Wildcats preparing for first look at Casey Alexander's staff ahead of 2026-27

We're still a long ways away from the start of the 2026-27 Wildcats men's basketball season, but things are starting to fall in place for head coach Casey Alexander. First, it was his former players announcing plans to hit the portal; now, it's an official list of staffers.

Kansas State basketball: Casey Alexander reveals first look 2026-27 coaching staff

Alexander doesn't appear to be leaving anything back at Belmont, including the hall-of-famers. Of his initial staff hires, Belmont legend Kerron Johnson is listed as one of the team's assistants.

The other two assistants, JJ Butler and Luke Smith, also served on Alexander's staff during his stint with the Bruins. As for Lee Scott and Bryce Haase, they're changing roles.

Scott served as the Director of Sports Performance for three seasons. He was hired in 2023, now entering his first season in the Big 12 as a strength coach.

Haase is also in his third year of choaching after graduating from UMass. He's been on staff since Scott came in, and will serve in the same capacity as his time with the Bruins.

What a jump from the Missouri Valley to the Big 12 looks like

Moves like the ones Alexander's staff are making never come easy, especially jumping from the mid-major level to a power conference like the Big 12. The familiarity certainly helps, but it only goes so far. This is a bunch that's been togeter for multiple seasons, and understand their coaching dynamics.

It's not likely that things will take long to start firing on all cylinders, but the next level of competition without former head coach Jerome Tang can only move forward.

If nothing comes to fruition in his first season, Alexander will at least get a taste of the resources, allocations and other benefits that schools in the Power Five have to work with. That alone is a major step up from what he was limited to at Belmont.

But one thing to note - not many coaches have the ability to make that jump and find success in such a short amount of time. Ben McCollum is a prime example of that in his first season at Iowa.

Since taking over, McCollum retained the majority of his roster from Division II Northwest Missouri State, and now has the chance to lead the Iowa Haweyes to the program's first Final Four since 1980.

Funny enough, his resources looked a lot similar at Drake to what Alexander's had at Belmont. If he's able to recruit the talent like he's already done and keep revenue flowing in The Little Apple, the Wildcats might not be far off from that kind of success.

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