Kansas State Wildcats add MAC Player of the Year to basketball team via transfer
Jerome Tang has landed one of the most accomplished basketball transfers available in the portal.
Nate Johnson, a 6-foot-3 guard who averaged 14 points and 4.9 rebounds as a junior at Akron, has announced his intentions to continue his career with the Kansas State Wildcats.
Johnson was named MAC Player of the Year after he led the Zips to 28 victories, a conference championship and a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
He is known as an all-around player. Johnson is capable of scoring more than 30 points in games, but he also is capable of sending out assists and playing strong defense. For that reason, he was also named MAC Defensive Player of the Year and MAC Tournament MVP this past season.
Many schools reached out to Johnson after he entered the transfer portal last week, including Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky. But he quickly decided that K-State was the place for him. He committed to the Wildcats on Sunday.
Tang and the Wildcats have been busy over the past few days. K-State has lost five players to the transfer portal and high school recruit Ashton Magee withdrew his commitment. But the Wildcats have been able to add three incoming players from other Division I programs.
All three incoming transfers will make the jump from a mid-major conference to the Big 12.
With Johnson on board, K-State will have three to five available scholarships to use on new recruits.
K-State Wildcats basketball tracker
Outgoing transfers:
Incoming transfers:
- Abdi Bashir (Monmouth)
- Khamari McGriff (UNCW)
- Nate Johnson (Akron)
High school recruits:
Returners:
- CJ Jones
- Mobi Ikegwuruka
- Taj Manning
- David Castillo
- Max Jones*
- Tyreek Smith*
*Player is seeking a waiver to gain extra eligibility
Available scholarships: 3-5
This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 9:54 AM with the headline "Kansas State Wildcats add MAC Player of the Year to basketball team via transfer."