Kansas State sophomore shortstop Austin Fisher, formerly of Olathe Northwest, is one of 14 players still in consideration for the Brooks Wallace Award, given to the nation’s top shortstop. He led the Big 12 in conference-only batting average at .412.
Texas Tech on Monday hired former UMKC women’s basketball coach Candace Whitaker as its head coach. Whitaker, 33, returns to her alma mater, where she played point guard from 2000-02.
Former Baylor swingman Deuce Bello — once ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 54 player in the country — has decided to transfer to Mizzou. “I just feel like the coaching staff is good, and I’ve been cool with (associate coach) Tim (Fuller) for a while,” Bello said. “At Baylor, we played Mizzou three times and I like their style of play.”
Kansas State has played a nonconference basketball game at the Sprint Center in each of the past six years, but that streak is unlikely to continue.
The Kansas State baseball team is on the verge of making a special year even better for the Wildcats’ athletic department. With just one victory, the Wildcats will have their third conference championship of the 2012-13 academic year. The football team won 11 games to claim the crown in December. The men’s basketball team shared the Big 12 title with Kansas in March.
The Kansas State baseball team entered the national polls for the first time since 2009 on Monday. The Wildcats, who lead the Big 12 at 37-15 overall and 14-7 in conference play, came in at No. 19 in Baseball America’s Top 25 and entered the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll at No. 21.
K-State sophomore Mitch Meyer had a career-high three RBIs as the Wildcats topped rival Kansas 7-3 and completed a three-game sweep on Sunday in the Sunflower Showdown.
K-State won the second game in a three-game series against Kansas on Saturday and is in first place in the Big 12.
Kansas State’s men’s basketball team has added a transfer to the mix, bringing in 6-foot-10 Georgetown center Brandon Bolden, who spent one season with the Hoyas, appearing in four games.
This weekend’s three-game series in Lawrence, which begins on Friday, is one of the most intriguing in the recent history of the Sunflower Showdown: Baseball Edition. K-State, 34-15 overall and 11-7 in the Big 12, is tied atop the conference standings with Oklahoma and West Virginia, while the Jayhawks, 31-18 overall and 12-9 in the Big 12, have won six straight games and sit just a half-game out of first.
Kansas State coach Bruce Weber officially announced the signing of junior transfer Justin Edwards on Thursday. Edwards, a 6-foot-3 wing who played at Maine last season, committed to K-State on Saturday, two days after his official visit.
Nigel Johnson, a 6-foot-1, 180-point guard from Upper Marlboro, Md., officially joined the Kansas State basketball team on Wednesday by signing a National Letter of Intent to play for the Wildcats next season. He figures to play meaningful minutes right as a freshman following the departure of former starting point guard Angel Rodriguez, who transferred to Miami.
Maine transfer Justin Edwards arrived at Kansas State for an official visit on Thursday. He committed to the Wildcats on Saturday.
With two recruits on campus, this is shaping up to be an important weekend for the Kansas State basketball team. The Wildcats have two available scholarships remaining, and are currently using them to target Justin Edwards and Tanner Lancona.
Angel Rodriguez, the former Kansas State point guard who announced his plans to transfer last week, intends to finish his college basketball career in the same city he attended high school by attending the University of Miami, where he will play for Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga and have two years of eligibility remaining.
Robert Rose hopes a big spring game will lead to a big season as Kansas State’s backup running back. Rose, a seldom-used senior, received the bulk of the carries for the Purple Team, rushing for 141 yards and a touchdown on 17 touches.
At some point, Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder will have to choose between Jake Waters and Daniel Sams. But that moment isn’t coming anytime soon. Both quarterbacks put up big stat lines during the Wildcats’ spring game on Saturday.
The Chiefs stayed local with the second of their two sixth-round draft picks, selecting Kansas State fullback Braden Wilson. Wilson played in high school in Smith Center, Kan.
When the Seattle Seahawks called Saturday afternoon to say they were picking Kansas State receiver Chris Harper in the fourth round of the NFL Draft, Harper’s emotions were easy to predict. “I am excited,” Harper said. “I am definitely excited. It’s a good fit for me.”
