The Kansas State Wildcats men’s basketball team finally received some good news on Monday with the commitment of University of North Carolina Wilmington transfer forward Khamari McGriff.
McGriff, a 6-foot-9 junior from Tallahassee, Fla., spent the past four seasons with the Seahawks during one of the program’s most successful stretches. UNCW has won 20 or more games in each of the last four seasons and earned a berth in this past year’s NCAA Men’s Tournament.
Last season, McGriff posted career highs, averaging 11.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He started 12 contests and appeared in all 34 games.
Primarily an inside post presence, McGriff will help fill the void left by the recent transfers of centers Ugonna Onyenso and Baye Fall, as well as forward Macaleab Rich. Starters David N’Guessan and Coleman Hawkins have also graduated.
McGriff has experience against Big 12 competition, having faced No. 1 Kansas earlier in the season. In that game, he scored 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds. He also played against Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament, contributing eight points and three rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.
The Wildcats return only four players from last season: point guard David Castillo, guard CJ Jones, and forwards Mobi Ikegwuruka and Taj Manning.
Kansas State also recently secured a commitment from Abdi Bashir, a 6-foot-7 sophomore guard from Omaha, Nebraska.
The Wildcats finished the 2024–25 season with a 16–17 overall record and a 9–11 mark in Big 12 play, tying for ninth in the conference. They missed the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year.