A seven-game home schedule, which includes five home contests in the first six games of the season, highlights Kansas State’s 2026 football schedule that was announced Wednesday by K-State Athletics and the Big 12 Conference.

The Collin Klein era of K-State football opens with three-straight non-conference games inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium beginning on September 5, when the Wildcats host Nicholls. K-State then welcomes Washington State on September 12 for the first-ever meeting between the Wildcats and Cougars on the gridiron, while it closes non-conference play by hosting Tulane on September 19.

For the 22nd time in the 31-year history of the Big 12 – including the seventh time in the last nine years – K-State will begin conference play with a true road game when the Wildcats travel northeast to face Cincinnati on September 26. It will be K-State’s first visit to The Queen City since a 23-21 last-second victory in 1995.

Following its lone bye of the 2026 season, K-State returns for two-straight home games against Houston (October 10) and Kansas (October 17). The Wildcats are looking to win their second-consecutive home game over the Cougars, while they will be in search of their 18th-straight win over the Jayhawks.

The Wildcats’ only stretch with consecutive road games in 2026 closes out the month of October when they travel to face Arizona State on October 24 and Colorado on October 31. K-State plays at Arizona State for the sixth time ever but the first since 1989, while the Wildcats will play inside what is now known as Mountain America Stadium for the first time since a 31-14 victory over Michigan in the 2013 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. K-State returns to Boulder after a thrilling 31-28 win two years ago, and the Wildcats are playing on Halloween for the 17th time in program history and first since 2020.

The month of November trades home and away games over the final four weeks of the season beginning with a contest against Oklahoma State on November 7 inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Last season, K-State became the first road team to win a game in the series with the Cowboys since 2020, and the series is tied, 19-19, in Manhattan.

K-State hits the road for the penultimate time in 2026 when it plays at TCU on November 14. The Wildcats have won three-straight games over the Horned Frogs and six of the last seven dating back to 2019.

Kansas State’s Senior Day contest will be staged on November 21 when the Wildcats face Arizona. It is the third-straight year K-State has played U of A – with the home team winning the previous two contests – but this will be the first time the programs will meet as conference foes after a pair of previously scheduled non-conference games in 2024 and 2025.

The Wildcats conclude the 2026 regular season at Iowa State on November 28. K-State will be in search of their second win in Ames in the last five tries, while it is the third time in the last five trips to Iowa State that the game against the Cyclones serves as the regular-season finale.

The 2026 Big 12 Championship game will be held on Friday, December 4 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

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By K-State Athletics

Brian Lepak, who has had a hand in K-State’s offensive success since his arrival in 2021, will remain at Kansas State and move back to coaching the Wildcat tight ends, head coach Collin Klein announced Monday.

Lepak (pronounced luh-PACK) arrived in Manhattan in 2021 as a Senior Offensive Quality Control Coach and also tutored the Wildcat offensive line in 2025, while he spent the 2022 through 2024 seasons coaching the K-State tight ends.

“I am excited to continue to represent Kansas State University under Coach Klein’s leadership,” said Lepak. “I look forward to implementing Coach Klein’s vision and build on the tradition of this program.”

Lepak and Klein worked together on staff for three seasons, which included K-State’s 2022 Big 12 Championship campaign in 2022.

“Brian has worked tirelessly for this program since he has been here,” Klein said. “He is detailed, caring, competitive and one of the smartest coaches I have worked with at K-State. I am excited to have him continue to develop our tight ends.”

Lepak has found quick success during his first four years as a full-time coach for the Wildcats, tutoring tight end Ben Sinnott to All-Big 12 First Team accolades in both 2022 and 2023, while the Wildcats had two tight ends pick up All-Big 12 honors in 2024 in Garrett Oakley (second team) and Will Swanson (honorable mention). It was the first time since 1997 that the Wildcats had a pair of All-Big 12 tight ends in the same season, while Oakley’s second-team designation marked the first time in the Big 12 era that K-State had a first- or second-team all-conference tight end in three straight seasons.

In 2024, Lepak’s tight end unit combined for a nation-leading 13 touchdown receptions. Five of those came from Oakley, which tied for the second most in school history by a tight end and third by any sophomore. Oakley went on to break the school record for career receiving touchdowns by a tight end during the 2025 season (13), while he ranks fourth in catches (71) and fifth in yards (779).

Over his first two seasons tutoring the K-State tight ends, Lepak coached Sinnott to top-10 rankings nationally among the position group in receiving yards (third), receptions (fourth) and receiving touchdowns (tied for eighth). Sinnott left K-State by tying for the most career receiving touchdowns by a tight end (10) in addition to ranking third among the position in receptions (82) and fourth in receiving yards (1,138).

Under Lepak’s leadership, Sinnott had a banner year as a junior in 2023 as he earned Honorable Mention All-America honors from Phil Steele and was a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award, the first player in school history to be named a semifinalist for the award that is presented annually to the nation’s top tight end. All Sinnott did was record the most single-season receptions (49), receiving yards (676) and receiving touchdowns (6) by a tight end in school history, marks that each ranked in the top five nationally among the position group. Sinnott was selected in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft – No. 53 overall – by the Washington Commanders, the highest-drafted tight end in school history.

In Lepak’s first season coaching the tight ends, Sinnott averaged 14.4 yards per catch to rank fourth nationally as he earned his first All-Big 12 honor. The K-State tight ends helped the Wildcats win the 2022 Big 12 title thanks to an offensive unit that ranked in the top 10 in school history in 11 categories, including ranking second in offensive yards (5,863) and plays (958), fourth in rushing yards (2,916) and fifth in yards per game (418.8).

While tutoring the offensive line in 2025, Lepak coached center Sam Hecht to All-Big 12 First Team honors in addition to receiving votes for the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year award, while tackle John Pastore was a second-team selection. Under Lepak’s guidance, the offensive line helped K-State rank fifth in school history by averaging 5.09 yards per carry, which included a school-record three rushes of at least 75 yards. One of those was an 80-yard rush at Utah during a school-record 472-yard rushing output, bettering a school record that had stood for 71 years.

During the game against the Utes, the Lepak’s unit blocked for a school record 293 rushing yards by Joe Jackson, bettering Darren Sproles’ mark set in 2004. In terms of pass protection, the Wildcats finished the 2025 season ranked 11th nationally in sacks allowed per game (1.08).

Lepak began his coaching career as an offensive graduate assistant at Indiana from 2014 through 2016, while he held the same position at Oklahoma from 2017 through 2019. He coached the spring of 2021 at Southern as the running game coordinator and offensive line coach before his first season in Manhattan in the fall of 2021.

A native of Claremore, Oklahoma, Lepak was an offensive lineman for two seasons at Colorado State before transferring to Oklahoma where he spent three years, including the 2010 Big 12 Championship season, while he was an Academic All-American that year.

After completing his playing career, Lepak was awarded the Dr. Prentice Gautt Postgraduate Scholar Award and attended law school at the University of Oklahoma College of Law where he was a member of the Oklahoma Law Review. He graduated in 2014 and was admitted to the Oklahoma Bar Association the same year. In addition to his law degree, he has dual degrees in Accounting and Finance from the OU Price College of Business where he was the Outstanding Senior in Accounting.

Lepak and his wife, Colleen, have four children, Thomas, Penelope, Luke and Margaret.

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From K-State sports

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Jordan Peterson, an experienced defensive backs coach who has five years of coordinator experience and spent six years on Big 12 staffs, has been hired as Kansas State’s defensive coordinator and will work with the Wildcat defensive backs, head coach Collin Klein announced Sunday.

Peterson comes from his alma mater, Texas A&M, where he served alongside Klein as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach each of the past two seasons.

“I am extremely excited to accept this position at Kansas State and join Coach Klein and the Wildcat program,” Peterson said. “Kansas State is a special place with a proud football tradition. My family and I are looking forward to the opportunity to return to the great state of Kansas and lead the K-State defense. I am also very thankful to Texas A&M and Coach Elko for an incredible two years and for the support and relationships that mean so much to our family. EMAW!”

A native of Lexington, Texas, Peterson is entering his third stint in the Big 12 having served as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M in 2010 and 2011 – the Aggies’ final two years in the conference – in addition to being a defensive assistant at Kansas from 2020 through 2023.

“Jordan is the entire package – an elite strategist and recruiter, and he develops relationships with his players,” Klein said. “His players play incredibly hard for him and continually get better. I am excited for him to be the leader of our defense.”

Peterson helped guide Texas A&M to an 11-2 record and a trip to the College Football Playoff in 2025. Texas A&M leads the nation in third down defense (22.9%), while the Aggies rank second in sacks (3.31 per game), third in tackles for loss (8.5 per game), 16th in passing yards allowed (176.6 per game) and first down defense (205), 19th in total defense (307.4 per game), and 22nd in fourth down defense (41.2%).

Peterson’s defensive backs were responsible for 24 pass breakups this past season, which included a combined 14 from starting cornerbacks Will Lee III and Dezz Ricks. Additionally, safety Marcus Ratcliffe ranked second on the team with 66 tackles and another safety, Dalton Brooks, had 5.5 tackles for loss.

In his first season on staff at Texas A&M in 2024, Peterson helped the Aggies earn an 8-5 record – including a program-best 5-0 start to SEC play – and an appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl. He oversaw a secondary that played a key role in the Aggies ranking 14th nationally with 16 interceptions, while Texas A&M tied for fifth in the country with 76 total passes defended. Of the 16 interceptions, 13 came from Peterson’s defensive backs, including three from BJ Mayes to tie for fourth in the SEC.

Peterson tutored Lee III to 2024 All-SEC Second Team accolades as he ranked fifth in the conference with 10 pass breakups and was in the top five on the team with 42 tackles, including a team-best 39 solo stops.

Prior to his time at Texas A&M, Peterson worked four seasons at Kansas as the safeties coach (2020, 2022), senior defensive analyst (2021) and defensive passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach (2023). During his time in Lawrence, Peterson mentored four All-Big 12 selections, including two-time All-Big 12 First Team selection Cobee Bryant. Bryant and Mello Dotson, an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honoree, combined for seven interceptions in 2023, the most by a Kansas duo since 2007. Dotson returned two of those interceptions for touchdowns, doing so in back-to-back games as he became the first player in school history with a pick-six in consecutive games.

In 2022, Peterson helped the Jayhawks qualify for a bowl game for the first time since 2008. That season, Bryant finished with three interceptions and nine pass breakups, ranking fifth in the conference with 12 passes defended in league play, while he totaled 38 tackles on the year.

Peterson joined Kansas’ staff as the safeties coach in 2020 when he guided Kenny Logan Jr. a team-high two interceptions and 58 tackles.

Peterson went to Kansas from New Mexico where he earned a promotion each season. Originally joining the Lobo staff as a safeties coach, Peterson was the defensive pass game coordinator in 2018 before running the UNM defense in 2019. In his first two seasons at New Mexico, Peterson’s safeties paced the squad in tackles as Jake Rothschiller (2017) and Stanley Barnwell Jr. (2018) each had a team-leading 76 stops.

The longest stint in Peterson’s career came at Fresno State where, like other stops, he received multiple promotions. During his time with the Bulldogs, he coached eight All-Mountain West honorees, four of which earned first-team designations.

Beginning as the secondary coach in 2012, Peterson helped the Bulldogs to a 9-4 record as they ranked second nationally in pass defense (167.15 yards per game) and fourth in pass efficiency defense (100.80). He also mentored safety Phillip Thomas to Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year honors. Fresno State then won the 2013 Mountain West title and a trip to the Las Vegas Bowl before he coached the outside linebackers and served as the recruiting coordinator in 2015 and 2016.

Peterson received his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M in 2010 and 2011, the Aggies’ final two seasons in the Big 12. He was a four-year letterwinner for Texas A&M from 2006 to 2009 as a safety and punt returner, recording 81 career tackles to go along with 15 pass breakups, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and four interceptions, one of which he returned 48 yards for a touchdown. He also led the team with 14 punt returns for 108 yards in 2007. A three-time Academic All-Big 12 performer, Peterson was an Academic All-Region selection in 2008.

Peterson received his bachelor’s degree in sport management from Texas A&M in 2009 in addition to his master’s degree in education curriculum and instruction in 2010. He and his wife, Missy, have three daughters, Ellie, Emery and Everly.

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Kansas State’s Shaylee Myers wrapped up her collegiate career with All-America recognition, as the senior was named an All-American Honorable Mention by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) on Wednesday.

Myers becomes the 12th player in program history to earn AVCA All-America honors and the second under head coach Jason Mansfield, joining former Wildcat teammate Aliyah Carter.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

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MANHATTAN, Kan. (K-State Athletics) – As college athletics continues to evolve within the new era of revenue sharing, K-State Athletics and Wildcat NIL have announced the consolidation of NIL efforts and will absorb the roles and responsibilities of Wildcat NIL moving forward in order to centralize and streamline giving opportunities.

“As we keep up with the changes in the landscape of college athletics, we believe it is important to have a clear and concise message to our fans and a path forward that will align with our goal of building and sustaining a championship program,” said Athletics Director Gene Taylor. “We sincerely thank the Wildcat NIL team, including former K-State student-athletes Curry Sexton, Pierson McAtee, Ryan Henington, and Jace Friesen, for their partnership and innovative work in the NIL space over the past five years. They have been a leader nationally and have provided our programs and student-athletes the necessary resources to compete at the highest levels during critical changes to our landscape in college athletics.”

“Wildcat NIL was created by a group of former K-State student-athletes who identified a critical need at K-State,” said Sexton, one of the managing members at Wildcat NIL. “As the landscape continually evolved over the last several years, our group consistently made necessary changes to ensure our programs could compete at a high level. We are proud to have played a role in a Big 12 Football Championship in 2022, a men’s basketball Elite 8 appearance in 2022-23, a women’s basketball Sweet 16 appearance in 2024-25, back-to-back NCAA Baseball Tournament appearances, including a Super Regional appearance in 2023-24, and many other individual and team successes at K-State over the last several years. As we usher in the newest NIL era — revenue sharing — at K-State, we believe it is vital that K-State Athletics continues to implement an aggressive and coordinated approach to revenue generation. In light of that, we believe the timing is right for K-State Athletics to assume our responsibilities.”

The recent landmark settlement in the House vs. NCAA class action lawsuit ushered in the era of revenue sharing in college athletics on July 1 of this year. For the first time in history, athletic departments are directly paying student-athletes for the use of their name, image, and likeness. This shared revenue will be capped each year, with the first year starting at $20.5M for the 2025-26 Athletics year. This cap will automatically increase by 4% each year, with a recalculation every three years.

In addition, under the new model, student-athletes’ only other forms of compensation can be from true third-party NIL deals that are approved in advance via NIL Go.

“As college athletics evolves, we must keep up and be proactive,” Taylor added. “Bringing all our NIL initiatives in house allows us to streamline our messaging and approach to fully fund the revenue sharing cap while also leveraging opportunities for student-athletes to earn true, third-party NIL with businesses.”

Taylor added that the department will look to add a staff member who will assist with third-party NIL opportunities, both directly and jointly with the efforts being made by K-State Sports Properties (Learfield) in this space.

Those wishing to continue to support K-State’s revenue sharing and NIL initiatives will have various options to do so. The Ahearn Fund recently launched the “Fighting Ever Fighting” campaign built upon philanthropic gifts to the Ahearn Excellence Fund. These gifts will earn donor priority points, Ahearn Fund member benefits and may be tax deductible. Beyond revenue sharing, the Ahearn Fund will continue its traditional focus of proving resources to student athletes for success in competition and in the classroom.

In addition, K-State will launch Cats+ in January, a new subscription-based service that will provide fans a direct path to support Wildcat student-athletes while also seeing benefits in return. The service, available on a monthly or yearly plan, will include behind-the-scenes access; special features highlighting K-State student-athletes and coaches via videos, podcast and special K-State Sports Extra articles written by D. Scott Fritchen; early access to digital and product-based items; exclusive digital content; classic game replays and enter-to-win sweepstakes for experiences and products.

Relatedly, Wildcat NIL will largely wind down its business operations by December 31, 2025, though Wildcat NIL will continue to oversee and facilitate existing deals through June 30, 2026.

Simply put, this transition will provide Wildcat donors and supporters with one primary organization to contribute with the flexibility of doing so in as many as three ways:

• Contribute directly to the Ahearn Fund/Fighting Ever Fighting excellence campaign.
• Subscribe to Cats+ on a monthly or annual basis.
• Engage with our student-athletes through true, third-party NIL opportunities (subject to approval via NIL Go).

For more information, click here.

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Kansas State women’s basketball head coach Jeff Mittie has announced the signing of Sage Henry for the 2026-27 roster during the November signing period on Wednesday.

Henry, a guard from Gilbert, Arizona, plays for Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona. In 2025, Henry averaged 14.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game, while earning First Team 6A Premier All Region honors. She aided Hamilton to the Arizona 6A state title and was named the Arizona 6A state championship game MVP.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

Click here for more K-State sports.

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K-State junior forward Nastja Claessens will be away from the Wildcat women’s basketball team for a week, as she is taking part in the November training camp with the Belgian Senior Women’s National Team in Belgium.

“We are excited for Nastja and her opportunity to grow as a player within the Belgian National Team,” stated K-State head coach Jeff Mittie. “We know she will use this chance to improve her game and we look forward to her return to Manhattan in a week.”

Claessens has been involved with the Belgian National Team for the last two seasons. In 2024, she was a member of the team that competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics. During the summer of 2025, Claessens aided Belgium in winning the 2025 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket.

In two games with the Wildcats this season, Claessens is averaging 10.0 points with a field goal percentage of 50.0 percent. She is also averaging 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals. At SMU on November 8, she narrowly missed her first double-double of the season with eight points, a season-high 11 rebounds and four steals.

K-State returns to Bramlage Coliseum on Monday to begin a four-game homestand. The Wildcats host Lamar at 6:30 p.m.

The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be heard on the K-State Sports Network, online at kstatesports.com and on the K-State Sports app and the flagship stations of K-State women’s basketball in Manhattan, Sunny 102.5 and 1350 KMAN.

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K-State women’s basketball head coach Jeff Mittie has added an international talent to the 2025-26 roster, as Ivona Scekic from Slovenia has signed with the Wildcats. She will join the team in mid-December.

A 6-foot-4 center from Ljubljana, Slovenia, Scekic has played in numerous European events in her national team’s program. Scekic has taken part in the 2025 FIBA U20 Women’s EuroBasket, the 2025 FIBA U18 Women’s EuroBasket, the 2024 FIBA U18 Women’s EuroBasket and the 2023 FIBA U16 Women’s European Championship.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

Click here for more K-State sports.

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Junior guard P.J. Haggerty picked up another preseason honor on Tuesday when he was named to the CBS Sports preseason All-America Third Team.

Haggerty was joined on the Third Team by St. John’s Zuby Ejiofor, Gonzaga’s Graham Ike, Houston’s Milos Uzan and N.C. State’s Darrion Williams. The First Team included Purdue’s Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn, Texas Tech’s JT Toppin, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson and UCLA’s Donovan Dent. The Second Team included Duke’s Cameron Boozer, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Kentucky’s Otega Oweh, Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz and Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

Click here for more K-State sports.

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Following its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and a record-breaking 17 conference wins, K-State baseball and eighth-year head coach Pete Hughes have announced the Wildcats’ complete 2026 schedule. The season officially gets underway on February 13 and features 26 home games at Tointon Family Stadium.

The Wildcats’ 55-game schedule includes nine opponents that advanced to the NCAA Regional round last season, highlighted by Super Regional participants Auburn and West Virginia, along with College World Series qualifier Arizona. In total, K-State will face nine teams — 22 games — that finished with an RPI of 50 or lower in 2025, while two were ranked in the final D1Baseball Top 25 poll.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

Click here for more K-State sports.

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Former K-State All-American Kaelen Culpepper was named the 2025 Minnesota Twins Minor League Player of the Year, earning the organization’s Sherry Robertson Award.

Culpepper, who was drafted 21st overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, quickly made the jump to Double-A in June and established himself as one of the top players in the Twins’ organization. This summer, the first-rounder earned a spot on the American League Team at the 2025 All-Star Futures Game, standing out as the organization’s lone selection, and also garnered Texas League All-Star honors.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

Click here for more K-State sports.

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Weekend home dates with BYU, Kansas, Iowa State and TCU highlight Kansas State’s Big 12 Conference-only schedule, which was released by the league office on Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 23).

The 2026 Big 12 schedule marks a return to an 18-game format after using a 20-game slate in 2025 with the additions of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah. The league used an 18-game schedule from 2012-24. The conference-only schedule will run from the first week of January to the second week of March with each team playing nine games at home and on the road.

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