MANHATTAN, KS (K-State) – K-State women’s basketball head coach Jeff Mittie has added local frontcourt help as former Shawnee Mission Northwest All-State selection Kennedy Taylor has transferred to the Wildcats for the 2024-25 season. Taylor will have one season of eligibility.
Prior to joining the Wildcats, Taylor was a decorated player at Missouri State for the last two seasons. During her time with the Lady Bears, Taylor saw action in 65 games with 41 starts and tallied 749 points (11.5 ppg) including 43 games in double figures. She registered a field goal percentage of .509 (296-582) from the field and was .616 from the foul line (157-255). Taylor hauled in 505 rebounds (7.8 rpg), dished out 81 assists (1.2 apg), blocked 36 shots (0.6 bpg), pocketed 50 steals (0.8 spg) and registered 19 double-doubles.
In the 2023-24 season, Taylor was named the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Sixth Player of the Year and a 2024 All-MVC Third Team recipient by averaging 10.7 points on a .502 field goal percentage. She also pulled down 7.1 rebounds per game. Taylor’s top effort for the season came against Drake in the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference championship game, as she notched a season-high 22 points and pulled in 11 rebounds.
In her first season at Missouri State in the 2022-23 season, Taylor was named to the 2023 All-MVC Third Team and a 2023 MVC All-Newcomer Team by averaging 12.3 points on a .515 field goal percentage, while pulling in 8.5 rebounds. Taylor ranked 13th nationally and first in the MVC with 4.0 offensive boards per game. She ranked 71st in the nation for total rebounds (272) and 76th in rebounds per game.
Taylor’s top performance in the 2022-23 season came against UIC on February 4, as she dropped a career-high 25 points, dished out a career-high six assists, while matching her career high with 15 rebounds. Her 25-point, 15-rebound, 6-assist game versus the Flames was the first by an MVC player since 2010 and she was one of just two NCAA Division I players to post that stat line in the 2022-23 season.
In the 2021-22 season, Taylor started her collegiate career at Colorado where she played in eight games.
Taylor was rated as the number two player in the state of Kansas by Prepgirlshoops.com in the 2020-21 season and was the 2021 Sports in Kansas 6A Player of the Year. In her senior season, Taylor averaged 14.9 points and 11 rebounds per game and helped Shawnee Mission Northwest to its first basketball state title. Set single-game school scoring record with 33 points…
During her prep career, Taylor was also nominated for Gatorade Player of the Year in 2021, was the First Team Kansas Basketball Coaches Association All-State, CJ Online All-State Basketball, a second team selection by the Wichita Eagle and a two-time DiRenna Award Finalist as one of the most outstanding high school basketball players in the greater Kansas City area. She also competed in the discus during her high school career.
K-State (26-8) completed the 56th season in program history, as the Wildcats achieved its 18th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and collected 26 wins for the first time since the 2002-03 season. The Wildcats were ranked among the Associated Press top-25 for 18 consecutive weeks, including a high of number two in the nation on January 29.
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