Kansas State Wildcats trending in right direction for heralded basketball recruit
Jerome Tang’s main recruiting focus is currently on identifying the best available basketball players in the NCAA transfer portal, but Kansas State may win a different kind of recruiting battle this week.
One of the nation’s top high school prospects is ready to announce his college decision, and few will be surprised if he selects the Wildcats.
David Castillo, a 6-foot-1 and 165-pound junior shooting guard from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, plans to announce his choice at 3 p.m. Tuesday. The main three schools he is considering at Kansas, K-State and Oklahoma State. But many recruiting experts have tabbed K-State as the favorite.
Most recruiting services have Castillo rated as a four-star recruit, but ESPN lists him as a five-star prospect and the 12th overall player in his recruiting class of 2024.
The Wildcats have treated Castillo as a recruiting priority for several months. He took a visit to Bramlage Coliseum for a game last season and has remained in contact Tang and his coaching staff ever since.
It is also worth mentioning that Clent Stewart, a former K-State basketball player, coaches Castillo at Bartlesville High School.
Castillo has also taken visits to KU and Oklahoma State. It’s rare for K-State to beat the Jayhawks head-to-head for recruits. If Castillo chooses the Wildcats it would give Tang an excellent start to the 2024 recruiting cycle.
Max Abmas concludes visit to K-State
Oral Roberts transfer Max Abmas took his first recruiting visit of the spring to Manhattan over the weekend.
The Wildcats appear to be in good shape for the coveted transfer, but he remains uncommitted and is expected to also visit Texas in the near future. He may also take a look at Baylor and a few other schools.
So Tang still has work to do.
Abmas, a 6-foot and 174-pound guard, is coming off a season in which he averaged 21.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4 assists for the Golden Eagles. He figures to be one of the hottest commodities in the transfer portal this cycle after he helped Oral Roberts reach the NCAA Tournament this season.
Tang knows all about him, as he grew up in Rockwall, Texas, and played for former Baylor assistant Paul Mills at ORU. His playing syle is similar to that of Markquis Nowell, so he would be an excellent replacement at point guard.
The latest on Hofstra transfer Aaron Estrada
Aaron Estrada is another recruiting priority for the Wildcats.
The 6-foot-3 senior guard is looking for a new home after he averaged 20.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists last season at Hofstra. He previously listed K-State in his top four along with Alabama, Cincinnati and Florida State.
But he recently canceled plans to visit the Seminoles, so the Wildcats are now in his final three.
Estrada plans to announce his next destination on April 29
New transfer target worth monitoring
Tang was reportedly one of many coaches who reached out to Montana State guard RaeQuan Battle after he entered the transfer portal.
K-State went up against Battle in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this past season, and Tang spoke highly of him afterward.
The 6-foot-5 wing averaged 17.7 points for the Bobcats last season. Other schools that have reportedly expressed interest in Battle are Alabama, Texas, Texas Tech, Oregon, UCLA, Utah State, Oklahoma and California.
Utah State shares an obvious connection to Battle, as the Aggies recently hired coach Danny Sprinkle away from Montana State.
Off the board
Some have wondered if Indiana transfer Tamar Bates might be interested in playing for Kansas State next season, but fans can stop following his recruitment.
Bates committed to Missouri over the weekend.
He joins Baylor transfer L.J. Cryer (Houston) and Houston transfer Tramon Mark (Arkansas) as players that chose other schools after being linked to K-State.
This story was originally published April 17, 2023 at 12:09 PM with the headline "Kansas State Wildcats trending in right direction for heralded basketball recruit."