The NCAA men's basketball transfer portal officially opened on April 6, and it hasn't been kind to the Kansas State men's basketball program so far. As it stands, a number of players are already out on the Casey Alexander project with a number of decisions still to come.
Kansas State Transfer Portal Updates: Who’s In, Who’s Out, What’s Next
Coaching changes aren't always kind to rosters, and can lead to major turnover in the modern landscape. That couldn't be more true in Manhattan.
At the time of publication, six members of the 2025-26 roster have entered their names into the NCAA transfer portal. For those unfamiliar, that means they won't be around next season. Among them are some of last season's biggest names.
Out: P.J. Haggerty, Abdi Bashir Jr., David Castillo
The biggest loss for the Wildcats thus far comes in the form of PJ Haggerty, one of the nation's top-five leading scorers during the regular season. Like the rest of the starters, he was recruited by former head coach Jerome Tang after a brief stint at Memphis the season prior.
Haggerty averaged a career-high 23.4 points through 31 games, shooting just over 35% from three-point range. He led the Wildcats in both minutes and individual scoring for 18 straight games spanning from the end of nonconference play through the start of Big 12 competition.
Against Baylor, both Haggerty and Nate Johnson eclipsed 30 points in a single game, becoming the first duo since the Marcus Beasley era in 2008 to each that mark. He exits with one year of eligibility remaining.
It's a different story for both Castillo and Bashir. Both were also brought in by Tang, but Bashir missed a considerable amount of time due to a reported foot injury. He did not see competition after the Wildcats heartbreaking loss to Oklahoma State.
Castillo appeared in 32 games last season averaging 28 minutes and 10.4 points per contest. He scored a season-high 22 points against Bowling Green, arguably one of the Wildcats' worst losses of the nonconference schedule.
Unlike Haggerty, both Castillo and Bashir end the 2025-26 campaign with multiple years of eligibility remaining. No announcements have been made by any of the three players on where they intent to continue their collegiate careers.
Andrej Kostic remains the only returner from last season
Kansas State forward Andrej Kostic showed promise, playing the majority of his minutes off the bench. Monday afternoon, he announced that he's running it back with Alexander.
Run it back. pic.twitter.com/ka5mpuxAvG
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) April 6, 2026
Kostic saw his first season of collegiate basketball in 2025-26, appearing in 23 games and averaging 5.2 points off the bench. He's shown promise from deep range, knocking down three or more three-point shots against both Kansas and Colorado.
His season-high 12 points came against the Jayhawks on Jan. 24, all of which came from beyond the arc. Kostic was one of many Wildcats to battle injury at some point throughout the season, but did not miss a considerable amount of time.
Also out: Stephen Osei, Exavier Wilson, Taj Manning
The list of exits isn't limited to Haggerty, Bashir or Castillo. Starting forward Taj Manning also announced plans to enter the portal, just a little later than others. The 6'7" junior averaged just 4.2 points per game, shooting 48.5% from the field and a minimal 18.5% from distance. Manning ended the year second in rebounds per game with 5.1, trailing only Haggerty who posted 5.3.
Stephen Osei saw limited action in just three contests last season. His only two points of the years came against Mississippi State. Exavier Wilson did not start, or appear in any games under either Tang or interim head coach Matthew Driscoll.
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