Wichita KS - The Sports Field Management Association and Wichita Wind Surge have announced that Equity Bank Park, the home of the Wind Surge, has been named the 2025 Professional Baseball Field of the Year. The SFMA Field of the Year honor is awarded to the best natural grass field among all 120 teams across all levels of affiliated Minor League Baseball.&nbsp; This marks the first time that the Wind Surge have won this particular prestigious Field of the Year award.

The home of the Wind Surge has been honored numerous times with various Field of the Year awards.&nbsp; Texas League Groundskeeper of the Year in 2022 and 2023 and Ben Hartman was named Class AA Groundskeeper of the Year in 2023.&nbsp;

"Winning this award is a huge honor and I am excited to add this to the list of our accomplishments. We have set a high standard and it's outstanding to be recognized by my peers. The crew is the real winners, because without them none of this would be possible." Stated Wind Surge Director of Field Operations Ben Hartman.&nbsp;

The Sports Field Management Association (SFMA) announced its 2025 Field of the Year award winners. This prestigious award spotlights the individuals and programs that excelled this year in providing quality, safe playing surfaces.

Every year, SFMA presents the industry’s highest honor to members who manage baseball, football, soccer, softball, and other sporting grounds at the professional, collegiate, school (K-12), and parks and recreation levels.&nbsp;

Equity Bank Park hosted 69 Wind Surge games, a pair of football games, four concerts, a marathon and 30 additional high school/college baseball games.&nbsp; The staff also endured 49 tarp pulls in 2025.&nbsp; Wichita experienced a very wet year in 2025, ending with a total rainfall of 40.45 inches (6.14 inches above average), significantly above the 30-year average, making it one of the wettest years on record.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Wichita KS - The Sports Field Management Association and Wichita Wind Surge have announced that Equity Bank Park, the home of the Wind Surge, has been named the 2025 Professional Baseball Field of the Year. The SFMA Field of the Year honor is awarded to the best natural grass field among all 120 teams across all levels of affiliated Minor League Baseball.&nbsp; This marks the first time that the Wind Surge have won this particular prestigious Field of the Year award.The home of the Wind Surge has been honored numerous times with various Field of the Year awards.&nbsp; Texas League Groundskeeper of the Year in 2022 and 2023 and Ben Hartman was named Class AA Groundskeeper of the Year in 2023.&nbsp;"Winning this award is a huge honor and I am excited to add this to the list of our accomplishments. We have set a high standard and it's outstanding to be recognized by my peers. The crew is the real winners, because without them none of this would be possible." Stated Wind Surge Director of Field Operations Ben Hartman.&nbsp;The Sports Field Management Association (SFMA) announced its 2025 Field of the Year award winners. This prestigious award spotlights the individuals and programs that excelled this year in providing quality, safe playing surfaces.Every year, SFMA presents the industry’s highest honor to members who manage baseball, football, soccer, softball, and other sporting grounds at the professional, collegiate, school (K-12), and parks and recreation levels.&nbsp;Equity Bank Park hosted 69 Wind Surge games, a pair of football games, four concerts, a marathon and 30 additional high school/college baseball games.&nbsp; The staff also endured 49 tarp pulls in 2025.&nbsp; Wichita experienced a very wet year in 2025, ending with a total rainfall of 40.45 inches (6.14 inches above average), significantly above the 30-year average, making it one of the wettest years on record.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Equity Bank Park named professional baseball field of the year

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Darryn Peterson scored 32 points, including three crucial free throws in regulation to the tie the game, and No. 22 Kansas erased a double-digit deficit to outlast TCU 104-100 in overtime on Tuesday night.

Kansas (11-4, 1-1 Big 12) trailed by 16 points midway through the second half, but cut the TCU lead to three with 34 seconds left in regulation.

The Jayhawks' next trip down the court was fruitless, leading to a foul and two free throws by TCU’s Liutauras Lelevicius. Kansas' Flory Bidunga cut the lead back to three on a tip in with just over six seconds remaining.

After a turnover on the ensuing TCU inbounds play, the Jayhawks got the ball to Peterson, who drew a foul beyond the arc and knocked down all three free throws to tie the game at the end of regulation.

Kansas held the lead throughout overtime and ultimately secured the game at the free-throw line, converting 9 of 11. TCU (11-4, 1-1) went 2 for 4 in the same frame. Kansas guard Melvin Council Jr. scored nine of his 18 points during overtime.

Lelevicius led the Horned Frogs with a career-high 23 points. He shot 7 for 9 and hit five 3-pointers, another career high. He entered the game averaging just 8.5 points per game and shooting 35.8% from 3-point range.

Lelevicius outscored sophomore David Punch, who recorded his 10th consecutive double-digit performance with 20 points. He also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.

Tre White and Bidunga also finished in double figures for the Jayhawks, recording 22 and 16, respectively.

Kansas: Plays at West Virginia on Saturday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/1/1767783302388.png" alt="Photo Kansas Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Photo Kansas Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure>LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Darryn Peterson scored 32 points, including three crucial free throws in regulation to the tie the game, and No. 22 Kansas erased a double-digit deficit to outlast TCU 104-100 in overtime on Tuesday night.Kansas (11-4, 1-1 Big 12) trailed by 16 points midway through the second half, but cut the TCU lead to three with 34 seconds left in regulation.The Jayhawks' next trip down the court was fruitless, leading to a foul and two free throws by TCU’s Liutauras Lelevicius. Kansas' Flory Bidunga cut the lead back to three on a tip in with just over six seconds remaining.After a turnover on the ensuing TCU inbounds play, the Jayhawks got the ball to Peterson, who drew a foul beyond the arc and knocked down all three free throws to tie the game at the end of regulation.Kansas held the lead throughout overtime and ultimately secured the game at the free-throw line, converting 9 of 11. TCU (11-4, 1-1) went 2 for 4 in the same frame. Kansas guard Melvin Council Jr. scored nine of his 18 points during overtime.Lelevicius led the Horned Frogs with a career-high 23 points. He shot 7 for 9 and hit five 3-pointers, another career high. He entered the game averaging just 8.5 points per game and shooting 35.8% from 3-point range.Lelevicius outscored sophomore David Punch, who recorded his 10th consecutive double-digit performance with 20 points. He also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.Tre White and Bidunga also finished in double figures for the Jayhawks, recording 22 and 16, respectively.<h2>Up next</h2>Kansas: Plays at West Virginia on Saturday.TCU: Hosts Arizona on Saturday.

🏀 Kansas erases 16-point deficit, beats TCU in overtime

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LAWRENCE, Kan. --&nbsp;Kansas Football was represented by eight individuals on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team, including Jalon Daniels, Justice Finkley, Leroy Harris III, Leyton Cure, Bryce Foster, Laith Marjan, Emmanuel Henderson Jr., and Boden Groen.

The Academic All-District Teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. Academic All District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot, with first, second and third team honorees announced on Jan. 27, 2026.

Kansas has been represented by five academic All-Americans over the last four seasons, including Jared Casey (2025), Daniels (2022), Earl Bostick Jr. (2022) and Sam Burt (2022) being named Academic All-America.

Daniels has earned Academic All-District honors in each of the last four seasons, while it is the second honor for Cure and Foster and first for Harris, Marjan, Henderson and Groen.

LAWRENCE, Kan. --&nbsp;Kansas Football was represented by eight individuals on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team, including Jalon Daniels, Justice Finkley, Leroy Harris III, Leyton Cure, Bryce Foster, Laith Marjan, Emmanuel Henderson Jr., and Boden Groen.The Academic All-District Teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. Academic All District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot, with first, second and third team honorees announced on Jan. 27, 2026.Kansas has been represented by five academic All-Americans over the last four seasons, including Jared Casey (2025), Daniels (2022), Earl Bostick Jr. (2022) and Sam Burt (2022) being named Academic All-America.Daniels has earned Academic All-District honors in each of the last four seasons, while it is the second honor for Cure and Foster and first for Harris, Marjan, Henderson and Groen.

Kansas Represented by Eight Individuals on CSC Academic All-District Teams

MANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;– Kansas State Athletics will host a pregame clinic from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m., on Saturday, February 7, in the Ice Basketball Training Facility in conjunction with the women's basketball game against BYU to celebrate National Girls &amp; Women in Sports Day.

The clinic is open to all kids in the first through eighth grades and will be hosted by K-State women's athletic teams. For $10, participants will receive admission to the pregame clinic, a K-State fanny pack courtesy of Furniture Mall and a general admission ticket to the game at 4 p.m.

To register your school, team or individual for this event, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kstatesports.com/NGWSD2026" target="_blank">www.kstatesports.com/NGWSD2026</a>. All participants must pre-register by Friday, January 30. Act fast, as registration has filled up prior to the deadline the past four seasons.

All general admission tickets for the Big 12 matchup against BYU are available for just $12 plus tax. To purchase tickets, please contact the K-State Athletic Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS or visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kstatesports.com/" target="_blank">www.kstatesports.com</a>.

MANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;– Kansas State Athletics will host a pregame clinic from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m., on Saturday, February 7, in the Ice Basketball Training Facility in conjunction with the women's basketball game against BYU to celebrate National Girls &amp; Women in Sports Day.The clinic is open to all kids in the first through eighth grades and will be hosted by K-State women's athletic teams. For $10, participants will receive admission to the pregame clinic, a K-State fanny pack courtesy of Furniture Mall and a general admission ticket to the game at 4 p.m.To register your school, team or individual for this event, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kstatesports.com/NGWSD2026" target="_blank">www.kstatesports.com/NGWSD2026</a>. All participants must pre-register by Friday, January 30. Act fast, as registration has filled up prior to the deadline the past four seasons.All general admission tickets for the Big 12 matchup against BYU are available for just $12 plus tax. To purchase tickets, please contact the K-State Athletic Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS or visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kstatesports.com/" target="_blank">www.kstatesports.com</a>.

K-State to Host 8th Annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day Event

Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes

OPENING STATEMENT:&nbsp;“I don’t have anything to give you injury wise. I can tell you that the guys have all worked through their interviews with me and I had a chance to sit with them and just finished that up and some of them are still working on their exit physicals. I’ll get all of that information as we go here. As far as yesterday went, I don’t feel any different than I did after the game. There are bunch of things that we can learn from. It was good to get some of the young guys some playing time. Other than that, we didn’t play a great game for sure. But I feel like the future is bright. We’ve got a great nucleus of players coming back. We’ve got some injuries, but injuries that I think guys will come back strong from. We look forward to getting going here in this offseason and getting ourselves right for this upcoming season. Very positive thoughts on that. Anyways, with that (the) time is yours.”

Q:&nbsp;What parts of the offensive scheme are you evaluating most closely?

REID: “Yeah, we’ll go through Jesse (Newell), and we’ll look at everything from plays called to – which starts with me – then all the way through the personnel. Could we have put the guys in better position, could we have made plays. We look at every bit of it – run and pass game – and situationally all the different situations that you have whether it’s goal-line, short yardage, whether it’s third down, red zone, all those things, we try to knock out.”

Q:&nbsp;As you start the offseason review, how do you evaluate the coaching staff, and do you expect any changes to the position coaches?

REID:&nbsp;“Yeah, listen, I haven’t got that far. Literally Jesse (Newell), I just got through – it’s an obvious question though, but I just got through with these players and had a chance to meet with them and then I’ll step back here for a minute and kind of go from there.”

Q:&nbsp;On the surface, what caused struggles this season and what was the biggest lesson learned?

REID:&nbsp;“We had 10 or so games that were determined by seven points or less, you know one score and those were the seven we won last year. Why? You go back and look at penalties in crucial situations, turnovers in crucial situations, those things. You’ve got to really evaluate those and the why’s of that and dropped balls and long drives – including everybody – the end of game drives that you could’ve either scored on or were scored on or special teams put you in a position – you’ve got to look at all those things. So, that’s part of the evaluation process going into the offseason. Make sure we narrow that thing up and make sure we’re on the right end of it.”

Q:&nbsp;Do you feel the run game was impacting the passing game and what you saw from defenses this year?

REID:&nbsp;“Yeah so you always go to your play action game, Sam (McDowell) and you look at it and you check to see what kind of reaction you’re getting from the defense. Normally if you get a reaction, then you’re putting those guys in a recovery mode, which normally opens up the middle of the field in a decent way. So, we’re not getting enough reaction out of them. So however you take that, that could because of the run game, that could be because of the action that we’re showing. There wasn’t enough respect there that needs to be given. So, we’ve got to run the ball more efficiently, especially on first or second down on those run downs in those run situations just to stay positive with that. Somewhere you’d like to have a few bigger plays in that area. Not three (or) four yards, every once in a while, you need to hit on a few. So I would say that there’s a part of it for that, there’s part of it we can look at the action that we’re giving the guys and are we executing right, are we giving them the right things to execute and so on.”

Q:&nbsp;There are reports that Offensive Coordinator Matt Nagy has been requested to be interviewed for head coaching positions. Would you prioritize someone familiar or is there desire to look into something different if you do need to replace him?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

REID:&nbsp;“I probably wouldn’t get into that right now, Sam (McDowell). Again, these are logical questions. I’ve got some great guys on the staff here – (Pass Game Coordinator) Joe Bleymaier – you name some of the guys. You can go down the list. We’ve got some qualified guys here. I know qualified guys out there too. I’ve got trust in both places. I haven’t got that far and neither has (Offensive Coordinator Matt Nagy) Nags. So, we’ll just see where all this goes and we’ve got a lot of time on that. They can’t even interview him in person until the 19th so I’m not rushing here.”

Q: What was the thought process on calling a timeout on that third down play?&nbsp;

REID:&nbsp;“Probably settled it down for you then put them in a different mode. That’s why I used it there.”

Q: Do you expect a major offseason reboot this offseason?

REID:&nbsp;“I don’t know about all of that Matt (Derrick). I didn’t hear that but I’m trusting you’re saying what they said. We’ll do what’s necessary to make ourselves better, which is what I can tell you. We’ll take every measure that we feel are right, we’ll take. We do that through intense evaluation and that’s how we’ve tried to address everything and we won’t change that as we go into it.”

Q: Have you and Travis Kelce had conversations on him retiring or a timeframe for conversations to take place?

REID:&nbsp;“Yeah, we’ll get to all of that Pete (Sweeney). Right now, knowing we’re finishing the season, but we have a little bit of time before all of that stuff really needs to take place. I’m not trying to avoid your question here but that’s what’s real right now. I know everybody wants the answer right this minute but it’s something that you’ve got to go through. There are a lot of variables there but we all love Trav (Kelce) so we know that. Trav can still play and I’m not questioning that part or any of it. I’m not trying to avoid your question, I just know there’s time. It’s a little bit the same way – last year I got asked kind of the same thing and you have got a little bit of time there to figure everything out. So does Trav, so it buys everybody a little bit of time.”

Q: On Patrick Mahomes’ offseason plan.

REID:&nbsp;“First of all he’s (Patrick Mahomes) doing great for just being three weeks out or so. He’ll go ahead and most likely stay up here the majority of the time rehabbing. He and (Assistant Athletic Trainer) Julie (Frymyer), she’s the person that does all of that – our PT. So, he has a lot of trust in her, and he’s been in there grinding and that’s what I can tell you. I think that will just continue until we get started again – not that he won’t take a break here or there but right now he’s in that early process where you got to really hit it hard and it’s not necessarily a fun thing to do every day. The important thing is that you show up Pete (Sweeney) and that you keep coming back for more and he’s been doing that.”

Q: Are there other coaches on your staff that organizations have reached out to, other than Matt Nagy?&nbsp;

REID:&nbsp;“No, I’m sure those guys will get plenty – I get it, that’s part of this. It’s a tribute to them (but) no I don’t have anything else to tell you.”

Q: Is Phase One in the offseason going to be different?

REID:&nbsp;“I probably need to explain that a little bit for you there Todd (Leabo) – I know you know but for the people listening. So, none of that is mandatory other than the mandatory minicamp and then the rookie minicamp that takes place after the draft. There’s one mandatory minicamp (and) the rest of it is voluntary. We will do Phase One and the players know that and they have the dates and so on they’ve got the calendar. Again, that’s a voluntary thing (and) that’s where we’re at with it.”

Q: Was there anything particular that you wanted to get across to the players during the exit interviews?

REID:&nbsp;“So, Vahe (Gregorian) I should probably tell you that we had a meeting – a team meeting before the interviews. I was able to get my points across to them there (and) tried to be as direct as I possibly could with them knowing that part of the room won’t be coming back but at the same time making sure that they understood expectations going forward. So we were able to talk about that then I could meet with them individually and talk about individual thoughts and also listen to what they have to say if they have any comments.”

Q: Is there anything specific that you wanted the team to take away after the team meeting?

REID:&nbsp;“I think I took away was a little bit of what I mentioned yesterday after the game and I’ve kind of sensed that as we’ve been going through this but those core veteran players and the core group – some of them are younger guys too that they are very focused on figuring out the problems and not excusing themselves from it, taking accountability and making sure we fix it to go forward.”

Q: What are you hoping to target in a veteran quarterback who will lead the offense through the offseason program?

REID:&nbsp;“So we had brought Gardner (Minshew) in to do that, and unfortunately, he got hurt early in that game, but we still have a ton of confidence that he can do that now. He was only here for a year and that was what his contract was. That type of player is what you want in that position and somebody that has won games in the league and at the same time understands his role and handles himself right in the room becomes an important thing.”

Q: Where do you think the pass rush game needs to improve moving forward?

REID:&nbsp;“We had a pretty good thing going before a young guy got banged up in there as far as him (Omarr Norman-Lott) coming on and being able to rush the passer. He gave us a little flexibility in there. We need a couple of the young guys to just continue to grow. I think we’ll have a chance to be pretty good in there. You’re always looking to improve in both lines and you want to make sure those are strong for you.”

Q: What was your message to the young guys in the exit interviews?

REID:&nbsp;“This class is the only class that really hasn’t had success, so they haven’t experienced that part of it. It’s important when they left here, that they understood Matt (McMullen), that what really needs to be taken care of and try to make that as crystal clear as you can to them and at the same time, to the coaches and the people that were in the room there and not that I haven’t talked to them about it before that I reinforce it that these are the expectations. This is the ceiling that we want to keep ourselves at and anything less isn’t acceptable. That’s what they can bring to the table as we go forward.”

Q: Do you consider the offseason the best time to modify the offense or is it more difficult in season?

REID:&nbsp;“No. I would tell you if you’re doing a wholesale change, I’d probably tell you that the offseason is better than during the season but if you’re just trying to better yourself you should be doing that throughout.”

Q: On the team trying to get better.

REID:&nbsp;“Yeah, I think so. I think putting people in the right position and making sure we stay relatively healthy there I think is important. Then don’t take things away from yourself whether it’s a play call that you give a guy – can you put him in a better position or second, are you taking something away from yourself, whether it’s a turnover or a penalty. It’s all of us looking at that but you’re still looking at an offense that was one of the top 10 offenses in the league if you take everything into consideration there. You’re not that far off, you have to get a couple things bouncing your way and make sure you take care of that.”

Q:&nbsp;What are some of the things that you think didn’t go right for you this year?

BOLTON:&nbsp;“This year we just had some missed opportunities. Whether it be offense, defense or special teams as a whole (or) as a team, I just feel like we left some things out there that we could’ve executed on especially at the end of game situations. One of the big things, we were really good at end of game situations in all of my years prior and this year we just couldn’t get it done in those situations. Self-reflection on what we could do better internally, especially myself on getting guys lined up, executing and finding ways to win games but that was a big part of this year.”

Q:&nbsp;On having extra time this offseason.

BOLTON:&nbsp;“Absolutely, we get an extended offseason. We haven’t had one since I’ve been here. We get a couple months to rest, get away from it a little bit and spend some time working on some things that have been bugging you. We have some knicks and bruises, been playing football for quite a while now. That’s good to get ahead of some things. I know some guys that were banged up at the end of the year and needed that extra time to get their bodies right. You can do those things, also just spend time with family. Some things we haven’t had the time to do, especially me. I got my mom – my mom and my granny’s birthday (are) at the end of this month so I get to spend their birthday’s with them, so it’s just small stuff like that get your mind right, figure out why you play this game and why you love this game and get to spend some time with some loved ones.”

Q:&nbsp;What would you say about Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo as a potential head coach?

Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid QuotesJanuary 5, 2026OPENING STATEMENT:&nbsp;“I don’t have anything to give you injury wise. I can tell you that the guys have all worked through their interviews with me and I had a chance to sit with them and just finished that up and some of them are still working on their exit physicals. I’ll get all of that information as we go here. As far as yesterday went, I don’t feel any different than I did after the game. There are bunch of things that we can learn from. It was good to get some of the young guys some playing time. Other than that, we didn’t play a great game for sure. But I feel like the future is bright. We’ve got a great nucleus of players coming back. We’ve got some injuries, but injuries that I think guys will come back strong from. We look forward to getting going here in this offseason and getting ourselves right for this upcoming season. Very positive thoughts on that. Anyways, with that (the) time is yours.”Q:&nbsp;What parts of the offensive scheme are you evaluating most closely?REID: “Yeah, we’ll go through Jesse (Newell), and we’ll look at everything from plays called to – which starts with me – then all the way through the personnel. Could we have put the guys in better position, could we have made plays. We look at every bit of it – run and pass game – and situationally all the different situations that you have whether it’s goal-line, short yardage, whether it’s third down, red zone, all those things, we try to knock out.”Q:&nbsp;As you start the offseason review, how do you evaluate the coaching staff, and do you expect any changes to the position coaches?REID:&nbsp;“Yeah, listen, I haven’t got that far. Literally Jesse (Newell), I just got through – it’s an obvious question though, but I just got through with these players and had a chance to meet with them and then I’ll step back here for a minute and kind of go from there.”Q:&nbsp;On the surface, what caused struggles this season and what was the biggest lesson learned?REID:&nbsp;“We had 10 or so games that were determined by seven points or less, you know one score and those were the seven we won last year. Why? You go back and look at penalties in crucial situations, turnovers in crucial situations, those things. You’ve got to really evaluate those and the why’s of that and dropped balls and long drives – including everybody – the end of game drives that you could’ve either scored on or were scored on or special teams put you in a position – you’ve got to look at all those things. So, that’s part of the evaluation process going into the offseason. Make sure we narrow that thing up and make sure we’re on the right end of it.”Q:&nbsp;Do you feel the run game was impacting the passing game and what you saw from defenses this year?REID:&nbsp;“Yeah so you always go to your play action game, Sam (McDowell) and you look at it and you check to see what kind of reaction you’re getting from the defense. Normally if you get a reaction, then you’re putting those guys in a recovery mode, which normally opens up the middle of the field in a decent way. So, we’re not getting enough reaction out of them. So however you take that, that could because of the run game, that could be because of the action that we’re showing. There wasn’t enough respect there that needs to be given. So, we’ve got to run the ball more efficiently, especially on first or second down on those run downs in those run situations just to stay positive with that. Somewhere you’d like to have a few bigger plays in that area. Not three (or) four yards, every once in a while, you need to hit on a few. So I would say that there’s a part of it for that, there’s part of it we can look at the action that we’re giving the guys and are we executing right, are we giving them the right things to execute and so on.”Q:&nbsp;There are reports that Offensive Coordinator Matt Nagy has been requested to be interviewed for head coaching positions. Would you prioritize someone familiar or is there desire to look into something different if you do need to replace him?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;REID:&nbsp;“I probably wouldn’t get into that right now, Sam (McDowell). Again, these are logical questions. I’ve got some great guys on the staff here – (Pass Game Coordinator) Joe Bleymaier – you name some of the guys. You can go down the list. We’ve got some qualified guys here. I know qualified guys out there too. I’ve got trust in both places. I haven’t got that far and neither has (Offensive Coordinator Matt Nagy) Nags. So, we’ll just see where all this goes and we’ve got a lot of time on that. They can’t even interview him in person until the 19th so I’m not rushing here.”Q: What was the thought process on calling a timeout on that third down play?&nbsp;REID:&nbsp;“Probably settled it down for you then put them in a different mode. That’s why I used it there.”Q: Do you expect a major offseason reboot this offseason?REID:&nbsp;“I don’t know about all of that Matt (Derrick). I didn’t hear that but I’m trusting you’re saying what they said. We’ll do what’s necessary to make ourselves better, which is what I can tell you. We’ll take every measure that we feel are right, we’ll take. We do that through intense evaluation and that’s how we’ve tried to address everything and we won’t change that as we go into it.”Q: Have you and Travis Kelce had conversations on him retiring or a timeframe for conversations to take place?REID:&nbsp;“Yeah, we’ll get to all of that Pete (Sweeney). Right now, knowing we’re finishing the season, but we have a little bit of time before all of that stuff really needs to take place. I’m not trying to avoid your question here but that’s what’s real right now. I know everybody wants the answer right this minute but it’s something that you’ve got to go through. There are a lot of variables there but we all love Trav (Kelce) so we know that. Trav can still play and I’m not questioning that part or any of it. I’m not trying to avoid your question, I just know there’s time. It’s a little bit the same way – last year I got asked kind of the same thing and you have got a little bit of time there to figure everything out. So does Trav, so it buys everybody a little bit of time.”Q: On Patrick Mahomes’ offseason plan.REID:&nbsp;“First of all he’s (Patrick Mahomes) doing great for just being three weeks out or so. He’ll go ahead and most likely stay up here the majority of the time rehabbing. He and (Assistant Athletic Trainer) Julie (Frymyer), she’s the person that does all of that – our PT. So, he has a lot of trust in her, and he’s been in there grinding and that’s what I can tell you. I think that will just continue until we get started again – not that he won’t take a break here or there but right now he’s in that early process where you got to really hit it hard and it’s not necessarily a fun thing to do every day. The important thing is that you show up Pete (Sweeney) and that you keep coming back for more and he’s been doing that.”Q: Are there other coaches on your staff that organizations have reached out to, other than Matt Nagy?&nbsp;REID:&nbsp;“No, I’m sure those guys will get plenty – I get it, that’s part of this. It’s a tribute to them (but) no I don’t have anything else to tell you.”Q: Is Phase One in the offseason going to be different?REID:&nbsp;“I probably need to explain that a little bit for you there Todd (Leabo) – I know you know but for the people listening. So, none of that is mandatory other than the mandatory minicamp and then the rookie minicamp that takes place after the draft. There’s one mandatory minicamp (and) the rest of it is voluntary. We will do Phase One and the players know that and they have the dates and so on they’ve got the calendar. Again, that’s a voluntary thing (and) that’s where we’re at with it.”Q: Was there anything particular that you wanted to get across to the players during the exit interviews?REID:&nbsp;“So, Vahe (Gregorian) I should probably tell you that we had a meeting – a team meeting before the interviews. I was able to get my points across to them there (and) tried to be as direct as I possibly could with them knowing that part of the room won’t be coming back but at the same time making sure that they understood expectations going forward. So we were able to talk about that then I could meet with them individually and talk about individual thoughts and also listen to what they have to say if they have any comments.”Q: Is there anything specific that you wanted the team to take away after the team meeting?REID:&nbsp;“I think I took away was a little bit of what I mentioned yesterday after the game and I’ve kind of sensed that as we’ve been going through this but those core veteran players and the core group – some of them are younger guys too that they are very focused on figuring out the problems and not excusing themselves from it, taking accountability and making sure we fix it to go forward.”Q: What are you hoping to target in a veteran quarterback who will lead the offense through the offseason program?REID:&nbsp;“So we had brought Gardner (Minshew) in to do that, and unfortunately, he got hurt early in that game, but we still have a ton of confidence that he can do that now. He was only here for a year and that was what his contract was. That type of player is what you want in that position and somebody that has won games in the league and at the same time understands his role and handles himself right in the room becomes an important thing.”Q: Where do you think the pass rush game needs to improve moving forward?REID:&nbsp;“We had a pretty good thing going before a young guy got banged up in there as far as him (Omarr Norman-Lott) coming on and being able to rush the passer. He gave us a little flexibility in there. We need a couple of the young guys to just continue to grow. I think we’ll have a chance to be pretty good in there. You’re always looking to improve in both lines and you want to make sure those are strong for you.”Q: What was your message to the young guys in the exit interviews?REID:&nbsp;“This class is the only class that really hasn’t had success, so they haven’t experienced that part of it. It’s important when they left here, that they understood Matt (McMullen), that what really needs to be taken care of and try to make that as crystal clear as you can to them and at the same time, to the coaches and the people that were in the room there and not that I haven’t talked to them about it before that I reinforce it that these are the expectations. This is the ceiling that we want to keep ourselves at and anything less isn’t acceptable. That’s what they can bring to the table as we go forward.”Q: Do you consider the offseason the best time to modify the offense or is it more difficult in season?REID:&nbsp;“No. I would tell you if you’re doing a wholesale change, I’d probably tell you that the offseason is better than during the season but if you’re just trying to better yourself you should be doing that throughout.”Q: On the team trying to get better.REID:&nbsp;“Yeah, I think so. I think putting people in the right position and making sure we stay relatively healthy there I think is important. Then don’t take things away from yourself whether it’s a play call that you give a guy – can you put him in a better position or second, are you taking something away from yourself, whether it’s a turnover or a penalty. It’s all of us looking at that but you’re still looking at an offense that was one of the top 10 offenses in the league if you take everything into consideration there. You’re not that far off, you have to get a couple things bouncing your way and make sure you take care of that.”Chiefs Player QuotesJanuary 5, 2026LB NICK BOLTONQ:&nbsp;What are some of the things that you think didn’t go right for you this year?BOLTON:&nbsp;“This year we just had some missed opportunities. Whether it be offense, defense or special teams as a whole (or) as a team, I just feel like we left some things out there that we could’ve executed on especially at the end of game situations. One of the big things, we were really good at end of game situations in all of my years prior and this year we just couldn’t get it done in those situations. Self-reflection on what we could do better internally, especially myself on getting guys lined up, executing and finding ways to win games but that was a big part of this year.”Q:&nbsp;On having extra time this offseason.BOLTON:&nbsp;“Absolutely, we get an extended offseason. We haven’t had one since I’ve been here. We get a couple months to rest, get away from it a little bit and spend some time working on some things that have been bugging you. We have some knicks and bruises, been playing football for quite a while now. That’s good to get ahead of some things. I know some guys that were banged up at the end of the year and needed that extra time to get their bodies right. You can do those things, also just spend time with family. Some things we haven’t had the time to do, especially me. I got my mom – my mom and my granny’s birthday (are) at the end of this month so I get to spend their birthday’s with them, so it’s just small stuff like that get your mind right, figure out why you play this game and why you love this game and get to spend some time with some loved ones.”Q:&nbsp;What would you say about Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo as a potential head coach?

Chiefs Quotes: 1-5-26

<a>MANHATTAN, Kan.</a>&nbsp;–&nbsp;Brian Lepak, who has had a hand in K-State’s offensive success since his arrival in 2021, will remain at Kansas State and move back to coaching the Wildcat tight ends, head coach&nbsp;Collin Klein&nbsp;announced Monday.

Lepak (pronounced luh-PACK) arrived in Manhattan in 2021 as a Senior Offensive Quality Control Coach and also tutored the Wildcat offensive line in 2025, while he spent the 2022 through 2024 seasons coaching the K-State tight ends.

“I am excited to continue to represent Kansas State University under Coach Klein’s leadership,” said Lepak. “I look forward to implementing Coach Klein’s vision and build on the tradition of this program.”

Lepak and Klein worked together on staff for three seasons, which included K-State’s 2022 Big 12 Championship campaign in 2022.

“Brian has worked tirelessly for this program since he has been here,” Klein said. “He is detailed, caring, competitive and one of the smartest coaches I have worked with at K-State. I am excited to have him continue to develop our tight ends.”

Lepak has found quick success during his first four years as a full-time coach for the Wildcats, tutoring tight end Ben Sinnott to All-Big 12 First Team accolades in both 2022 and 2023, while the Wildcats had two tight ends pick up All-Big 12 honors in 2024 in Garrett Oakley (second team) and Will Swanson (honorable mention). It was the first time since 1997 that the Wildcats had a pair of All-Big 12 tight ends in the same season, while Oakley’s second-team designation marked the first time in the Big 12 era that K-State had a first- or second-team all-conference tight end in three straight seasons.

In 2024, Lepak’s tight end unit combined for a nation-leading 13 touchdown receptions. Five of those came from Oakley, which tied for the second most in school history by a tight end and third by any sophomore. Oakley went on to break the school record for career receiving touchdowns by a tight end during the 2025 season (13), while he ranks fourth in catches (71) and fifth in yards (779).

Over his first two seasons tutoring the K-State tight ends, Lepak coached Sinnott to top-10 rankings nationally among the position group in receiving yards (third), receptions (fourth) and receiving touchdowns (tied for eighth). Sinnott left K-State by tying for the most career receiving touchdowns by a tight end (10) in addition to ranking third among the position in receptions (82) and fourth in receiving yards (1,138).

Under Lepak’s leadership, Sinnott had a banner year as a junior in 2023 as he earned Honorable Mention All-America honors from Phil Steele and was a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award, the first player in school history to be named a semifinalist for the award that is presented annually to the nation’s top tight end. All Sinnott did was record the most single-season receptions (49), receiving yards (676) and receiving touchdowns (6) by a tight end in school history, marks that each ranked in the top five nationally among the position group. Sinnott was selected in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft – No. 53 overall – by the Washington Commanders, the highest-drafted tight end in school history.

In Lepak’s first season coaching the tight ends, Sinnott averaged 14.4 yards per catch to rank fourth nationally as he earned his first All-Big 12 honor. The K-State tight ends helped the Wildcats win the 2022 Big 12 title thanks to an offensive unit that ranked in the top 10 in school history in 11 categories, including ranking second in offensive yards (5,863) and plays (958), fourth in rushing yards (2,916) and fifth in yards per game (418.8).

While tutoring the offensive line in 2025, Lepak coached center Sam Hecht to All-Big 12 First Team honors in addition to receiving votes for the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year award, while tackle John Pastore was a second-team selection. Under Lepak’s guidance, the offensive line helped K-State rank fifth in school history by averaging 5.09 yards per carry, which included a school-record three rushes of at least 75 yards. One of those was an 80-yard rush at Utah during a school-record 472-yard rushing output, bettering a school record that had stood for 71 years.

During the game against the Utes, the Lepak’s unit blocked for a school record 293 rushing yards by Joe Jackson, bettering Darren Sproles’ mark set in 2004. In terms of pass protection, the Wildcats finished the 2025 season ranked 11th nationally in sacks allowed per game (1.08).

Lepak began his coaching career as an offensive graduate assistant at Indiana from 2014 through 2016, while he held the same position at Oklahoma from 2017 through 2019. He coached the spring of 2021 at Southern as the running game coordinator and offensive line coach before his first season in Manhattan in the fall of 2021.

A native of Claremore, Oklahoma, Lepak was an offensive lineman for two seasons at Colorado State before transferring to Oklahoma where he spent three years, including the 2010 Big 12 Championship season, while he was an Academic All-American that year.

After completing his playing career, Lepak was awarded the Dr. Prentice Gautt Postgraduate Scholar Award and attended law school at the University of Oklahoma College of Law where he was a member of the Oklahoma Law Review. He graduated in 2014 and was admitted to the Oklahoma Bar Association the same year. In addition to his law degree, he has dual degrees in Accounting and Finance from the OU Price College of Business where he was the Outstanding Senior in Accounting.

Lepak and his wife, Colleen, have four children, Thomas, Penelope, Luke and Margaret.

Hometown:&nbsp;Claremore, Oklahoma

College:&nbsp;Oklahoma – Bachelor’s degrees in accounting and finance (2010); University of Oklahoma College of Law (2014)

Family:&nbsp;Wife: Colleen; Children: Thomas, Penelope, Luke, Margaret

Playing Career:&nbsp;Colorado State (offensive line), 2006-07; Oklahoma (offensive line), 2008-11

2014-16, Indiana (Offensive Graduate Assistant)

2017-19, Oklahoma (Offensive Graduate Assistant)

2020, Southern (Running Game Coordinator/Offensive Line)

2021, K-State (Senior Offensive Quality Control)

<a>MANHATTAN, Kan.</a>&nbsp;–&nbsp;Brian Lepak, who has had a hand in K-State’s offensive success since his arrival in 2021, will remain at Kansas State and move back to coaching the Wildcat tight ends, head coach&nbsp;Collin Klein&nbsp;announced Monday.Lepak (pronounced luh-PACK) arrived in Manhattan in 2021 as a Senior Offensive Quality Control Coach and also tutored the Wildcat offensive line in 2025, while he spent the 2022 through 2024 seasons coaching the K-State tight ends.“I am excited to continue to represent Kansas State University under Coach Klein’s leadership,” said Lepak. “I look forward to implementing Coach Klein’s vision and build on the tradition of this program.”Lepak and Klein worked together on staff for three seasons, which included K-State’s 2022 Big 12 Championship campaign in 2022.“Brian has worked tirelessly for this program since he has been here,” Klein said. “He is detailed, caring, competitive and one of the smartest coaches I have worked with at K-State. I am excited to have him continue to develop our tight ends.”Lepak has found quick success during his first four years as a full-time coach for the Wildcats, tutoring tight end Ben Sinnott to All-Big 12 First Team accolades in both 2022 and 2023, while the Wildcats had two tight ends pick up All-Big 12 honors in 2024 in Garrett Oakley (second team) and Will Swanson (honorable mention). It was the first time since 1997 that the Wildcats had a pair of All-Big 12 tight ends in the same season, while Oakley’s second-team designation marked the first time in the Big 12 era that K-State had a first- or second-team all-conference tight end in three straight seasons.In 2024, Lepak’s tight end unit combined for a nation-leading 13 touchdown receptions. Five of those came from Oakley, which tied for the second most in school history by a tight end and third by any sophomore. Oakley went on to break the school record for career receiving touchdowns by a tight end during the 2025 season (13), while he ranks fourth in catches (71) and fifth in yards (779).Over his first two seasons tutoring the K-State tight ends, Lepak coached Sinnott to top-10 rankings nationally among the position group in receiving yards (third), receptions (fourth) and receiving touchdowns (tied for eighth). Sinnott left K-State by tying for the most career receiving touchdowns by a tight end (10) in addition to ranking third among the position in receptions (82) and fourth in receiving yards (1,138).Under Lepak’s leadership, Sinnott had a banner year as a junior in 2023 as he earned Honorable Mention All-America honors from Phil Steele and was a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award, the first player in school history to be named a semifinalist for the award that is presented annually to the nation’s top tight end. All Sinnott did was record the most single-season receptions (49), receiving yards (676) and receiving touchdowns (6) by a tight end in school history, marks that each ranked in the top five nationally among the position group. Sinnott was selected in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft – No. 53 overall – by the Washington Commanders, the highest-drafted tight end in school history.In Lepak’s first season coaching the tight ends, Sinnott averaged 14.4 yards per catch to rank fourth nationally as he earned his first All-Big 12 honor. The K-State tight ends helped the Wildcats win the 2022 Big 12 title thanks to an offensive unit that ranked in the top 10 in school history in 11 categories, including ranking second in offensive yards (5,863) and plays (958), fourth in rushing yards (2,916) and fifth in yards per game (418.8).While tutoring the offensive line in 2025, Lepak coached center Sam Hecht to All-Big 12 First Team honors in addition to receiving votes for the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year award, while tackle John Pastore was a second-team selection. Under Lepak’s guidance, the offensive line helped K-State rank fifth in school history by averaging 5.09 yards per carry, which included a school-record three rushes of at least 75 yards. One of those was an 80-yard rush at Utah during a school-record 472-yard rushing output, bettering a school record that had stood for 71 years.During the game against the Utes, the Lepak’s unit blocked for a school record 293 rushing yards by Joe Jackson, bettering Darren Sproles’ mark set in 2004. In terms of pass protection, the Wildcats finished the 2025 season ranked 11th nationally in sacks allowed per game (1.08).Lepak began his coaching career as an offensive graduate assistant at Indiana from 2014 through 2016, while he held the same position at Oklahoma from 2017 through 2019. He coached the spring of 2021 at Southern as the running game coordinator and offensive line coach before his first season in Manhattan in the fall of 2021.A native of Claremore, Oklahoma, Lepak was an offensive lineman for two seasons at Colorado State before transferring to Oklahoma where he spent three years, including the 2010 Big 12 Championship season, while he was an Academic All-American that year.After completing his playing career, Lepak was awarded the Dr. Prentice Gautt Postgraduate Scholar Award and attended law school at the University of Oklahoma College of Law where he was a member of the Oklahoma Law Review. He graduated in 2014 and was admitted to the Oklahoma Bar Association the same year. In addition to his law degree, he has dual degrees in Accounting and Finance from the OU Price College of Business where he was the Outstanding Senior in Accounting.Lepak and his wife, Colleen, have four children, Thomas, Penelope, Luke and Margaret.THE BRIAN LEPAK FILEHometown:&nbsp;Claremore, OklahomaCollege:&nbsp;Oklahoma – Bachelor’s degrees in accounting and finance (2010); University of Oklahoma College of Law (2014)Family:&nbsp;Wife: Colleen; Children: Thomas, Penelope, Luke, MargaretPlaying Career:&nbsp;Colorado State (offensive line), 2006-07; Oklahoma (offensive line), 2008-11BRIAN LEPAK’S COACHING CAREER2014-16, Indiana (Offensive Graduate Assistant)2017-19, Oklahoma (Offensive Graduate Assistant)2020, Southern (Running Game Coordinator/Offensive Line)2021, K-State (Senior Offensive Quality Control)2022-24, K-State (Tight Ends)2025, K-State (Offensive Line)

Brian Lepak to Remain at K-State, Coach Tight Ends

The following statement was put out by Sporting Kansas City on June 5, 2026.

We’re excited to announce the hiring of Raphaël Wicky as Sporting Kansas City’s new Head Coach.

Wicky becomes the fifth head coach in Sporting KC history to lead the first team. Most recently, he served as head coach of Swiss powerhouse BSC Young Boys from 2022–2024, where he guided the club to a Swiss Super League and Swiss Cup double during the 2022–23 season.

Wicky departed Young Boys in March 2024 with the club sitting atop the Swiss Super League standings, positioned for a second consecutive league title.

He brings valuable experience in the United States as well, having previously coached the U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team and in Major League Soccer with the Chicago Fire. Wicky led the U-17s to a second-place finish in the 2019 CONCACAF U-17 championship and oversaw their FIFA U-17 World Cup run later that year, before taking the helm in Chicago for the 2020 and 2021 MLS seasons.

As a player, Wicky enjoyed a distinguished 16-year professional career, earning 75 caps with the Swiss National Team. He started every match for Switzerland at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and represented his country at both the 1996 and 2004 UEFA European Championships. He concluded his playing career in 2008.

Please join us in welcoming Raphaël Wicky as Sporting Kansas City enters a new era.

We’ll see you at Sporting Park for our first home game on February 28.

The following statement was put out by Sporting Kansas City on June 5, 2026.We’re excited to announce the hiring of Raphaël Wicky as Sporting Kansas City’s new Head Coach.Wicky becomes the fifth head coach in Sporting KC history to lead the first team. Most recently, he served as head coach of Swiss powerhouse BSC Young Boys from 2022–2024, where he guided the club to a Swiss Super League and Swiss Cup double during the 2022–23 season.Wicky departed Young Boys in March 2024 with the club sitting atop the Swiss Super League standings, positioned for a second consecutive league title.He brings valuable experience in the United States as well, having previously coached the U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team and in Major League Soccer with the Chicago Fire. Wicky led the U-17s to a second-place finish in the 2019 CONCACAF U-17 championship and oversaw their FIFA U-17 World Cup run later that year, before taking the helm in Chicago for the 2020 and 2021 MLS seasons.As a player, Wicky enjoyed a distinguished 16-year professional career, earning 75 caps with the Swiss National Team. He started every match for Switzerland at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and represented his country at both the 1996 and 2004 UEFA European Championships. He concluded his playing career in 2008.Please join us in welcoming Raphaël Wicky as Sporting Kansas City enters a new era.We’ll see you at Sporting Park for our first home game on February 28.

Sporting KC announces Raphaël Wicky as new head coach

MANHATTAN, KANSAS&nbsp;–&nbsp;K-State saw a halftime lead disappear in the third quarter, rallied to take a late fourth quarter lead but West Virginia fended off the Wildcats in the final moments on Sunday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum with a 60-58 win.

K-State (9-7, 1-2 Big 12) has played eight games this season decided by five points or less and are 4-4 in those contests.

The Wildcats were led by senior guard Tess Heal with 16 points and she added four rebounds and three steals to her final stat line. This is the second straight game Heal paced K-State in scoring.

Joining Heal double figures was junior forward Nastja Claessens with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while freshman guard Jordan Speiser added 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting and tied her career-high with four connections from long range.

West Virginia (13-2, 3-0) was led by the double-double of Kierra Wheeler with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Carter McCray chipped in with 15 points and eight rebounds.

- K-State forced into 10 turnovers in the first quarter and held the Mountaineers scoreless for the final 4:48 of the opening frame. The Wildcats would win the quarter, 12-11.

- In the second quarter, the Wildcats made four straight field goals to build a 24-17 lead with 6:07 remaining. Speiser knocked down a pair of three-pointers during the stretch.

- The Wildcats would win the second quarter, 19-17, and hold a 31-28 lead at halftime. K-State shot 50.0 percent (6-of-12) from the field in the second stanza and saw Speiser and Taryn Sides tally six points apiece.

- K-State struggled from the field in the third quarter, shooting 27.3 percent (3-of-11). West Virginia would win the frame, 17-10, by shooting 53.8 percent (7-of-13) and hold a 45-41 advantage entering the fourth quarter. The Mountaineers used an 11-2 run to close the third to pull in front.

- West Virginia would build a seven-point lead, 51-44, with 6:59 remaining in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats made one field goal in the first three minutes of the final quarter.

- K-State used an 8-0 run to retake the lead, 52-51, on a Heal layup with 3:43 left. Heal scored six of the eight points during the run.

- After the Mountaineers squared the game at 52 with 3:19 remaining, Claessens finished a transition layup to push the Wildcats into a 54-52 lead with 2:54 remaining. This would be K-State’s final lead of the afternoon.

- West Virginia went in front, 56-54, with four straight points but Heal tied the game at 56 with two free throws with a minute remaining.

- An offensive rebound and putback from Gia Cooke with 19 seconds left gave the Mountaineers a 58-56 lead. K-State was unable to score on its next possession and saw Jordan Harrison of West Virginia make two free throws with seven seconds left. A Claessens layup with three seconds provided the final margin.

- K-State shot 41.7 percent (20-of-48) for the game which included a 63.6 percent (7-of-11) effort in the fourth quarter.

- West Virginia leads the series with K-State, 21-9.&nbsp; The Wildcats are 4-9 in games played in Manhattan. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 9-24 in his career against West Virginia.

- K-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 680-386 (.638), including a mark of 226-151 (.599).

- In its 30th&nbsp;season of play in the Big 12, K-State owns a record of 246-249 (.497) in Big 12 action.

- K-State is 417-161 (.721) in its 38th-season inside Bramlage Coliseum, including a 147-53 (.735) record under Mittie.

- The Wildcats are 265-196 (.575) in games played in the month of January. Under head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State is 45-44 (.506) in games during the 1st&nbsp;month.

- K-State's starting five consisted of guards Gina Garcia, Tess Heal, Taryn Sides and forwards Jenessa Cotton and Nastja Claessens. This was the first time this lineup has started together this season. This was the 82nd&nbsp;career start for Heal and her eighth at K-State. This was the 15th career start for Sides. This was the 14th career start for Garcia. Cotton made her 12th career start. Claessens made her 12th career start.

- The Wildcats held a 31-28 lead at halftime on Sunday. Under Mittie, K-State is 180-22 (.891) when leading at halftime, including a 4-1 mark this season.

- This season, K-State owns 24 quarters with an effort of 50.0 percent or better shooting from the field, including the second (50.0) and fourth (63.6) quarters on Sunday.

- Since 2011-12, when three or more players reach double figures in scoring in the same game, K-State is 207-92 (.692) with a 7-5 mark in 2025-26.

- The Wildcats’ bench outscored the Mountaineers’ bench, 15-3. The Wildcats have had the edge in bench points in 13 games this season (7-6).

- Heal reached double figures for the 80th&nbsp;time in her career, including her sixth time this season. She has led K-State in scoring in three games this season. Heal’s collegiate career point total now stands at 1,587 points.

- Speiser scored in double figures for the eighth time this season.

- Speiser tied her career-high with 4 three-pointers on Sunday. This was her second career game with four or more 3-point field goals made. This was her eighth career game with two or more connections from beyond the arc.

- Claessens scored in double figures for the eighth time this season.

- Sides dished out five assists on Sunday. She is the 22nd&nbsp;player in program history with 250 or more career assists (253). Sides ranks 22nd&nbsp;in program history for career assists. This was her 22nd&nbsp;career game with five or more assists and her seventh this season.

- Sides pocketed six steals on Sunday for the second straight game. The six steals tied her career-high. This was her 21st&nbsp;career game with two or more steals and her ninth this season. She has six career games with four or more steals.

- Jenessa Cotton pulled in seven rebounds on Sunday. This was her sixth career game with five or more rebounds this season, all this season.

- Gina Garcia registered six assists. She is the 14th&nbsp;freshman in program history to record 75 or more assists (80 assists this season). This was her 10th career game with five or more assists.

On West Virginia head coach Mark Kellogg coaching this game after losing his mother…

“Well first off, before I address the game, you know, Mark [Kellogg, West Virginia head coach] lost his mother this week, and so I just want to simply say, as I told him before, our prayers are with him and his family. And you know, coaches do a lot of things that, I don't want to say people don't realize, but because of, you know, life happens right? And our season goes on and so for him to coach and for his team to get the win today, you know, there's a part of me that's happy for Mark. He does a hell of a job with this team and I have a lot of respect for his program and his family, and so I know this has been a tough, tough week for him. But they deserve to win today. And so on a personal note, I just know how tough of a week it was for him, and not going to be easy going back home, either.”

On what he liked about how the team played today…

“Yeah, I love the way we competed. I thought we played tough. Thought we got the kind of game we needed to to have an opportunity. Defensively, we wanted to keep them in front. They're the best team in the league at getting to the free throw line, and that also feeds into what they do defensively so well, of the press, and so we wanted to keep them off the free throw line as much as possible. We didn't want to feed into that press. And I thought our team, from that standpoint, played really, really well.”

On the biggest takeaway after a lack in offensive rebound…

“Yeah, I think there was a point of this game where I didn't think we were playing tough enough at the rim. And so there were a lot of drives that I felt like we could have gotten to the free throw line. There were a lot of rebounds that I felt like that we weren't getting, we weren't tough enough, physical enough to get on the offensive end. And that's an area that we've got to get better at, we've got to get better at. And you're right, I mean, the difference those 10 [second chance] points is big, because they did get some of those.”

“Yeah, I thought she had a really good second half. You know, first half, not as aggressive, but she's been, she's a consistent competitor, and that has become more infectious with our team. And so what she does for us doesn't always show on the stat line, although it certainly does tonight, but it's also why she got to start today, and it's why she is getting the minutes that she's getting.”

On if West Virginia got the team to force some shots…

“Yeah, well, there were some plays in that stretch in the third [quarter] where we didn't play very well, where I felt like the shot clock, they really locked us up, and we didn't get very good looks in that stretch. So we were forced to take some really, really hard shots and give credit to them, that's what they do. And that stretch of the game was big for them, because we had the lead, they overtake us there. We had some empty possessions, but a lot of credit goes to them.”

On what he wants the team to take away from this game…

“Well, there are a lot of things I think a team can take away from a game like today that hopefully build some confidence. In that you can look at things and see where there was a commitment to the game plan, and you can look and see on film, me watching it live, I can see a concerted effort of things that we talked about. And they're going to be able to look and see those same things, we talked about this, we talked about this in the press break, we talked about this. And so there's tangible evidence of, if you commit to this, we can play with some pretty good teams and have an opportunity, doesn't mean you win it. We left some opportunities out there, right? I mean, we missed some layups, we missed some plays that we'd like to have back. We did not have a very good shoot around this morning, that really concerned me, but we ended shoot around better, and I didn't know what we were going to get, honestly. I didn't know what we were going to get, but I was pleased overall, I saw a group that played to the scout pretty well and was pretty connected most of the day.”

West Virginia Head Coach Mark Kellogg

“Well, really good game, back and forth, not necessarily much flow offensively, I didn't think, especially for us, and really maybe both teams. We kind of had to switch up some defenses for us until we could find a rhythm. You know, they've presented problems in the past with some of the way we like to play. We've had great games with K-State since I've been here, come down to the wire, overtime a couple years ago in this building. You know, thought they might play us quite a bit of zone based on what we had seen on film, so we're somewhat prepared, but it was just it has a few nuances that we hadn't seen a ton. And so I was just proud of our kids' resiliency. I think we only won one of the three quarters, but for us to find a way to win that one is good. This team for Kansas State will get better as they mature and get older. I know they're young and got some youth, but there's talent there, and Coach Mittie does a great job, so that's why it probably feels really good. But winning on the road in this league is really difficult. We struggled at times last year, not at times, we did struggle winning the second of these two back to back games that we play. So just really proud of this one, and hopefully we can figure out how to get a little bit better as we go home.”

On the team turnovers in the first half…

“Yeah, it was just, I mean, they were sitting back in a two-three zone, and we were turning the ball over, so two different ways. You know, we most of the time try to do it a little bit more in the full court, but can in the half. But, yeah, they just took away our space and I thought we weren't particularly strong with the ball. The ball was sticking, which they wanted it to do. And I just thought we played into their hands. So their game plan, we understood it. I thought we were pretty well prepared for it, but didn't do a very good job in it. So what did we have, I think, 15 turnovers, right, I think at halftime, and 10 in the first quarter. So yeah, credit to them, they had a great game plan. I thought we got better offensively as the game went on, and started to understand some of the things we were looking for and made some adjustments. But they certainly won that battle. But I thought we got it back on the offensive rebound. So for what they won in turnovers, we won in second chance points to maybe even that out just a little bit.”

On what K-State did to avoid the full court pressure…

“Well, shot it and move the ball. I mean, that's what they really did. They made a bunch of 3s there early. You know, I think, what they have five at half, I want to say. And I just thought they shot it really well, we were late in some rotations and got confused. And, you know, that we knew they would play fast against it, that's typically what they do. So again, it's one thing to prepare for, and it's another thing to actually get in live action. And some of our new kids probably just weren't quite ready for the speed in which they will move the ball and can pass the ball, so we just needed to slow that down. And I thought that was, you know, we made those adjustments just to see if we could do it.”

On if they wanted to establish an inside presence in the second half…

“Yeah, and we wanted to in the first half, we just didn't do a great job, I mean, we did an okay job, actually, because at halftime, our two leading scorers were our two post players. You know, we didn't get much from the perimeter at all. We had just come off of two games where we made 11 threes and 13 threes, and I thought we had a bunch of them that we could have taken, that we just chose, for whatever reason, not to take or didn't believe in that shot today. So again, found ways though, and I think that's what, I guess, impressed me the most, was just when it wasn't there we didn't settle for 3s, we still found a way to to get it done.”

On deciding to coach the game after losing his mother earlier in the week…

“Yeah, again, I just know that's what my mom would want me to do. This is, you know, I said it the other day, she was supposed to be at these two games. They come every time we play here, because they're from Missouri, and this is kind of getting back to their roots. So, you know, it was family decision, I guess. But you know, the hard part is you're not guilty, I don't know if that's a great word, but you know, if I'm here, I'm thinking about my family. If I'm with my family, I'm thinking about my team. So it's not really, it's a no win situation from that standpoint. So just try to do what you know, again, there's no manual for this, so just trying to do what my heart tells me is the right thing to do, and what my mom would want me to do. So yeah, it was to be here, and then well, you know, now I got a couple days, I'll still prepare for the next but see what the family needs from me.”

On dealing with a one possession loss…

“Yeah, it was super disappointing. I think we were right there and it was probably one or two possessions in. Sometimes you win those games and sometimes you don't. We've been in a lot of those games this season, and it's always disappointing when it goes the other way.”

On the late scoring run during the fourth quarter…

“Yeah, I think everyone was aware of the score and we kicked it into another gear. We knew we were down and we had to get it back. I was proud of the team's fight. [We] didn't quite get it done, but the effort and the intentionality was there.”

“Yeah, definitely. I think we've made strides. I think there's still areas that we're working on, but I think the team as a whole has made massive strides. I think there were some really good plays. Jordan [Speiser] shot the ball really well today. I thought that Nastja [Claessens] played really well, she ran the floor really well. We worked on our press break a lot, and 16 turnovers were not great, but not bad. They're a really good pressing team [West Virginia]. I think they forced Houston to 30 turnovers so we took care of the ball in that respect. There's definitely growth, but we've got to be better.”

On forcing turnovers against a defensive team…

“I think they were a little rattled. I think that's their identity, and I don't know what they expected from us. I think we're still figuring out our own identity. I think we did a good job of forcing some of those turnovers and creating bad decisions on their behalf. So I think that's something that we can continue throughout Big 12 play and hopefully annoy a couple of other teams with.”

K-State Freshman Guard Jordan Speiser

On a defensive mindset during the first half…

“[It was] sort of like the last game–just chaos. They're a really good team. They knew how to break the press so we had to know when to turn it on and off. But just to fly around, have energy and be active, was really our mindset.”

On finding a rhythm shooting today…

“Yeah, for sure. I'm definitely a rhythm shooter. When I'm feeling it–I'm feeling it, and my teammates noticed that. In transition they were making sure they found me and it worked.”

On physicality playing against Big 12 teams…

“Well, we’re 1-2 now. We left too many points on the table. That game was winnable. We should have won it, but I think we're there. We just have to know ourselves that we're there, and we have to take ownership of that and win some games.”

On the strategy during the final possessions of the game…

“The plan was for Nastja [Claessens] to come around me, make a loop, set a screen on my player, and I popped out for a three-pointer. They guarded me well, knowing that I was shooting the ball well that game. If that wasn’t there, the plan was to get the ball to Nastja, but I stepped out of bounds, so it didn't work.”

K-State makes its third trip to the state of Texas this season, as the Wildcats visit Houston on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

MANHATTAN, KANSAS&nbsp;–&nbsp;K-State saw a halftime lead disappear in the third quarter, rallied to take a late fourth quarter lead but West Virginia fended off the Wildcats in the final moments on Sunday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum with a 60-58 win.K-State (9-7, 1-2 Big 12) has played eight games this season decided by five points or less and are 4-4 in those contests.The Wildcats were led by senior guard Tess Heal with 16 points and she added four rebounds and three steals to her final stat line. This is the second straight game Heal paced K-State in scoring.Joining Heal double figures was junior forward Nastja Claessens with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while freshman guard Jordan Speiser added 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting and tied her career-high with four connections from long range.West Virginia (13-2, 3-0) was led by the double-double of Kierra Wheeler with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Carter McCray chipped in with 15 points and eight rebounds.HOW IT HAPPENED- K-State forced into 10 turnovers in the first quarter and held the Mountaineers scoreless for the final 4:48 of the opening frame. The Wildcats would win the quarter, 12-11.- In the second quarter, the Wildcats made four straight field goals to build a 24-17 lead with 6:07 remaining. Speiser knocked down a pair of three-pointers during the stretch.- The Wildcats would win the second quarter, 19-17, and hold a 31-28 lead at halftime. K-State shot 50.0 percent (6-of-12) from the field in the second stanza and saw Speiser and Taryn Sides tally six points apiece.- K-State struggled from the field in the third quarter, shooting 27.3 percent (3-of-11). West Virginia would win the frame, 17-10, by shooting 53.8 percent (7-of-13) and hold a 45-41 advantage entering the fourth quarter. The Mountaineers used an 11-2 run to close the third to pull in front.- West Virginia would build a seven-point lead, 51-44, with 6:59 remaining in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats made one field goal in the first three minutes of the final quarter.- K-State used an 8-0 run to retake the lead, 52-51, on a Heal layup with 3:43 left. Heal scored six of the eight points during the run.- After the Mountaineers squared the game at 52 with 3:19 remaining, Claessens finished a transition layup to push the Wildcats into a 54-52 lead with 2:54 remaining. This would be K-State’s final lead of the afternoon.- West Virginia went in front, 56-54, with four straight points but Heal tied the game at 56 with two free throws with a minute remaining.- An offensive rebound and putback from Gia Cooke with 19 seconds left gave the Mountaineers a 58-56 lead. K-State was unable to score on its next possession and saw Jordan Harrison of West Virginia make two free throws with seven seconds left. A Claessens layup with three seconds provided the final margin.- K-State shot 41.7 percent (20-of-48) for the game which included a 63.6 percent (7-of-11) effort in the fourth quarter.QUICK FACTS- West Virginia leads the series with K-State, 21-9.&nbsp; The Wildcats are 4-9 in games played in Manhattan. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 9-24 in his career against West Virginia.- K-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 680-386 (.638), including a mark of 226-151 (.599).- In its 30th&nbsp;season of play in the Big 12, K-State owns a record of 246-249 (.497) in Big 12 action.- K-State is 417-161 (.721) in its 38th-season inside Bramlage Coliseum, including a 147-53 (.735) record under Mittie.- The Wildcats are 265-196 (.575) in games played in the month of January. Under head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State is 45-44 (.506) in games during the 1st&nbsp;month.TEAM NOTES- K-State's starting five consisted of guards Gina Garcia, Tess Heal, Taryn Sides and forwards Jenessa Cotton and Nastja Claessens. This was the first time this lineup has started together this season. This was the 82nd&nbsp;career start for Heal and her eighth at K-State. This was the 15th career start for Sides. This was the 14th career start for Garcia. Cotton made her 12th career start. Claessens made her 12th career start.- The Wildcats held a 31-28 lead at halftime on Sunday. Under Mittie, K-State is 180-22 (.891) when leading at halftime, including a 4-1 mark this season.- This season, K-State owns 24 quarters with an effort of 50.0 percent or better shooting from the field, including the second (50.0) and fourth (63.6) quarters on Sunday.- Since 2011-12, when three or more players reach double figures in scoring in the same game, K-State is 207-92 (.692) with a 7-5 mark in 2025-26.- The Wildcats’ bench outscored the Mountaineers’ bench, 15-3. The Wildcats have had the edge in bench points in 13 games this season (7-6).PLAYER NOTES- Heal reached double figures for the 80th&nbsp;time in her career, including her sixth time this season. She has led K-State in scoring in three games this season. Heal’s collegiate career point total now stands at 1,587 points.- Speiser scored in double figures for the eighth time this season.- Speiser tied her career-high with 4 three-pointers on Sunday. This was her second career game with four or more 3-point field goals made. This was her eighth career game with two or more connections from beyond the arc.- Claessens scored in double figures for the eighth time this season.- Sides dished out five assists on Sunday. She is the 22nd&nbsp;player in program history with 250 or more career assists (253). Sides ranks 22nd&nbsp;in program history for career assists. This was her 22nd&nbsp;career game with five or more assists and her seventh this season.- Sides pocketed six steals on Sunday for the second straight game. The six steals tied her career-high. This was her 21st&nbsp;career game with two or more steals and her ninth this season. She has six career games with four or more steals.- Jenessa Cotton pulled in seven rebounds on Sunday. This was her sixth career game with five or more rebounds this season, all this season.- Gina Garcia registered six assists. She is the 14th&nbsp;freshman in program history to record 75 or more assists (80 assists this season). This was her 10th career game with five or more assists.FROM THE HEAD COACHESK-State Head Coach Jeff MittieOn West Virginia head coach Mark Kellogg coaching this game after losing his mother…“Well first off, before I address the game, you know, Mark [Kellogg, West Virginia head coach] lost his mother this week, and so I just want to simply say, as I told him before, our prayers are with him and his family. And you know, coaches do a lot of things that, I don't want to say people don't realize, but because of, you know, life happens right? And our season goes on and so for him to coach and for his team to get the win today, you know, there's a part of me that's happy for Mark. He does a hell of a job with this team and I have a lot of respect for his program and his family, and so I know this has been a tough, tough week for him. But they deserve to win today. And so on a personal note, I just know how tough of a week it was for him, and not going to be easy going back home, either.”On what he liked about how the team played today…“Yeah, I love the way we competed. I thought we played tough. Thought we got the kind of game we needed to to have an opportunity. Defensively, we wanted to keep them in front. They're the best team in the league at getting to the free throw line, and that also feeds into what they do defensively so well, of the press, and so we wanted to keep them off the free throw line as much as possible. We didn't want to feed into that press. And I thought our team, from that standpoint, played really, really well.”On the biggest takeaway after a lack in offensive rebound…“Yeah, I think there was a point of this game where I didn't think we were playing tough enough at the rim. And so there were a lot of drives that I felt like we could have gotten to the free throw line. There were a lot of rebounds that I felt like that we weren't getting, we weren't tough enough, physical enough to get on the offensive end. And that's an area that we've got to get better at, we've got to get better at. And you're right, I mean, the difference those 10 [second chance] points is big, because they did get some of those.”On the leadership of Tess Heal…“Yeah, I thought she had a really good second half. You know, first half, not as aggressive, but she's been, she's a consistent competitor, and that has become more infectious with our team. And so what she does for us doesn't always show on the stat line, although it certainly does tonight, but it's also why she got to start today, and it's why she is getting the minutes that she's getting.”On if West Virginia got the team to force some shots…“Yeah, well, there were some plays in that stretch in the third [quarter] where we didn't play very well, where I felt like the shot clock, they really locked us up, and we didn't get very good looks in that stretch. So we were forced to take some really, really hard shots and give credit to them, that's what they do. And that stretch of the game was big for them, because we had the lead, they overtake us there. We had some empty possessions, but a lot of credit goes to them.”On what he wants the team to take away from this game…“Well, there are a lot of things I think a team can take away from a game like today that hopefully build some confidence. In that you can look at things and see where there was a commitment to the game plan, and you can look and see on film, me watching it live, I can see a concerted effort of things that we talked about. And they're going to be able to look and see those same things, we talked about this, we talked about this in the press break, we talked about this. And so there's tangible evidence of, if you commit to this, we can play with some pretty good teams and have an opportunity, doesn't mean you win it. We left some opportunities out there, right? I mean, we missed some layups, we missed some plays that we'd like to have back. We did not have a very good shoot around this morning, that really concerned me, but we ended shoot around better, and I didn't know what we were going to get, honestly. I didn't know what we were going to get, but I was pleased overall, I saw a group that played to the scout pretty well and was pretty connected most of the day.”West Virginia Head Coach Mark KelloggOpening statement…“Well, really good game, back and forth, not necessarily much flow offensively, I didn't think, especially for us, and really maybe both teams. We kind of had to switch up some defenses for us until we could find a rhythm. You know, they've presented problems in the past with some of the way we like to play. We've had great games with K-State since I've been here, come down to the wire, overtime a couple years ago in this building. You know, thought they might play us quite a bit of zone based on what we had seen on film, so we're somewhat prepared, but it was just it has a few nuances that we hadn't seen a ton. And so I was just proud of our kids' resiliency. I think we only won one of the three quarters, but for us to find a way to win that one is good. This team for Kansas State will get better as they mature and get older. I know they're young and got some youth, but there's talent there, and Coach Mittie does a great job, so that's why it probably feels really good. But winning on the road in this league is really difficult. We struggled at times last year, not at times, we did struggle winning the second of these two back to back games that we play. So just really proud of this one, and hopefully we can figure out how to get a little bit better as we go home.”On the team turnovers in the first half…“Yeah, it was just, I mean, they were sitting back in a two-three zone, and we were turning the ball over, so two different ways. You know, we most of the time try to do it a little bit more in the full court, but can in the half. But, yeah, they just took away our space and I thought we weren't particularly strong with the ball. The ball was sticking, which they wanted it to do. And I just thought we played into their hands. So their game plan, we understood it. I thought we were pretty well prepared for it, but didn't do a very good job in it. So what did we have, I think, 15 turnovers, right, I think at halftime, and 10 in the first quarter. So yeah, credit to them, they had a great game plan. I thought we got better offensively as the game went on, and started to understand some of the things we were looking for and made some adjustments. But they certainly won that battle. But I thought we got it back on the offensive rebound. So for what they won in turnovers, we won in second chance points to maybe even that out just a little bit.”On what K-State did to avoid the full court pressure…“Well, shot it and move the ball. I mean, that's what they really did. They made a bunch of 3s there early. You know, I think, what they have five at half, I want to say. And I just thought they shot it really well, we were late in some rotations and got confused. And, you know, that we knew they would play fast against it, that's typically what they do. So again, it's one thing to prepare for, and it's another thing to actually get in live action. And some of our new kids probably just weren't quite ready for the speed in which they will move the ball and can pass the ball, so we just needed to slow that down. And I thought that was, you know, we made those adjustments just to see if we could do it.”On if they wanted to establish an inside presence in the second half…“Yeah, and we wanted to in the first half, we just didn't do a great job, I mean, we did an okay job, actually, because at halftime, our two leading scorers were our two post players. You know, we didn't get much from the perimeter at all. We had just come off of two games where we made 11 threes and 13 threes, and I thought we had a bunch of them that we could have taken, that we just chose, for whatever reason, not to take or didn't believe in that shot today. So again, found ways though, and I think that's what, I guess, impressed me the most, was just when it wasn't there we didn't settle for 3s, we still found a way to to get it done.”On deciding to coach the game after losing his mother earlier in the week…“Yeah, again, I just know that's what my mom would want me to do. This is, you know, I said it the other day, she was supposed to be at these two games. They come every time we play here, because they're from Missouri, and this is kind of getting back to their roots. So, you know, it was family decision, I guess. But you know, the hard part is you're not guilty, I don't know if that's a great word, but you know, if I'm here, I'm thinking about my family. If I'm with my family, I'm thinking about my team. So it's not really, it's a no win situation from that standpoint. So just try to do what you know, again, there's no manual for this, so just trying to do what my heart tells me is the right thing to do, and what my mom would want me to do. So yeah, it was to be here, and then well, you know, now I got a couple days, I'll still prepare for the next but see what the family needs from me.”FROM THE FLOORK-State Senior Guard Tess HealOn dealing with a one possession loss…“Yeah, it was super disappointing. I think we were right there and it was probably one or two possessions in. Sometimes you win those games and sometimes you don't. We've been in a lot of those games this season, and it's always disappointing when it goes the other way.”On the late scoring run during the fourth quarter…“Yeah, I think everyone was aware of the score and we kicked it into another gear. We knew we were down and we had to get it back. I was proud of the team's fight. [We] didn't quite get it done, but the effort and the intentionality was there.”On seeing active team growth…“Yeah, definitely. I think we've made strides. I think there's still areas that we're working on, but I think the team as a whole has made massive strides. I think there were some really good plays. Jordan [Speiser] shot the ball really well today. I thought that Nastja [Claessens] played really well, she ran the floor really well. We worked on our press break a lot, and 16 turnovers were not great, but not bad. They're a really good pressing team [West Virginia]. I think they forced Houston to 30 turnovers so we took care of the ball in that respect. There's definitely growth, but we've got to be better.”On forcing turnovers against a defensive team…“I think they were a little rattled. I think that's their identity, and I don't know what they expected from us. I think we're still figuring out our own identity. I think we did a good job of forcing some of those turnovers and creating bad decisions on their behalf. So I think that's something that we can continue throughout Big 12 play and hopefully annoy a couple of other teams with.”K-State Freshman Guard Jordan SpeiserOn a defensive mindset during the first half…“[It was] sort of like the last game–just chaos. They're a really good team. They knew how to break the press so we had to know when to turn it on and off. But just to fly around, have energy and be active, was really our mindset.”On finding a rhythm shooting today…“Yeah, for sure. I'm definitely a rhythm shooter. When I'm feeling it–I'm feeling it, and my teammates noticed that. In transition they were making sure they found me and it worked.”On physicality playing against Big 12 teams…“Well, we’re 1-2 now. We left too many points on the table. That game was winnable. We should have won it, but I think we're there. We just have to know ourselves that we're there, and we have to take ownership of that and win some games.”On the strategy during the final possessions of the game…“The plan was for Nastja [Claessens] to come around me, make a loop, set a screen on my player, and I popped out for a three-pointer. They guarded me well, knowing that I was shooting the ball well that game. If that wasn’t there, the plan was to get the ball to Nastja, but I stepped out of bounds, so it didn't work.”UP NEXTK-State makes its third trip to the state of Texas this season, as the Wildcats visit Houston on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

🏀 K-State WBB Falls Late in Fourth Quarter to West Virginia

By MARK ANDERSON&nbsp; AP Sports Writer

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Daniel Carlson made a career-long 60-yard field goal with eight seconds left to give Las Vegas a 14-12 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday and end the Raiders' 10-game losing streak.

Carlson and Kansas City's Harrison Butker each made four field goals, with Butker hitting a 41-yarder with 1:01 left to give the Chiefs a short-lived 12-11 lead.

This was the first victory for the Raiders (3-14) over the Chiefs (6-11) at Allegiant Stadium. The Chiefs, who had won all five previous meetings in Las Vegas, lost their sixth straight game and eighth in 10.

Las Vegas' Ashton Jeanty rushed for 87 yards, giving him 975 for the season that is second among Raiders rookies to the 1,150 yards Josh Jacobs gained in 2019. Jeanty's 1,321 yards from scrimmage broke the club rookie record set by Jacobs (1,316).

Much of the intrigue about the outcome was eliminated before kickoff when the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cowboys-giants-score-jaxson-dart-d25b1d9cbb8f9ac00bd6e953924bfa93?utm_source=copy&amp;utm_medium=share">New York Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys 34-17</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/las-vegas-raiders-nfl-draft-2026-708f08b50bcd7b519c5ba132d03cedaf?utm_source=copy&amp;utm_medium=share">guaranteeing the Raiders the top pick</a>&nbsp;in this year's NFL draft. A Giants loss would have meant that Las Vegas would get that selection only with a loss to the Chiefs.

Less certain is the future of Raiders coach Pete Carroll, who was hired about a year ago with the hopes that his championship pedigree of a Super Bowl title in Seattle and two college championships at Southern California would translate to Las Vegas. There was no immediate indication whether he would return, but the typical coach's day-after news conference was not on the club's media schedule.

This also could be have the final game for Kansas City's Travis Kelce. The 36-year-old, who became the third tight end to reach 13,000 yards in his career, has not said if he will retire after playing all 13 seasons in Kansas City.

Both teams in large ways treated the finale like a preseason game.

Whether for injuries or other reasons, the Chiefs sat wide receiver Xavier Worthy, running back Isiah Pacheco and defensive ends George Karlaftis and Tyreke Smith among others, and the Raiders had a number of players hurt that included running back Raheem Mostert, guard Dylan Parham and defensive tackle Adam Butler.

Kansas City entered the game without quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Gardner Minshew, each out with knee injuries. The Chiefs hope to get Mahomes back by early next season in what they hope is the return to becoming more like the team that appeared in five of the previous six Super Bowls, three ending in championships.

Chris Oladokun started for the Chiefs and completed 11 of 17 passes for 58 yards before giving way to Shane Buechele in the second half. Buechele was 7 of 14 for 88 yards.

The Raiders were without quarterback Geno Smith, out with an ankle injury that also might have ended his playing days in Las Vegas after just a season. Kenny Pickett started and was replaced by Aidan O'Connell in the second quarter as expected. Pickett was just 1 of 4 for 3 yards with an interception, and O'Connell completed 10 of 22 passes for 102 yards.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/1/1767611639756.jpeg" alt="Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce heads off the field following an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)" />
 <figcaption>Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce heads off the field following an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)</figcaption>
 </figure>By MARK ANDERSON&nbsp; AP Sports WriterLAS VEGAS (AP) — Daniel Carlson made a career-long 60-yard field goal with eight seconds left to give Las Vegas a 14-12 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday and end the Raiders' 10-game losing streak.Carlson and Kansas City's Harrison Butker each made four field goals, with Butker hitting a 41-yarder with 1:01 left to give the Chiefs a short-lived 12-11 lead.This was the first victory for the Raiders (3-14) over the Chiefs (6-11) at Allegiant Stadium. The Chiefs, who had won all five previous meetings in Las Vegas, lost their sixth straight game and eighth in 10.Las Vegas' Ashton Jeanty rushed for 87 yards, giving him 975 for the season that is second among Raiders rookies to the 1,150 yards Josh Jacobs gained in 2019. Jeanty's 1,321 yards from scrimmage broke the club rookie record set by Jacobs (1,316).Much of the intrigue about the outcome was eliminated before kickoff when the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cowboys-giants-score-jaxson-dart-d25b1d9cbb8f9ac00bd6e953924bfa93?utm_source=copy&amp;utm_medium=share">New York Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys 34-17</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/las-vegas-raiders-nfl-draft-2026-708f08b50bcd7b519c5ba132d03cedaf?utm_source=copy&amp;utm_medium=share">guaranteeing the Raiders the top pick</a>&nbsp;in this year's NFL draft. A Giants loss would have meant that Las Vegas would get that selection only with a loss to the Chiefs.Less certain is the future of Raiders coach Pete Carroll, who was hired about a year ago with the hopes that his championship pedigree of a Super Bowl title in Seattle and two college championships at Southern California would translate to Las Vegas. There was no immediate indication whether he would return, but the typical coach's day-after news conference was not on the club's media schedule.This also could be have the final game for Kansas City's Travis Kelce. The 36-year-old, who became the third tight end to reach 13,000 yards in his career, has not said if he will retire after playing all 13 seasons in Kansas City.Both teams in large ways treated the finale like a preseason game.Whether for injuries or other reasons, the Chiefs sat wide receiver Xavier Worthy, running back Isiah Pacheco and defensive ends George Karlaftis and Tyreke Smith among others, and the Raiders had a number of players hurt that included running back Raheem Mostert, guard Dylan Parham and defensive tackle Adam Butler.Kansas City entered the game without quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Gardner Minshew, each out with knee injuries. The Chiefs hope to get Mahomes back by early next season in what they hope is the return to becoming more like the team that appeared in five of the previous six Super Bowls, three ending in championships.Chris Oladokun started for the Chiefs and completed 11 of 17 passes for 58 yards before giving way to Shane Buechele in the second half. Buechele was 7 of 14 for 88 yards.The Raiders were without quarterback Geno Smith, out with an ankle injury that also might have ended his playing days in Las Vegas after just a season. Kenny Pickett started and was replaced by Aidan O'Connell in the second quarter as expected. Pickett was just 1 of 4 for 3 yards with an interception, and O'Connell completed 10 of 22 passes for 102 yards.Tyree Wilson had two sacks for the Raiders, including a fourth-quarter safety for an 11-6 lead. He also forced two fumbles.Chris Jones recorded two sacks to give him 86 1/2 for third most in Chiefs history.<h2>Injuries</h2>Chiefs: RG Trey Smith (ankle) did not play.Raiders: QB Geno Smith (ankle), DT Adam Butler (bicep), LT Kolton Miller (ankle), RB Raheem Mostert (ankle/knee) and G Dylan Parham (illness) did not play. ... S Isaiah Pola-Mao (shoulder) went out late in the second quarter.