FRISCO, Texas — Kansas State head coach Collin Klein addressed the media Wednesday afternoon in his first Big 12 Media Day since taking over the program back in December.

Klein, along with quarterback Avery Johnson, running back Joe Jackson, linebacker Rex Van Wyhe and safety Wesley Fair, made the trip down to The Star, the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility in Frisco.

Here’s what the first-year coach said:

COLLIN KLEIN: Thank you all for being here. Thank you for all that you do for the greatest sport in the world. It’s great to be back to the Big 12. I grew up a Big 12 kid and being able to be part of this conference as a fan, as a player, as a coach and now being part of helping move our game and our conference forward is absolutely tremendous to be a part of.

I thank the Lord every day that I get to come to work at a place that has impacted my life tremendously, and our program at Kansas State, my two predecessors have been so much — it’s been so much bigger than just the game of football.

Yes, we’re going to do football well, but the impact that we want to have and they have had on young men in setting the trajectory for the rest of their lives at an incredible angle, being able to teach them the lessons and give them the opportunity to compete is something that I don’t take for granted.

This is home for me. It’s a dream come true and so grateful for our administration and our players and all the effort that has been put in in the last six months as we build this thing and move it forward.

We have four of our players with us here today and just how they have led our football team and bought into what we are doing and what we are building is absolutely tremendous. It’s incredibly exciting for the future of Kansas State Football, and I’m excited for the season to get started.

Q. You mentioned your two predecessors. You were a quarterback for one and a coach for the other. You had great success. How much will you rely on what you learned from each and sort of putting your imprint on the program?

KLEIN: I think it’s an incredible situation top to bottom. I think starting most recently with Coach Klieman, I think our relationship is very unique. I think it’s very genuine. I think both of us have come at everything through the different course of our professional journey what is best for the other person.

I think that is something that, again, I don’t take for granted. He’s been there every step of the way, if I’ve needed something or had a question, with, I know, my and our program’s best interest at heart.

Coach Snyder has been tremendous. Again, I’d be here all day if I was going to go through all the ways that his fingerprints have been on my life and probably a big reason I got into coaching, you know, to be perfectly honest with you. All of those little things that I didn’t even know he was teaching me at the time, being able to apply those and have those come to fruition through the course of my journey is incredible.

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Kansas State football is losing a special-teams standout from last season

Sophomore wide receiver and kick returner Bryce Noernberg is no longer with the team, according to a social media post from his father, Scott, on Facebook.

In a post from Tuesday night, Noernberg’s father claimed that after first-year head coach Collin Klein and his staff took over the program, the sophomore from Olathe North found himself at the bottom of the heap in his position groups and is going to try to find playing time elsewhere.

“It was an amazing couple (of) years in Manhattan, but then D1 College Football did what it does. New HC Collin Klein brought in all new coaches and players … paid them accordingly, and (Bryce Noernberg) found himself at the bottom of the depth chart. Not wanting to start over again as a true walk-on freshman, he basically told them to kiss his ass!!

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Whether Jerome Tang will sue K-State over an $18.7 million buyout clause remains up in the air.

Attorneys for Tang, the four-year former men’s basketball coach who was fired in February, sent a draft of a lawsuit that claimed he was owed that amount, athletics director Gene Taylor told The Mercury recently.

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A second 7-footer is headed to Manhattan.

Kansas State men’s basketball and head coach Casey Alexander have signed Xavier forward Pape N’Diaye from the transfer portal, the team announced on Saturday.

The 7-foot sophomore appeared in 29 games for the Musketeers during the 2025-26 season, averaging 2.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in limited minutes. New Mexico transfer JT Rock is the Wildcats’ other 7-footer, standing at 7-foot-1.

Despite the low usage, N’Diaye ranked second on the team and seventh in the Big East with 1.0 blocks per game. He also went 9-of-21 on 3-point attempts for the Musketeers.

N’Diaye showed flashes throughout the season, including a pair of 10-point performances against Creighton and Seton Hall. He also posted a career-high four blocks against Missouri State and recorded multiple games with strong defensive impact off the bench.

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Former Wildcat senior safety VJ Payne was picked with the 12th pick of the seventh round (228th overall) by the New York Jets.

It’s the fifth-straight year and the 37th draft overall that the Wildcats have had at least two players picked.

A four-year starter for the Wildcats, Payne played in 52 career games, which is tied for 11th in school history. He started 42 career games including 41-consecutive games to end his career, which stood as the longest streak on the team at the time of his graduation.

A two-time All-Big 12 honorable mention pick, Payne ended the 2025 season with 59 tackles, three tackles for loss, an interception, four passes defended and two forced fumbles.

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It took until Day 3, but Kansas State football is sending another player to the next level.

Wildcat senior center Sam Hecht was picked with the fourth pick of the fifth round (144th overall) of the 2026 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers Saturday afternoon.

A former walk-on, the 6-foot-4, 303-pound offensive lineman was a first-time All-Big 12 selection by the leagues coaches and earned honorable mention for the league’s offensive lineman of the year award.

He played in 42 games as a Wildcat, and started in the last 25 of them.

During the 2025 season, Hecht played 759 offensive snaps and did not commit an accepted penalty. He anchored an offensive line that helped guide the Wildcats to a No. 10 ranking in sacks allowed (1.08 per game) and helped K-State finish fifth in school history in rushing yards per carry (5.09).

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After a couple of quiet days in the transfer portal for Kansas State and head coach Casey Alexander, another new Wildcat is headed to Manhattan.

Miami forward Timotej Malovec, originally from Slovakia, committed to the Wildcats after a season in South Beach, according to reports Tuesday afternoon.

Malovec appeared in 33 games with the Hurricanes, averaging 4.2 points and 1.3 rebounds. The 6-foot-8, 214-pound sophomore shot 35% from the floor and 33.3% from 3, hitting 37-of-111 attempts, including six games with three or more 3s made.

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The first morning of the 2026 women’s basketball transfer portal season brought bad news for Kansas State fans.

Star freshman sharpshooter Jordan Speiser is hitting the portal, according to a report from On3 Monday morning. She will enter the portal with a “Do Not Contact” tag, a designation preventing college coaches from initiating communication with a player, allowing athletes to manage their recruitment by having schools reach out only after the player makes initial contact. It’s often used by players who already have a destination school in mind.

A former five-star from Warrentown, Mo., Speiser came on strong late in the season, ending the Big 12 Tournament with an appearance on the All-Tournament team after tying the national mark by a freshman in the last 15 years for 3-point field goals made in any conference tournament in NCAA Division I.

Speiser ended the year averaging 10.2 points per game, shooting 38% from the field, including 34.9% from 3.

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Kansas State has suspended women’s soccer head coach Colleen Corbin for two weeks following the use of a racial slur — even though her use of the term was objecting to its use — The Mercury confirmed Tuesday.

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Corbin had asked players not to play pregame music that included some swear words, including the N-word, before K-State’s exhibition versus Arkansas on March 7, in Kansas City. In a conversation about the music, she reportedly said the N-word, and players complained to the university.

Corbin later used the word again when relaying the situation during a staff meeting, which led assistant coach and goalkeepers coach Maddie Dobyns, who was hired by Corbin this past offseason, to resign from the team.

Following that incident, Corbin was suspended from the team for two weeks after a meeting with athletics director Gene Taylor on March 23.

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Collin Klein has had almost the full head-coaching experience over the last several months. He’s accepted a job at his alma mater to rapturous acclaim, built a staff, and filled a roster.

But on Thursday, the former Wildcat Heisman finalist and Ring of Honor inductee will run his first practice as a head coach when K-State opens 2026 spring practice.

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