MANHATTAN, Kan. — Kansas State will soon break ground on a 9,000 square-foot rowing center that will be constructed adjacent to the east parking lot of Bill Snyder Family Stadium at a cost of $2.7 million.

The Wildcats will hold a ceremony to commence the groundbreaking at 1 p.m. Saturday before K-State faces Baylor in men’s basketball at Bramlage Coliseum. K-State athletic director John Currie has listed a new rowing facility as a goal for several years. When it is scheduled to be completed in the fall.

“As we continue to strive toward our goal of a model intercollegiate athletics program, the K-State Intercollegiate Rowing Center will dramatically enhance the experience of our 90-plus female rowing student-athletes,” Currie said in a statement released by K-State. “The location of this facility is close to our Academic Learning Center and the new Student-Athlete Performance Table located in the West Stadium Center to help maximize efficiency of our student-athletes. We are excited about the future of K-State rowing and know the Intercollegiate Rowing Center will help foster championship-level athletic performances.”

The center’s construction will be funded privately through contributions and athletic department revenue. It will include two state-of-the-art indoor rowing tanks, a new locker room and more than 40 rowing performance machines and office space for the coaching staff.

All-Academic teams

Rodney McGruder and Will Spradling were both among the 22 players chosen to the Big 12’s all-academic teams on Thursday.

Baseball honor

Kansas State junior outfielder Jared King was chosen to the preseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award on Thursday. He is one of 50 players being considered for the honor, which is presented annually to the nation’s top amateur baseball player.

King is the third Wildcats baseball player to be considered for the award in the last five seasons. He is also a preseason All-America pick by both Baseball America and Perfect Game. Last season, he led the Big 12 with a .378 batting average.