“The goal is to have good players come back and want to come back. Players who want to wear this uniform, who want to represent Kansas State, and fall in love with what we are doing here. Seeing themselves progressing every day. That’s on us as a staff to have our program be that kind of place. Our community is that kind of place, our university is that kind of place. So, the goal is to build it here.”…Jerome Tang, January 17, 2025, after an 87-57 loss to the Houston Cougars

I was encouraged when I heard Jerome Tang say that he wanted to build a program like the one that Kelvin Sampson has built at Houston. One in which his players want to stay and develop in the program for multiple years. Maybe even four years! Fast forward six months, and Tang was once again unable to keep any semblance of his basketball roster together, forced to build yet another roster of one-year mercenaries to try and win in 2025-26.

I looked up the definition of “mercenary” online. Here is what it says at Merriam-Webster :

“One that serves merely for wages.”

That one sure seems to fit in the current climate of college sports.

“Serving merely for pay or sordid advantage.”

That one also fits pretty well. Cambridge also had a good definition:

“Interested only in the money that can be obtained from a situation.”

Money seems to be the only thing that matters anymore for college athletes. The players have become mercenaries who don’t necessarily care which school they play for, caring only about those who pay them the most money.

Tang once again lost most of his roster to the transfer portal. Only four players are returning from the 2024-25 squad. One of them, Tyreek Smith, may not be granted an additional waiver of eligibility to play anyway.

The 2025-26 basketball season is likely to be another one of ups and downs, consisting of a lot of bad basketball, as these newcomers learn how to play together on the court. It is frustrating to watch this play out year after year, but it is what K-State basketball has unfortunately become.

Let’s take a look at the 2025-26 basketball roster as it stands right now.

Returning Players

Taj Manning, junior forward

Manning saw action in only eight games last season. From what I saw of him on the court, I am not expecting him to be much of a contributor in 2025-26.

Mobi Ikegwuruka, junior guard

Mobi played in 24 games last season, but only averaged eight minutes and 2.1 points per game. Like Manning, I’m not expecting him to contribute much.

David Castillo, sophomore guard

Castillo played in 32 games last season, but only averaged 10 minutes and 2.4 points per game. Castillo will probably be better, but is not likely to be a starter on this year’s team.

Tyreek Smith, senior forward

Smith is a transfer from Memphis and is hoping to receive a waiver from the NCAA to play for one more year in college. It remains to be seen whether he gets it or not.

Incoming transfers

Abdi Bashir, junior guard from Monmouth

Bashir led the nation with 127 three-pointers last season, and he averaged 20 points per game. It is estimated his NIL demands were in the $800,000-$900,000 range. Here is his 2024-25 highlight video:

He sure is not afraid to shoot. I’d guess he will compete for a starting spot this fall.

PJ Haggerty, redshirt junior guard from Memphis

Haggerty is the biggest “get” for Tang in the transfer portal. It required a 2.5 million dollar NIL deal to snag him (he wanted four million!) As a shooting guard for Memphis, Haggerty started 35 games, averaging 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. Here is his highlight reel:

Haggerty and Bashir should make a pretty decent backcourt for the Wildcats.

Marcus Johnson, senior forward from Bowling Green

Johnson averaged 16.2 points and 5 rebounds per game last season for Bowling Green. His NIL requirements are estimated between one and 1.4 million dollars. Johnson’s build reminds me of Charles Barkley (when he played), and he has similar range and moves under the basket. Here is his highlight reel:

In case you weren’t keeping track, we’re up to approximately 4.5 million dollars in salary just for these three players.

Nate Johnson, senior guard, Akron

Johnson led Akron in scoring at 14 points per game in 2024-25. I can’t find his NIL number, but after Akron lost in the NCAA tournament, he announced he was staying at Akron because their NIL collective raised enough money. I guess that wasn’t the case, because he entered the transfer portal a month later. Here is his highlight reel:

Khamari McGriff, senior forward from UNC-Wilmington

McGriff averaged 11.5 points and four rebounds a game for the Seahawks last season. He wasn’t a starter for them. I can’t find any NIL information on him, but here is his highlight package:

I suppose he will provide some depth off the bench down low for the Wildcats.

Stephen Osei, freshman forward from Casper Community College

Osei is planning to redshirt this coming season.

Incoming freshmen

Exavier Wilson, guard, from Columbia, Missouri

Wilson is a three-star player from Father Tolton High School in Columbia. He will probably be keeping the bench warm this fall.

International recruits

Andrej Kostic, guard, Serbia

Kostic reportedly received a 2.5 million dollar NIL deal. He averaged 15.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in Serbia’s U18 league for Dynamic Balkan Bet. His signing likely increased the Wildcat roster to seven million dollars in NIL money that we know of. Here is a recent highlight tape of him:

It looks like this is going to be a guard-heavy team.

Elias Rapieque, forward from Germany (age 21)

Rapieque has spent the past several years with his home club ALBA Berlin in the European League, where he averaged 15 minutes per game, 4.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game last season. Here is his highlight reel:

There you have it. Your 2025-26 K-State Wildcat mercenaries. We will have to wait until after the season to see which of these players are “expendable” and which are not.

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