KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — TCU rolled into the Big 12 tournament full of confidence, three straight losses to end the regular season doing nothing to hurt their frame of mind.

That confidence came in handy down the stretch Wednesday night.

Chris Washburn and Kyan Anderson scored 16 points apiece, and No. 9 seed TCU made enough stops on defense to beat Kansas State 67-65 for its first Big 12 tournament victory.

“We ended the season on a high note. We felt like overall we played well, even though we didn’t finish our games,” said Trey Zeigler, who added 15 points for the Horned Frogs. “We came in here and we knew Kansas State was a good team, and me and Kyan just tried to make sure we did everything we could do as senior captains.”

TCU had built a 58-46 lead with 6 1/2 minutes left, but the Wildcats managed to trim it to 64-62 when Nino Williams converted a three-point play with about a minute to go.

Zeigler slashed to the rim at the other end and took a no-look pass from Anderson, getting fouled in the process. He calmly made both foul shots to give the Horned Frogs a four-point cushion, and Williams missed a long 3-pointer at the other end that put the game away.

The Horned Frogs, who improved to 4-0 against the Wildcats in postseason play, now get a date with top-seeded Kansas in the quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon.

“Premiere team in this league, one of the premiere teams in the country,” TCU coach Trent Johnson said. “No basketball program has a more storied tradition than they do and we’ve got to find a way to compete at a high level in a short period of time.”

Thomas Gipson had 16 points and Williams finished with 13 for the No. 8 seed Wildcats (15-17), who finished the season with a losing record for the first time since 2003.

It was a disappointing end to a frustrating season, one marked by a series of injuries to key players and off-the-court discord involving several others.

“It was a tough way to learn. We were close but we just didn’t have it,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “It’s just a shame. We had enough tools to be better than we were.”

The Horned Frogs went on a 16-2 run in the first half while Williams and Gipson were on the bench in foul trouble to build a 35-27 lead by the break. Washburn added a jumper right out of the locker room, keeping a heavily pro-Kansas State crowd silent.

That’s when Kansas State made its first run of the game. Williams and Gipson did most of the work, but diminutive guard Jevon Thomas — briefly kicked off the team last week — also contributed a basket. Eventually, the Wildcats had crept within 41-39 with 16 minutes to go.

TCU regained control after Anderson knocked down a deep 3, taking advantage of a stretch in which the Wildcats went 2 for 16 from the field to push its lead back to 12.

That’s when Kansas State made its second run of the game. Just about everyone got into the act, and the Wildcats cut the lead to 64-62 when Williams converted the three-point play.

The Horned Frogs simply made too many plays down the stretch.

“It’s just disappointing it had to end like this,” Gipson said. “It just seems like we always dig ourselves a hole.”

SEEDS MATTER

The Wildcats finished in a three-way tie for sixth in the league, but got the No. 8 seed because of tiebreakers. The loss dropped them to 1-5 with that seed in the tournament.

DEEP THREAT

Anderson matched a season high with four 3-pointers, two of them from well beyond the NBA arc. It was the most by a TCU player in three Big 12 tournament games. “We thought it was going to be our game,” he said. “It’s just the mentality we have.”

TIP-INS

TCU: Washburn finished 8 of 11 from the field. He also had eight rebounds. … Karviar Shepherd had nine points and nine boards. … TCU improved to 17-3 when leading at the half.

Kansas State finished in a three-way tie for sixth in the league, but was given the No. 8 seed due to tiebreakers. … Marcus Foster was held scoreless, going 0 for 5 from the field.

UP NEXT

TCU lost both of its games to the Jayhawks this season.

Kansas State heads into the offseason.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Wesley Iwundu knew how little room for error Kansas State left itself. Within a blink of an eye, he gave the Wildcats’ once meager postseason hopes new life.

An errant pass from Georges Niang ended up in the hands of Iwundu and a two-handed dunk helped paint a better picture to an up-and-down season at Kansas State (15-15, 8-9 Big 12).

Iwundu capped a 22-9 scoring run with the dunk, giving the Wildcats a 70-69 win over No. 12 Iowa State on Saturday and back-to-back Top 25 wins.

“Just a lot of emotions running through my mind,” Iwundu said of the play. “I was protecting the route and I saw him cut and I tried to make a play.”

Kansas State tied the game at 66 apiece with a tip-in by Justin Edwards with 59.4 seconds left.

After Iwundu gave them a 68-66 lead, Monte Morris had a 3-point play to give the Cyclones a one-point advantage.

However, Iwundu’s attentiveness provided redemption for the sophomore after a missed free throw with a two-handed dunk.

The Wildcats held Iowa State (20-8, 10-6) to 38 percent shooting in the second half, which followed 8-of-15 shooting from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes.

“They pressure the heck out of you in this building, there is no doubt about that,” Hoiberg said. “They’ve won eight league games, they had a really good game and we expected them to come out and pressure us.”

Nigel Johnson led Kansas State with 17 points after scoring a career-high 20 points in an upset of No. 8 Kansas on Monday night. Edwards added a season-high 16 points.

Niang led Iowa State with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting. He added a career-high five 3-pointers for the Cyclones, who came in averaging a Big-12 best 79.4 points.

The Cyclones took a 40-33 lead at halftime, but 3-of-12 shooting from behind the arc in the second half derailed their chance for a third-straight Big 12 road victory.

Niang led the Cyclones with 12 points in the first half, including four shots from 3-point range. It was the first time Kansas State allowed 10 or more 3-pointers this season.

The Wildcats overcame two Iowa State double-digit leads in the second half.

Despite a second straight home win over a ranked opponent, Kansas State fans did not rush the court Saturday — a stark contrast from Monday’s win over Kansas that featured a court storming that ultimately led to a public reprimand of the program by the Big 12.

HEARTBREAK HOTEL

The Kansas loss to Kansas State on Monday provided an opportunity for Iowa State to move into serious league championship consideration. But the Cyclones have had two straight losses.

“We’ve got to bounce back,” Hoiberg said. “That’s two tough ones, two very tough ones in a row. We’ll find out a lot about ourselves in how we bounce back tomorrow.”

JOHNSON AND JOHNSON

When asked about Nigel Johnson’s combined 18.5 point-average against No. 8 Kansas and No. 12 Iowa State, Bruce Weber attributed it to attention to detail.

“In our shoot-around today, he asked his first question in two years,” Weber said. “So he actually paid attention and asked us about how to guard something. He’s made some progress.”

TIP-IN

Kansas State: Thomas Gipson, who was one of three seniors recognized for the Wildcats’ final home game, is the 12th player in school history to score at least 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds.

Iowa State: Bryce Dejean-Jones was held scoreless for the first time as a Cyclone. The UNLV transfer came in averaging 12.1 points, but has been held to single digits in three of the last four games.

UP NEXT

Iowa State: Hosts Oklahoma on Monday.

Kansas State: Plays at Texas next Saturday.

— Associated Press —

WACO, Texas (AP) — With yet another 20-win season under Scott Drew secured, Baylor forward Rico Gathers is thinking more about the two times the Bears have been a win away from the Final Four under their coach.

“I’m glad that we won 20 games, but we’re on a mission to win the rest of our games for the rest of the regular season and stuff,” Gathers said after his Big 12-leading 14th double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in a 69-42 win over Kansas State on Saturday.

“We stay hungry all the time. We know we’ve got tests coming up. We’re locked and ready to go.”

Taurean Price had 14 points, five assists and five steals to lead the Bears (20-7, 8-6 Big 12), who have seven of the school’s 10 seasons with at least 20 wins since Drew arrived in 2003. They’ve all been in the past eight years.

“It’s hard to sustain because you just have so much influx in our sport and our sport alone,” Drew said. “So to be consistent, again, Baylor nation, players we’ve had, the fact that they’ve stayed with the program, haven’t transferred, is why we’ve been successful.”

Thomas Gipson scored 11 points to lead the Wildcats (13-15, 6-9), who set a season low for points and dropped two games under .500 for the first time since the end of the 2003 season.

Kansas State, which was swept on a two-game trip to Texas that started with a loss to lowly TCU, got within 39-31 with six quick points after falling behind by 14 at halftime and made it 39-33 on a steal and dunk by Marcus Foster with 14 minutes to go.

But the Wildcats had just three field goals the rest of the way, shot 39 percent and were 1 of 16 from 3-point range while the Bears made eight of 16 from beyond the arc. Baylor built its 39-25 halftime lead thanks to 7-of-14 shooting from long range.

“You’ve got to make some 3s,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “When we’ve played against them, we’ve made 3s.”

Lester Medford scored 12 and Al Freeman had 11 on 5-of-6 shooting for the Bears, who won for the 18th time in 20 home games despite going almost 8 minutes without a field goal to start the second half before Gathers hit a layup on a feed from Kenny Chery.

With consecutive wins since a two-game skid that interrupted a hot streak, Baylor is looking solid for a fifth trip to the NCAA tournament under Drew, who has taken the Bears to the regional finals twice.

“It’s the Big 12,” Drew said. “You don’t get too high or low after any game. I think we all realize that.”

REBOUNDING RECOGNITION

Gathers was honored before the game for his Big 12-record 28 rebounds against Huston-Tillotson on Jan 21. The burly 6-foot-8 forward broke Baylor’s oldest individual game record, held by Jerry Mallett with 27 against North Texas on Feb. 1, 1955. Mallett presented Gathers with a commemorative ball.

TRYING TIMES

The Wildcats, who are 2-8 since beating Baylor at home on Jan. 17, had a rough February in Texas. The month started with a 64-47 loss at Texas Tech, the only team below TCU in the Big 12 standings. And now they go home to play No. 8 Kansas on Monday night for their third game in six days. “Maybe it’s a chance to regroup and get some things going in the right direction,” Weber said.

TIP-INS

Kansas State: The previous scoring low came in a 50-46 loss to Georgia on Dec. 31. … The Wildcats had nine of their 15 turnovers in the second half, including four when the deficit was still less than 10 in the second half.

Baylor: Royce O’Neale was Baylor’s other double-figure scorer with 10 points. … Besides sharing the scoring load like they usually do, the Bears had five players with at least four assists each. The total of 24 was four off their season high.

UP NEXT

Kansas State: Home against No. 8 Kansas on Monday.

Baylor: At No. 14 Iowa State on Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — TCU started the season with 13 consecutive non-conference wins. Now the Horned Frogs finally have their first winning streak in the Big 12.

Chris Washburn scored 17 points and TCU beat Kansas State 69-55 on Wednesday night, giving the Frogs consecutive Big 12 victories for the first time since joining the league.

“We’re growing up, we’re maturing … I think the question was asked about learning how to win. You’ve got to go through it,” coach Trent Johnson said. “There was a stretch there when they made their run. We weren’t playing really well, but we sustained our confidence, and that enabled us to get out of that.”

TCU (16-10, 3-10 Big 12) never trailed in the game, building a 20-point halftime lead and holding on when K-State cut the gap to six points just more than eight minutes into the second half.

This is the third Big 12 season for the Horned Frogs, who went 0-18 in league play a season ago after a 2-16 debut in 2013. They were coming off a 70-55 home win over No. 22 Oklahoma State four days earlier.

Kansas State (13-14, 6-8) scored 11 consecutive points in less than two minutes early in the second half. The Wildcats were within 41-35 when Nino Williams made a free throw after a technical foul against TCU with 11:52 left.

But K-State then went scoreless for nearly 4 1/2 minutes, and was still down 14 when Tre Harris hit a 3-pointer with 7:29 left to end the drought.

“We just ran out of gas,” coach Bruce Weber said.

TCU had a 10-0 run in that span, which started when Brandon Parrish drove for a layup high off the glass. Washburn had a thunderous dunk while being fouled, plus a free throw, to make it 50-35 with just over 8 minutes left.

Karviar Shepherd added 12 points for TCU, while Kenrich Williams had 11 and Amric Fields 10.

Nino Williams had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats, who were coming off a win over No. 17 Oklahoma after a five-game losing streak. Harris had 14 points and Thomas Gipson 12.

“I told our guys both of us came off good wins on Saturday, and who had the maturity and determination to come and play hard, would be the one that would come out with another win,” Weber said.

Johnson’s pregame message was for his players was to build off how they finished against Oklahoma State, when they had a pair of 10-0 runs after halftime to win.

“That’s probably as good a first half of basketball as we played all year,” Johnson said afterward. “We knew they were going to make a run at us. We kept our poise.”

TCU had a 35-15 halftime lead that was bolstered by a 19-0 run over the final 7 1/2 minutes before the break.

Gipson made two free throws to get the Wildcats within 16-15 with 7:48 left in the first half, nearly two minutes after their last field goal of the half. But the Wildcats didn’t score again before the break, and six different TCU players scored in the big run — with only Shepherd making multiple field goals in that stretch.

—

SHOTS FALLING

Shepherd has consecutive double-figure scoring games for TCU after none in 16 games since Dec. 4. The Horned Frogs have shot over 50 percent in consecutive games after missing 87 shots in the two games before that.

BOTTOM HALF

The 15 points in the first half weren’t even the lowest this season by Kansas State. The Wildcats had had 12 at halftime in a 50-46 loss to Georgia on Dec. 31. Against TCU, they shot only 16 percent (4 for 25) from the field while the Frogs made 14 of 22 shots (64 percent).

TIP-INS

Kansas St.: The Wildcats are 1-8 in road games.

TCU: Shepherd and Washburn each had eight rebounds. … The technical foul was against Trey Zeigler after he pushed away a dead ball that hit a K-State player.

UP NEXT

Kansas State plays at No. 20 Baylor on Saturday.

TCU is at No. 8 Kansas on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Marcus Foster made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left and scored 14 points in his return from a three-game suspension to lead Kansas State past No. 17 Oklahoma 59-56 on Saturday night.

It was the second time this season that Foster hit a late 3 against the Sooners (17-8, 8-5 Big 12).

Buddy Hield had 14 points to pace Oklahoma but was held to his lowest point total since Jan. 5 against Baylor.

The Sooners matched their scoring low for the season set in a 69-56 loss to Wisconsin in the Bahamas.

Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger, a former Kansas State All-American, fell to 5-7 against his alma mater.

Kansas State (13-13, 6-7) established its late lead with only three field goals in the final 9 minutes. Free throw shooting was crucial as the Wildcats went 8 for 10 down the stretch and finished 28 of 36 for the game.

— Associated Press —

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Reserve Brandon Watkins scored a career-high 14 points and No. 21 West Virginia surrendered a double-digit lead before recovering for a 76-72 win over Kansas State on Wednesday night.

West Virginia (19-5, 7-4 Big 12) got plenty of scoring from its deep bench to snap a two-game losing streak and hand the Wildcats their fifth straight loss.

Kansas State (12-13, 5-7) scored 12 unanswered points to take a 69-67 lead, but the Wildcats scored three the rest of the game.

Juwan Staten added 11 points and reserves Jaysean Paige and Jevon Carter had 10 apiece for West Virginia. The Mountaineers’ bench outscored the Wildcats’ 47-19.

Nino Williams led Kansas State with 22 points. Nigel Johnson and Justin Edwards scored 14 apiece and Thomas Gipson had 10.

It was the first game scoring in double figures this season for Watkins, who has averaged only seven minutes of playing time off the bench. His nine rebounds were more than one-third of his previous total for the entire season.

Watkins made a pair of baskets and two free throws over a two-minute stretch to put West Virginia ahead 61-50 with 11:17 remaining. But he didn’t score the rest of the game and the Mountaineers got careless.

West Virginia missed five straight free throws and didn’t score over a three-minute span to allow Kansas State to mount its comeback.

Johnson made two layups and two free throws in 11 seconds, and Williams capped the 12-0 run with a layup and free throw with 2:25 left to give Kansas State its first lead since early in the game.

West Virginia’s Nathan Adrian then made two free throws and Devin Williams’ second basket of the game put West Virginia ahead to stay at 71-69 with 1:51 left.

After the teams traded a free throw apiece, Johnson was called for an intentional foul with 20 seconds left. Carter made both free throws, Gary Browne added two more with 10 seconds left and the Mountaineers held on.

TIP-INS

Kansas State: The Wildcats’ losing streak is their longest since dropping six in a row in the 2004-05 season. Kansas State did break a streak of four straight games scoring fewer than 60 points. … Kansas State leading scorer Marcus Foster and reserve forward Malek Harris sat out their third straight games since being suspended Feb. 4 for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

West Virginia: Ten different players scored in the first half when the Mountaineers shot 62 percent from the floor. … Tarik Phillip missed a two-handed dunk and was called for goaltending while trying to corral the missed shot as it rattled around the rim in the first half. … West Virginia made its first seven field goal tries, three of them 3-pointers. The Mountaineers entered the game last in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting at 29 percent.

UP NEXT

West Virginia plays at No. 14 Iowa State on Saturday.

Kansas State hosts No. 17 Oklahoma on Saturday

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Texas’ four-game losing streak was as baffling to Isaiah Taylor as it was for anybody on the Longhorns’ bench.

On Saturday, Taylor and his team took an approach that had been missing for nearly three weeks.

“We played desperate,” Taylor said. “Today we didn’t get down on ourselves. Everyone played with an attitude and it’s sort of like (a sense) of cockiness that we needed to win and that’s what happened.”

Taylor scored 23 points, including two foul shots with one second left that sent No. 25 Texas over Kansas State 61-57 Saturday.

Connor Lammert had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Longhorns (15-8, 4-6 Big 12).

Nino Williams had 13 points for the Wildcats (12-12, 5-6), who once again were without Marcus Foster and Malek Harris because of indefinite suspensions. No word has been given on their future status.

Thomas Gipson missed a layup with less than five seconds that would have tied the game. The Wildcats’ fourth straight loss dropped them to .500 this late in the season for the first time since Feb. 25, 2004.

“There are tears in the locker room,” Wildcats coach Bruce Weber said. “I’ve got to help them. It’s tough on me, tough on our staff, but we’ve got to be there for them.”

Lammert said finishing possessions and playing a full 40 minutes became even more evident after the Longhorns’ most recent loss against Oklahoma State at home.

“Coach talked to us and told us that each game is going to come down to one or two possessions,” Lammert said.

Taylor scored at least 15 for the fifth straight game. He and Lammert both matched their highest point total of the season.

After taking a 42-41 with 10:34 left, Kansas State fell victim to the Longhorns’ length as they sealed the paint and pushed their lead to 49-44 on Lammert’s 3-pointer.

The Wildcats’ shot just 32 percent from the field (15 of 47), but went 8 of 16 on 3s.

The Longhorns eliminated Kansas State’s best interior scoring option in Gipson, holding him to five points on 0-for-7 shooting.

“We are a long team,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “Our zone has been good. We have won four conference games and we played zone every minute of those games with the exception of the last two minutes here today.”

Kansas State made only 3 of its first 21 shots, and Taylor pushed the Longhorns’ to their largest lead at 24-12 with 4:16 left in the first half.

TIP-INS

Texas: Jonathan Holmes (11.5 points per game) didn’t make the trip to Manhattan because of a concussion. Javan Felix also was held out due to a head injury.

Kansas State: The Wildcats’ average of 58.9 points per game was the lowest in the Big 12 after 10 games and the lowest for the program since 1982-83.

UP NEXT

Texas hosts TCU on Wednesday.

Kansas State plays at West Virginia on Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — The duo of Toddrick Gotcher and Devaugntah Williams is key for Texas Tech’s offense.

“They’re both wing players,” Red Raiders coach Tubby Smith said. “They’re both shooting guards. That’s their job: to knock down open shots.”

Williams and Gotcher — who combined for 25 of Texas Tech’s 30 second-half points — scored 22 and 15 points, respectively, to lead the Red Raiders to a 64-47 win against Kansas State on Wednesday night.

Both offenses struggled to open the second half, which the Red Raiders (12-11, 2-8 Big 12) entered leading 34-26. The Wildcats (12-11, 5-5 Big 12) scored just two points over the first 5-plus minutes of the second half, and the Red Raiders needed 3:50 to make their first field goal of the half.

But then the Wildcats heated up, trimming the deficit to one point, 45-44, with 7:50 remaining.

The Red Raiders responded with a 14-0 run over 2:46 to build a 59-44 lead with 2:28 left to ice the game. The Wildcats shot 0 of 5 as part of a 5:06 scoring drought that covered part of that period.

“You have one chance to win the game when you come back like that,” Wildcats coach Bruce Weber said. “I thought they were getting a little tentative, a little stagnant, but we couldn’t get over the hump. It’s disappointing. We just got to go back and keep battling.”

The Red Raiders closed the game on a 19-3 run over the final 5:11 and made 6 of their final 7 field goals. The Wildcats struggled to finish the game, hitting just one of their last nine shots.

Kansas State struggled without sophomore Marcus Foster, the team’s leading scorer (14 points per game) who was suspended for the game due to a violation of team rules. Weber said Foster’s suspension could continue beyond Wednesday.

“Our whole team, we’ve been plagued from the start of the season by immaturity, by lack of discipline and by lack of consistency, on and off the court the whole year,” Weber said. “I feared because we had so many young guys that we wouldn’t have much maturity as a team. Plus, they had too much hype.”

Thomas Gipson scored 13 points to lead the Wildcats in Foster’s absence. Just three other Wildcats scored more than seven points and five players didn’t score.

The Red Raiders improved to 10-0 this season when leading at halftime.

—

TIP-INS

Kansas State: In addition to Foster’s suspension, the Wildcats also suspended freshman Malek Harris for Wednesday’s game against Texas Tech due to a violation of team rules. He entered with an average of 2.2 points and 13.6 minutes per game. As with Foster, Weber isn’t certain when Harris will return.

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders dismissed junior forward Justin Jamison from the team Wednesday due to a violation of team rules. In his first season with the team, the junior college transfer appeared in nine games and averaged 2.7 points and 2 rebounds. He was suspended for Texas Tech’s first two games this season. Sophomore Stan Mays also served the second game of an indefinite suspension Wednesday.

STAR POWER

Kansas State’s Nino Williams continued to struggle with a left knee injury that left him, according to Weber, at “60, 65 percent.” Williams shot 2 of 8 and scored four points in 24 minutes before fouling out.

UP NEXT

Kansas State plays host to Texas on Saturday.

Texas Tech travels to Iowa State on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder released the Wildcats’ 2015 recruiting class Wednesday with the announcement of 24 student-athletes who plan on joining or have already joined the K-State football program.

The 2015 signing class is made up of 23 players from the high school ranks, as well as one community-college player. Of the group, five are currently enrolled at K-State and will participate in April’s spring practices, which culminate with the Purple/White Spring Game on April 25.

“As we all know by now, it will be two or three years before we can accurately assess the quality of this or any recruiting class. Hopefully we have assessed the skills and intrinsic values of this year’s class accurately, but time will tell. Including greyshirts from last year’s class, we have three of these student-athletes presently in classes and participating in our out-of-season workouts. Each of them have demonstrated a commitment to becoming the best person, student and athlete possible.

“As always, we greatly appreciate the high school and community college coaches, faculty members and administrators through the state of Kansas and across the nation who have received our coaches and program so very graciously. I am especially proud of and thankful for the Kansas State faculty, dean of students, director of finance, athletics support staff, athletics director and president for their assistance in conveying to these young men the great support services, education and caring relationships provided by our University.”

This year’s class boasts 12 players on defense, 11 offensive players and one listed as an athlete. The class is made up of five apiece on the offensive and defensive lines, four linebackers, three defensive backs, three wide receivers, two running backs and a quarterback.

As is the case in years past, the Wildcat coaching staff scoured the nation for talent as Kansas State’s class of 2015 is represented by nine different states, while securing the boarders and keeping a majority of the top Kansas prospect in state. Eight of the 24 in this year’s signing class hail from the state of Kansas, while five come from Georgia, three are from Texas and two apiece are from Missouri and Oklahoma.

Defensive end Aulelio Olomua (ah-LAY-lee-oh oh-low-MOO-ah) from Mesa Community College is the lone community-college transfer in the class. It is the fewest in one class since K-State also signed only one in 1992 (Percell Gaskins).

In addition to the 24 players in the 2015 class, K-State awarded scholarships to eight former walk-ons over the course of the last six months. Punter Nick Walsh went on aid in January, while defensive lineman Will Geary will be on aid beginning in the fall. In September, long snapper Dalton Converse, quarterback Joe Hubener, place kicker Ian Patterson, defensive back Dylan Schellenberg, linebacker David Smith and wide receiver Stanton Weber were put on scholarship.

K-State Signing Day Press Conference
February 4, 2015

Head Coach Bill Snyder
On the quantity and quality of this year’s class…
“I do not know if it is one single thing. I think where I would start would be the character. That may not come off right. Someone may say they are bigger, stronger, faster or more athletic, or whatever the case may be. That seemingly is a part of the class. I think in this day in age because recruiting is upside down, you have heard me say before, you do not get to know them for very long because defining character in your value system is very important to us. Seemingly, it is a group of young guys who seem to have a great amount of athletic ability, but I think, first and foremost, it is a group that is collectively of strong and high valued group of young guys. There is a toughness aspect there that you always look for – that is part of the value system. I think we have some hard-working and tough guys. I think that, on the perimeter, there is a good degree of athleticism. In some areas you would like to be quicker in some aspects, but collectively, athletic ability stands out in that regard.

On Alex Delton graduating from high school early and enrolling at K-State in January…

“I think that it is major. I think when a young guy makes that decision that it tells you here is a guy that wants to do this. He really does. He is a hard worker. I like his demeanor. He tries to invest himself. He wants to find out anything and everything that he possibly can. He is the kind of guy that we like. He is a youngster of good character. I think he has done well in the out-of-season workouts up until this time. When you think about it, it puts him way ahead of other guys that play the same position as him. That would be true for anybody that would come at mid-term. I think we have five guys that came to campus at the semester – some from last year’s count and some from this coming year. They have come in and gotten on board quickly. It is a great value I think.”

On signing eight Kansas guys…

“I think that it is probably an average year. When I say average year in the state of Kansas, there are usually 10 to 12 guys that will go on and sign with Division I schools. I do not know what the total number was that came out this year with Division I schools, but I would suggest that it is about that.”

On signing defensive tackle, Bryce English …

“I like Bryce (English). Again, I like him because of his character. His father played for us at North Texas. We always talk about those guys who are hardworking and how much effort they put in, and it is so apparent when you watch video tape that Bryce is a very explosive man. You never know when you watch high school tape of who is on the other side of the ball and how good or not so good a player there might be. You have to research the guys are playing against. When you watch him on tape, he is a physical player. He plays so hard – sideline to sideline. He is a 300-pound guy. I had not seen him until he came on his visit here. When I saw him, I was really impressed with his size. He is just a physical player who plays hard. I really like that. Knowing his father, I know how he has been raised and, obviously, he is a youngster of good character.”

On Elijah Sullivan’s recruiting circumstances…

“It was just one of those last moment things. Again, we had been in touch with him, but we have a little different policy than some others. If you make that commitment, we are going to honor that, which he did. He was aware that we initially had an interest, so when he balked at what he initially was going to do, he told his coach and his coach contacted us and see if we were interested or not. We then went from there and spent time with him and his family and then it turned out.”

On finding guys like Trey Dishon…

“We do not have a staff meeting where I don’t say, ‘Do not leave a stone unturned in the state of Kansas because they are there. Do not ever tell me that they are not there. I know they are. If you just look, you will find them.’ It is a little harder, like you said. There is so much out there on the internet, so electronically you can find anything and everything that you want. Even with all of that, you still do not get to all of them. A school will go anywhere to find and recruit a youngster, but not everyone is willing to go into the depths of Kansas – they probably could not find where they are going anyway – but not a lot of people will want to do that. It has always been our approach to make sure we find those individuals.

There are guys that if you go down to the state of Texas, it is year-round football. They play all the time, and they get better and better. Consequently, you have some very talented young people. You get into small schools in Kansas, and other states as well, a youngster is playing football, playing basketball, running track and maybe playing baseball along with it. He is doing all those things. About the time he is getting it in one sport, he is moving onto the other. I think that is great. I would tell my son to do that too. Consequently, they are not always developed. There is a difference in their development with the youngster here in the state of Kansas. It is not a matter of coaching. The coaching in Kansas is just as good as it is anywhere. It is just the fact that they do so many different things. I like that – it tells me a little bit more about their athletic ability and his ability to be competitive. You have 25 basketball games, 10 football games and 10 track meets; you are competitive over a long period of time. That brings out in young people too, I think.”

Click here to see entire 2015 recruiting class.

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