Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

With three seniors exhausting their eligibility and three more students deciding to transfer this spring, Bruce Weber has been presented with several holes to fill. On Friday he landed his biggest plug yet. 6’10″ Georgetown center Brandon Bolden has announced he will transfer to Kansas State this fall. With the addition he has completed his first recruiting class.

Bolden received limited playing time the past year, seeing action in only four games for five cumulative minutes as a freshman. However, he was forced to fight for playing time on a roster with four centers and four additional forwards that stood at least 6’8″. The Sumter, SC native announced his intention to transition elsewhere on April 30, and announced his decision on May 17. He will be forced to sit out one year, and still has his redshirt eligibility.

Bolden was recruited by several big name programs coming out of high school, with offers from Baylor, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, VCU, and Virginia Tech. The three star center should be a welcome addition to the Wildcats, who remain in desperate need of big men following the graduation of starter Jordan Henriquez and transfer of Adrian Diaz. The raw report on Bolden is that he’s, well, really raw. He’s failed to demonstrate the basketball specific skills that make great offensive players but has incredible athleticism and should be able to make plays based on his pure strength and leaping ability. This is the key characteristic that K-State asks of almost all its big men, and hopefully he adds another layer of toughness to Bruce Weber’s squad.

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Although he continues to receive attention from schools around the area and all the way to California, 2014 DE recruit C.J. Reese reaffirmed his commitment to K-State earlier this week. Reese has recently picked up an offer from the University of Houston and has received attention from Baylor, California, Memphis, and Texas Tech since his announcement (in addition to previous offers from Colorado, Nevada, and SMU). However, speaking on Wednesday in reference to KSU coach Dana Dimel, Reese stated that “Coach Dimel and I have built a strong relationship together and with my family I feel like I made a really good choice and it isn’t going to get any better than this.”

Reese also mentioned a promise to see the field his freshman year, which could play a major factor in retaining his commitment (K-State could be the best program able to provide this offer). And the proposition of Reese seeing at least some playing time as a true freshman is a real possibility. Recently rated the #47 DE in his class by 247 Sports, he promises to bring the physical tools necessary to contribute on the next level. Additionally, K-State’s lack of depth at the position will also assist in getting Reese on the field.

K-State lists seven defensive ends on its 2013 current roster. And while only one is set to exhaust his eligibility this year, it will represent an important loss. Alauna Finau is a former junior college player expected to anchor one half of the defensive end spots after playing in nine games last year while backing up Meshak Williams and Adam Davis. On the other end of the line, soon-to-be junior Ryan Mueller from Leawood, KS is currently at the top of the depth chart.

Reese will not be taking much playing time from Ryan Mueller in 2014, as Mueller has played in 13 games each of the past two years. In 2012 he had three tackles-for-loss while breaking up six passes and recovering two fumbles. However, the other side should be a wide open battle and Reese could easily be part of a rotation assuming he continues to develop over the next year. Hopefully he can be an immediate star, but even if his role is merely to let the first string catch its breath, it’s encouraging to see a steadfast commitment in the face of additional offers – regardless of how early in the process it is for the 2014 recruiting class.

Click here to read Jug of Snyder’s initial reaction to Reese’s commitment announcement.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas State safety Ty Zimmerman – the team’s most important returning defender – is one of seven Big 12 players named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list for the 2013 season. The IMPACT trophy attempts to encapsulate the player that makes the biggest impacts both on and off the field. The letters stand for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.

42 players have been announced to the watch list for a trophy that ultimately went to Manti Te’o of Notre Dame last year. The team will need Zimmerman to do everything expected of a finalist for this award as he is one of the only defenders with playing experience returning this year. Zimmerman was also one of K-State’s best last year as the Junction City native recorded five interceptions and 50 tackles. He has 10 interceptions in his career in Manhattan.

Zimmerman will look to further build on the season that landed him on the All American third team last year and skyrocketed his potential NFL stock when he finishes his senior campaign. Zimmerman was a team captain last year and has been awarded the same honor for 2013. He is the second Wildcat to be placed on the Lott watch list, with linebacker Arthur Brown being placed on the same monitor last year.

Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

With the announcement on Tuesday that Andrew Wiggins will attend KU dramatically shifting Vegas betting lines on the favorites to win the 2013-14 national championship, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi took to the internet to update his rankings released in April after the national championship. Holding down a #9 seed in his Bracketology predictions are the Kansas State Wildcats.

It’s interesting that K-State has not moved much since the April 17th standings, staying in the Midwest Region while dropping from eight to nine and garnering a matchup with New Mexico rather than Wichita State. It’s interesting due to the defections that have occurred this spring. While Adrian Diaz and Michael Orris had already announced their intentions to transfer before April 17, point guard and main cog Angel Rodriguez was still anticipated to be with the Wildcats (he has since stated he will finish his college career with the Miami Hurricane).

It’s difficult to tell whether Lunardi doesn’t believe the Rodriguez defection is that important or if he’s simply not paying attention (both are plausible). The loss of Rodriguez has been lamented several times over by both media following K-State and the rest of the league in that his departure significantly lowers the upper echelon talent in the Big 12. And, of course, a ranking in May means absolutely nothing. All the same there appears to be a belief that K-State will fall a bit with the departures of seniors like Rodney McGruder and Jordan Henriquez, but Bruce Weber’s ability to respond with another strong season remains among the experts.

Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

The Big 12/SEC Challenge pairings were released on Tuesday and the Kansas State Wildcats will face the Rebels of Ole Miss in Manhattan on December 5th later this year. The inaugural event will remind many fans of the Big 12/Pac 10 Hardwood Challenge that was discontinued after the 2010-11 season, although remains overshadowed by the ever popular Big 10/ACC Challenge.

Kansas State is coming off of a regular season Big 12 co-championship in which the Wildcats finished 27-8 with a 14-4 league record before exiting the NCAA tournament way too early against La Salle – a common thread they share with Ole Miss. The Rebels surprised #5 Wisconsin in their first game of the tournament before meeting the La Salle Explorers in their second match up. And just like their game against K-State, La Salle was able to escape with a two point win on its way to the Sweet Sixteen.

Ole Miss was one of the SEC’s best team’s last year, finishing 27-9 and 12-6 in the conference (a lot of similarities to K-State’s trajectory this past season). The team finished second in the regular season but defeated Florida to claim the SEC tournament championship. They are led by soon-to-be senior guard Marshall Henderson, whose on-court antics have gotten him in hot water during his time at Ole Miss. Some of those were forgiven as he averaged 20.1 points for the team. Senior F Murphy Holloway – the team’s second leading scorer and top rebounder – will have to be replaced.

Only ten of the SEC’s 14 teams will participate this year, with each Big 12 team playing one SEC opponent. And although Missouri will be part of the party, the leagues came to a pretty lame agreement by matching the Tigers against Big 12 newcomer West Virginia. Texas A&M will also participate, finishing off the Challenge with a neutral site game against Oklahoma in Houston, TX. Other notable match ups are Baylor against Kentucky and KU against Florida.

Full Schedule 

Thursday, November 14

Texas Tech at Alabama

Monday, December 2

Vanderbilt at Texas

Auburn at Iowa State

Thursday, December 5

TCU at Mississippi State

Ole Miss at Kansas State

West Virginia at Missouri

Friday, December 6

South Carolina at Oklahoma State

Kentucky vs. Baylor (in Arlington, Texas)

Tuesday, December 10

Kansas at Florida

Saturday, December 21

Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma (in Houston, Texas)

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Fighting loaded depth charts and an uphill battle to continue playing football into the NFL, former Wildcat players Collin Klein and Braden Wilson have found themselves in different situations from the two NFL teams most connected to Kansas City. While Wilson was not among the Kansas City Chiefs cut yesterday, Klein was informed the Texans would not be in need of his services this fall.

The Chiefs drafted Wilson in the sixth round, but traded for Arizona fullback Anthony Sherman shortly thereafter in a move that remains a significant obstacle to Wilson making the final roster of 53. However, another FB – Patrick Sherman – was released last month to reduce the competition in the backfield. Yesterday Nate Eachus was also released, solidifying Wilson’s predicament to a two-horse race for the fullback job.

Eachus is not a traditional fullback in any sense of the word, standing at only 5’10″ and 212 lbs. However, on a team that had no defined FB, he often served as a blocker in the backfield with the potential to roll out in the flat for passes.He made the team as a rookie free agent last year and started two games while seeing action in 11 total. He only totaled 18 yards rushing on five carries and had one catch for 19 yards, but was previously kept around for his physical presence and not his yardage production. The move demonstrates Andy Reid and company are definitely committed to having a true fullback on the field this year, and hopefully that man is Braden Wilson.

On the flip side of the coin, Collin Klein will not be suiting up for the Houston Texans this year (I say they have strong ties to Kansas City b/c the Chiefs were originally the Dallas Texans before moving north in 1963). Regardless of Klein’s physical abilities, he was a longshot to make the roster with four other quarterbacks already in Houston: starter Matt Schaub, T.J. Yates, Stephen McGee, and Case Keenum. And due to his continued insistence that he play the quarterback position and not line up as a tight end, Houston made the decision this morning not to retain his services.

As of this writing, no other team has offered Klein a contract to try out. However, he did leave the Texans with a glowing verbal recommendation from his temporary employers. Over the weekend Texans coach Gary Kubiak discussed Klein, commenting:

I tell you what, it was impressive, I’m fixing to go up and have a long talk with him. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but to watch how far the guy came in two and a half days… probably his best day out here today. He’s found a way his whole career, and he’s probably going to find a way this time, too.

He’s got a ton (of talent). For what he did in college and what Jake (Plummer) has been doing with him, he’s come a long way, as far as working under center and stuff. The arm strength is there. The delivery is a little different but you work with that. But his instincts as a football player you can’t coach; the way he just takes off and stuff like that.

Update: FB Ryan D’Imperio was also released after being signed by the Chiefs in March of this year.

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Fresh off a three game sweep of the University of Kansas and in position to take the Big 12 regular season championship with a two game lead over Oklahoma and West Virginia, Kansas State entered the top 25 for the first time in four years yesterday. The Wildcats, at 37-15 overall and 14-7 in the Big 12, sit at #21 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll and at #19 in Baseball America’s Top 25.

Kansas State joins Oklahoma (35-16, 13-9) and Oklahoma State (36-13, 11-9) as the league’s representatives in the USA Today rankings. The Sooners are ranked immediately ahead of the Wildcats at #20 and the Cowboys are #18. In the Baseball America poll, Oklahoma State is immediately behind K-State at #20 while Oklahoma sits at #25. Despite posting the same conference record as Oklahoma and a better record than Oklahoma State, West Virginia is not ranked nor did it receive votes in either poll.

Kansas State can secure at least a portion of the conference crown by avoiding a sweep during its three game homestand against the Sooners – two wins would secure an unshared championship. The Wildcats opened conference play by taking their series against West Virginia 2-1. They have not played the Sooners this year. The Big 12 championship tournament will begin Wednesday, May 22 with games everyday until a winner is crowned on Sunday the 26th.

John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

In what has become a banner year for athletics at Kansas State, the Wildcat baseball mounted a sensational comeback over the weekend to defeat the Jayhawks 9-6 on Saturday to retain sole possession of first place in the Big 12. After giving up the first six runs of the game to the Jayhawks, K-State scored nine straight – including three in the ninth inning – to down KU and retain sole possession of first place tie in the conference. They completed the sweep with a 7-3 victory in Lawrence on Sunday after winning the first game of the series 4-3 on Friday.

With a four game win streak and 14-7 conference record, K-State has cracked open tight race for first place over Oklahoma and West Virginia, who both stand two games back at 12-9. They did so after falling behind early to KU (12-12 in conference) on Saturday by giving up six runs in the first three innings while being blanked themselves. However, they were able to get some late game heroics against KU reliever Jordan Piche (6-3). Piche leads the Big 12 with a 0.71 ERA and had not allowed more than one run in 25 previous outings. However, the Wildcats were able to secure two runs in the seventh to tie the game, and then hit two home runs to score three in the ninth inning.

Completing the sweep Sunday afternoon required fewer dramatics. The Wildcats scored two runs in the top of the first inning and started off with a 5-1 lead before pulling out a 7-3 victory. Second baseman Ross Kivett had three hits in five at bats, scoring two of the teams runs. Blake McFadden (5-2) went five innings for the victory. Facing 17 batters, he allowed three hits, two runs, walked three, and struck out one.

K-State will look to lock up a regular season championship this weekend with a three game series against Oklahoma. The games will be in Manhattan, where the Wildcats are 7-2 in conference play. Oklahoma is 12-9 in the Big 12 but only 4-5 on the road.

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

There are a few guarantees K-State fans have grown used to in the Bill Snyder era: the team will exceed its preseason expectations; a junior college transfer few have heard of will become one of the conference’s best at his position; special teams magic; and an FCS school will be featured on the schedule. This year that team is the North Dakota State Bison. The question is whether K-State should apologize for the opponent. The answer is no. Correction: emphatically no.

Playing an FCS school for a season opening game should be a welcome opportunity to the Wildcats. Bill Snyder is working with a team that’s featuring a new quarterback, a completely overhauled defense, and new #1 wide receiver. The game should be an opportunity to get all these issues sorted out. That won’t be the case in 2013 against NDSU.

NDSU was the 2012 FCS National Champion. They didn’t just win the championship game – they completely blew out Sam Houston State 39-13 on their way to 14-1 record. NDSU also featured an FBS school on their schedule last year in Colorado State. They won that game 22-7 while outgaining the Rams 366-243 in yardage, forcing two turnovers, and winning the time of possession battle 40:20 (yes, exactly a 2:1 ratio). If K-State opened up against a Mountain West Conference team this year, no one would say anything. Instead, they’re opening against a team that destroyed a MWC team.

If what I’m saying scares you a little, it should. NDSU quarterback Brock Jensen returns for his senior year after completing over 60 percent of his passes last year. He also threw for 17 touchdowns and rushed for 12 more. He has developed into a dangerous threat to pass or run the ball. The Bison defense gave up more than 20 points in one game – a 33-21 victory over Northern Iowa (Northern Iowa also scored 21 points in a 26-21 loss to Wisconsin last year). This is not a team to be trifled with.

As a general rule, you’re not going to find a solid defense of K-State’s schedule on this site. I love that we had a home-and-home series against Miami in 2011 and 2012 (even if the team had lost both games I’d still support the endeavor). But the 2013 nonconference schedule isn’t exactly filled with heavyweights – NDSU may be the best team of a list that also includes Louisiana Lafayette and UMass. The point is, if you hear any KU fans talking smack on K-State’s noncon schedule, smack them with the fact that the Jayhawks open against South Dakota, and that if they were willing to open against North Dakota State, they’d probably start the season 0-1. Fact.