K-State Q&A: PJ Haggerty, NIL deals, Bat Cats and Big 12 football predictions
It’s time for another K-State Q&A.
There is no need for an elaborate introduction this week. Let’s just dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
It would be AMAZING if the Bat Cats could make it to another Super Regional and then the College World Series. Paint the picture for us. How do they win the NCAA Regional in Austin this weekend? - Jeff M. via e-mail.
Yes, it would be quite an accomplishment for Pete Hughes and his team to win a NCAA Regional in back-to-back seasons.
Heck, the Bat Cats have already impressed most of us by making it to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons. That hasn’t happened very often in Manhattan before.
How do the Wildcats pull off another memorable postseason run?
Friday’s game against UTSA is the most important one of the weekend. K-State came out and beat Louisiana Tech 19-4 right off the bat in the Fayetteville Regional last year. That allowed them to use the pitchers and the lineups they wanted the rest of the weekend. It yielded a 7-6 upset against host team Arkansas. Then Southeast Missouri State got hot and eliminated both Louisiana Tech and Arkansas.
All the Wildcats had to do was win one of two games against SEMO and they were through to the Supers.
They took care of business immediately.
Things might not be so easy this time around at the Austin Regional. UTSA and (especially) Texas are better teams than La. Tech and Arkansas were a year ago. I will be extremely surprised if Texas loses a game at home against the 4 seed (Houston Christian) like Arkansas did a year ago.
But K-State could get hot behind Maximus Martin and Keegan O’Connor.
The Bat Cats scored 33 runs over three games in the Fayetteville Region last year. If they can duplicate that kind of offense they will have a shot in Austin.
What can we expect from the K-State men’s basketball team now that PJ Haggerty is on his way to Manhattan? - Andrew B. via e-mail.
The Wildcats figure to be way better with him than without him.
There is no doubt about that.
K-State had little hope of reaching the NCAA Tournament before it landed PJ Haggerty from Memphis. But the Wildcats are now projected to have the nation’s 45th best roster next season with Haggerty leading the way at point guard, per Bart Torvik.
If the Wildcats can play to that ranking, or exceed it, then they will be in contention for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, it’s worth pointing out that K-State (58) finished higher than Memphis (63) in Torvik’s ratings system last season. That’s not great. But the Tigers did manage to win 29 games, claim a conference championship and earn a 5 seed into the NCAA Tournament. I doubt anyone will complain about the Wildcats if statistical experts hate them but they end up with that kind of resume next year.
The thing that is exciting about Haggerty is that he can create his own shot. He also gets to the free-throw line a ton.
Haggerty averaged 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists at Memphis. He also got to the charity stripe a whopping 274 times. By comparison, only David N’Guessan topped 100 free throws for K-State last season.
Tang will be able to lean on Haggerty at the end of possessions. He can get buckets in difficult situations the same way Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson did the last time K-State reached the NCAA Tournament.
Again, there are no guarantees that K-State will improve next season. The Wildcats are bringing in a brand new roster and several new coaches. I have no idea how long it will take this group to come together as a team.
But there is enough talent on the roster for K-State to compete for a return trip to March Madness. That wasn’t the case at this time last week.
Now that we’ve rented a new men’s basketball roster for next season, will Jerome Tang turn the recruiting efforts to high school in order to follow the Houston plan (which is a great plan if you can do it)? -@kstatefanfirst via X.
If things go perfectly next season, then I could see Jerome Tang recruiting a few more high school players and trying to follow the Kelvin Sampson model.
What do I mean by “perfectly?” I’m not saying that the Wildcats need to win a national championship. But if they can make it back to the NCAA Tournament and convince most of their roster to return for another season at Bramlage Coliseum, then they can afford to load up on an extra high school recruit or two, rather than rely exclusively on impact transfers.
What are the odds of that happening? I’m guessing low.
Tang spent all of last season raving about the Houston system and then only retained three players.
Baylor won big with high school recruiting and player retention when Tang was an assistant with the Bears. But he hasn’t been able to duplicate that strategy in Manhattan.
Here’s a look at all of the high school recruits he has landed over the past few years:
- 2025 - Exavier Wilson
- 2024 - David Castillo
- 2023 - Dai Dai Ames, RJ Jones and Macaleab Rich
- 2022 - Taj Manning and Dorian Finister
None of those players went on to do much of anything in a purple uniform. Only Taj Manning and David Castillo remain. Well, Wilson technically hasn’t played yet. But you know what I mean.
It’s hard for me to see Tang bring in five high school recruits after that track record. I’m sure he genuinely wants to follow the Houston model, but if may not be possible for K-State at this time.
Any idea on PJ Haggerty’s NIL deal? -@Weebs_R_Us via X.
He is reportedly coming to K-State on a NIL deal worth at least $2 million. But there are incentives in his contract that could push that number closer to $2.5 million.
If he plays well, local businesses will also be happy to give him extra money on endorsement deals.
It’s not the mega NIL value of $4 million that was initially floated for him when he hit the transfer portal. But it’s good money. Not even Coleman Hawkins made that much last year in Manhattan.
Andrej Kostic is also reportedly coming to America on a $2.5 million NIL deal.
Insiders have told me that the rest of K-State’s incoming transfer class will get in the neighborhood of $5 million with Akron guard Nate Johnson leading the way on a NIL deal that could also have Hawkins-type value.
Add it up and ... it’s a good time to be a college basketball player.
With Carla Bernat making first-team All American, who are the top K-State athletes who have earned the highest honors in their respected sport? -@RobHud3 via X.
I don’t have time to list every All-American in school history.
K-State football (alone) has produced 13 consensus All-Americans. That number balloons well over 100 if you are simply looking for players who were honored by a single AA outlet.
But I am willing to take a stab at compiling a list of the most decorated players in several K-State sports.
Football: Chris Canty and Deuce Vaughn.
Men’s basketball: Bob Boozer.
Women’s basketball: Ayoka Lee.
Men’s golf: Robert Streb.
Women’s golf: Carla Bernat.
Track and field: Erik Kynard.
Volleyball: Lauren Goehring.
Baseball: AJ Morris.
Is it too early to ask about your Big 12 football predictions? Asking for a friend.Thanks! -@bfullingt1 via X.
Please don’t hold me to this.
Last year I thought Oklahoma State and Utah were going to be Big 12 contenders and they went on to have dreadful seasons. On the other end of the spectrum, I was very low on Arizona State and BYU. They both turned out to be awesome.
The transfer portal has made it harder than ever to predict how good or bad a football team will be in the summer. But here goes ...
1. Texas Tech
2. Arizona State
3. Kansas State
4. BYU
5. Iowa State
6. Baylor
7. Kansas
8. TCU
9. Utah
10. Colorado
11. Houston
12. West Virginia
13. Oklahoma State
14. Arizona
15. Cincinnati
16. UCF
If there were 72 power conferences football teams, how would you fairly divide them up into pods/divisions and set a 16 team playoff? -@the_funky_andy via X.
Sorting teams by regions and/or rivalries would be a lot more fun than the current system.
I would split everyone up into six different 12-team conferences and put Kansas State in a league that looks a lot like the old Big Eight. Give me Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, K-State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and any combination of Texas schools to round out the group.
Then put the old Pac-12 back together and configure the other conferences based on location.
From there, give all six conference champions an automatic berth into the College Football Playoff. One more can go to the best mid-major league champion. Then the rest will be at-large teams.
I don’t hate the idea of multiple automatic berths for certain conferences, because I have seen it work in soccer with the Champions League. But college football is much more versatile than pro soccer in Europe. It’s not fair to assume certain conferences will be superior to others forever.
Last week you stated that straight seeding is a good move for the College Football Playoff. But it seems like a horrible thing for the Big 12. I am genuinely curious to know why you, as a member of the local media, are in favor of this move. - Carson P. via e-mail.
It doesn’t make any sense to give the first four seeds to conference champions.
The best team in each league deserves an automatic berth into the CFP, just like the NCAA Tournament for basketball. But the Big 12 champ or the Big Ten champ doesn’t magically get a 1 seed to go along with its auto berth in hoops. That would throw off the the entire bracket.
Every first round game was a snoozer last year in the CFP. And then every top 4 seed that received a bye into the quarterfinals lost, including Arizona State.
Why? Well, a poorly seeded bracket didn’t help.
It seems to me that teams should strive to be seeded between 5 and 8. Those teams get a home game in the first round. Then they get to play a team that is overly rested in the second round.
Ohio State and Notre Dame both reached the national championship game last year after missing out on a top 4 seed. Every team seeded between 5 and 8 made it to the semifinals.
So if the Big 12 champion (or any other league winner) isn’t going to benefit from a top 4 seed and a bye, then what exactly is the Big 12 losing under the new arrangement?
Weekly Recommendations
Streaming: Ocean’s 11 and Ocean’s 13 on Netflix. It had been a while since I watched these movies, but they’re still fun to revisit. I skipped Ocean’s 12, though. That one is no good.
Drink: EH Taylor small batch bourbon. It’s a hard bottle to find. But my wife gifted one to me for my birthday and it has paired very well with the unusually cold weather we’re having this May.
Vintage K-State Highlight: Now seems like a good time to re-watch last year’s K-State baseball win over Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament.
This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: PJ Haggerty, NIL deals, Bat Cats and Big 12 football predictions."