have not only Sayler to lean on, but also two other preseason all-conference picks in Kalen Garry (10.7 ppg) and NAIA transfer Jesse Van Kalsbeek (27.8 ppg).
“We’re a little bit more athletic, a little bit more versatile than we were last year,” Petersen said. “I think we’re going to have some different types of strengths within our offense.”