<a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/bf4b3304-fb04-4bd0-8232-e41451b4a3a4?elinkdata=30838">Harper Taylor</a> says she is not the same person she was when she departed Kansas Wesleyan after the 2022-23 women's basketball season.

"The last time I left I was not expecting to be a head coach, but I think that I am more than ready," Taylor said Tuesday during the Kansas Conference's online media day.

Taylor was named Wesleyan's basketball coach in May after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at Division II Metropolitan State-Denver. She had spent the 2021-22 and '22-23 seasons as an assistant at KWU.

Taylor inherits a young team after several key players graduated including four starters.

The Coyotes were picked sixth by conference coaches and fourth by media representatives in the KCAC preseason polls. KWU did receive two first-place votes in each poll.

"Coming off of last year we've got to regroup and find a new team, play off what we had last year and put those pieces into motion," she said.

Taylor is counting on returning veterans <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/4d09a7a6-9f04-48ce-add2-a281350a1b49?elinkdata=30838">Paige Chauncey</a> and <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/56699f52-2b19-491b-94be-4015ac38df85?elinkdata=30838">Odessa Ozuna</a> to lead the way this winter. Chauncey was the starting post player and averaged 7.7 points and 4.9 rebounds while Ozuna was a top reserve and averaged 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

"Paige and Odessa have done a really good job of leading our team and getting everybody on the same page trying to get us to move forward and get ready for that opening game that we have later this month," she said.

Taylor has been busy installing her system and getting the team familiar with it.

"What I've seen in practice is a lot of buy in to how I've changed things around and how quickly we're doing things; how fast we're going through drills. It's been a lot of changes," she said. "I'm really proud of how our returning group has responded to the things I have decided to do."

Taylor is counting on three newcomers to play key roles.

"We've got <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/d5dad8f6-6644-4ad6-a980-5e3e989ca90d?elinkdata=30838">Izzy McCool</a> from Dordt (College)," she said. "She's a junior and has come in and embraced every single thing about Kansas Wesleyan. It's been a joy to really watch her grow with our team and fit in like she was never at another school. Freshman <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/7ad5b6fd-9386-4812-9440-eb2b54af8c93?elinkdata=30838">Raegann McDonald</a> is a post player from Clay Center. Works really hard and she's going to be ready to go when the season comes. <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/0010f038-3cac-462e-9168-d6b07bb3f8e3?elinkdata=30838">Anna Jueneman</a>, a freshman from Hanover, is a very quick lefthander.

"I'm very excited about what those pieces will bring to our returning group and how they will handle different challenges and adversity together."

"A big difference is me being a young female head coach figuring it out for the first time, taking it day by day," she said. "I know that there's going to be a lot of challenges but it's not something that I or our team are going to shy away from."

"We need to play fast, we need to play unselfishly, and we need to be a little bit more ready and able to adjust to different situations," she said. "I'm definitely excited to see how our group can handle that."

The Coyotes open with Dakota State at 6 p.m. Oct. 31 in the Kansas Wesleyan Classic inside Mabee Arena. They play William Penn at 4 p.m. the following day.

Evangel was the coaches' pick to win the KCAC in 2025-26 followed by Friends, Tabor, Saint Mary and Bethel to round out the Top 5.

Tabor was the media pick followed by Friends, Evangel, KWU and Saint Mary to round out the Top 5.

2025-26 KCAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll

1. Evangel - 161 (9 FPV) 2. Friends - 147 (2) 3. Tabor - 132 4. Saint Mary - 123 5. Bethel - 118 6. Kansas Wesleyan - 115 (2) 7. Sterling - 99 (1) 8. Bethany - 94 9. Ottawa - 87 10. Oklahoma Wesleyan - 58 11. Avila - 54 12. York - 40 13. Southwestern - 25 14. McPherson - 21

2025-26 KCAC Women's Basketball Preseason Media Poll

1. Tabor - 123 (4) 2. Friends - 121 3. Evangel - 112 (3) 4. Kansas Wesleyan - 110 (2) 5. Saint Mary - 87 6. Sterling - 82 7. Bethel - 80 8. Bethany - 71 9. Oklahoma Wesleyan - 65 10. Ottawa - 61 11. Avila - 46 12. York - 40 13. Southwestern - 31 (1) 14. McPherson - 21

<a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/bf4b3304-fb04-4bd0-8232-e41451b4a3a4?elinkdata=30838">Harper Taylor</a> says she is not the same person she was when she departed Kansas Wesleyan after the 2022-23 women's basketball season."The last time I left I was not expecting to be a head coach, but I think that I am more than ready," Taylor said Tuesday during the Kansas Conference's online media day.Taylor was named Wesleyan's basketball coach in May after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at Division II Metropolitan State-Denver. She had spent the 2021-22 and '22-23 seasons as an assistant at KWU.Taylor inherits a young team after several key players graduated including four starters.The Coyotes were picked sixth by conference coaches and fourth by media representatives in the KCAC preseason polls. KWU did receive two first-place votes in each poll."Coming off of last year we've got to regroup and find a new team, play off what we had last year and put those pieces into motion," she said.Taylor is counting on returning veterans <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/4d09a7a6-9f04-48ce-add2-a281350a1b49?elinkdata=30838">Paige Chauncey</a> and <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/56699f52-2b19-491b-94be-4015ac38df85?elinkdata=30838">Odessa Ozuna</a> to lead the way this winter. Chauncey was the starting post player and averaged 7.7 points and 4.9 rebounds while Ozuna was a top reserve and averaged 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists."Paige and Odessa have done a really good job of leading our team and getting everybody on the same page trying to get us to move forward and get ready for that opening game that we have later this month," she said.Taylor has been busy installing her system and getting the team familiar with it."What I've seen in practice is a lot of buy in to how I've changed things around and how quickly we're doing things; how fast we're going through drills. It's been a lot of changes," she said. "I'm really proud of how our returning group has responded to the things I have decided to do."Taylor is counting on three newcomers to play key roles."We've got <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/d5dad8f6-6644-4ad6-a980-5e3e989ca90d?elinkdata=30838">Izzy McCool</a> from Dordt (College)," she said. "She's a junior and has come in and embraced every single thing about Kansas Wesleyan. It's been a joy to really watch her grow with our team and fit in like she was never at another school. Freshman <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/7ad5b6fd-9386-4812-9440-eb2b54af8c93?elinkdata=30838">Raegann McDonald</a> is a post player from Clay Center. Works really hard and she's going to be ready to go when the season comes. <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/0010f038-3cac-462e-9168-d6b07bb3f8e3?elinkdata=30838">Anna Jueneman</a>, a freshman from Hanover, is a very quick lefthander."I'm very excited about what those pieces will bring to our returning group and how they will handle different challenges and adversity together."Taylor knows it won't be easy."A big difference is me being a young female head coach figuring it out for the first time, taking it day by day," she said. "I know that there's going to be a lot of challenges but it's not something that I or our team are going to shy away from."The ability to adapt will be essential."We need to play fast, we need to play unselfishly, and we need to be a little bit more ready and able to adjust to different situations," she said. "I'm definitely excited to see how our group can handle that."The Coyotes open with Dakota State at 6 p.m. Oct. 31 in the Kansas Wesleyan Classic inside Mabee Arena. They play William Penn at 4 p.m. the following day.Evangel was the coaches' pick to win the KCAC in 2025-26 followed by Friends, Tabor, Saint Mary and Bethel to round out the Top 5.Tabor was the media pick followed by Friends, Evangel, KWU and Saint Mary to round out the Top 5.2025-26 KCAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll1. Evangel - 161 (9 FPV) 2. Friends - 147 (2) 3. Tabor - 132 4. Saint Mary - 123 5. Bethel - 118 6. Kansas Wesleyan - 115 (2) 7. Sterling - 99 (1) 8. Bethany - 94 9. Ottawa - 87 10. Oklahoma Wesleyan - 58 11. Avila - 54 12. York - 40 13. Southwestern - 25 14. McPherson - 212025-26 KCAC Women's Basketball Preseason Media Poll1. Tabor - 123 (4) 2. Friends - 121 3. Evangel - 112 (3) 4. Kansas Wesleyan - 110 (2) 5. Saint Mary - 87 6. Sterling - 82 7. Bethel - 80 8. Bethany - 71 9. Oklahoma Wesleyan - 65 10. Ottawa - 61 11. Avila - 46 12. York - 40 13. Southwestern - 31 (1) 14. McPherson - 21

🏀 Taylor ready for first season at helm - Coyotes picked sixth by coaches, fourth by media in polls

By TYLER HENRY Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post

The Southeast of Saline cross country teams excelled at the Salina Invitational, with both teams finishing on the podium despite being the smallest school competing.

The Trojans defeated all comers in yet another meet victory, while the Lady Trojans placed third amidst a loaded field.

Brayden Walker won the boys’ race, with Jacob Bircher not far behind in fifth.

Zachary and Brooks Carlin placed 12th and 13th, respectively, with Edgar Calzada rounding out the top-20 finishers in 19th.

On the girls’ side, Piper Brown found the podium individually in second, with Ava McGraw (7th) and Anna Jackson (8th) rounding out the top ten finishers.

Full results from this meet can be found below.

Boys Team Results 1. SE of Saline - 50 2. Junction City - 53 3. Garden City - 58 4. Salina Central - 100 5. Dodge City - 109 6. Hays - 186 7. Salina South - 202 8. Hutch - 206 9. Wichita Heights - 254

SES Boys Individual Results 1. Brayden Walker&nbsp; 5. Jacob Bircher 12. Zach Carlin&nbsp; 13. Brooks Carlin 19. Edgar Calzada 26. Caleb Knopf 34. Cole Franklin

Girls Team Results 1. Salina Central - 52 2. Dodge City - 60 3. SE of Saline - 67 4. Junction City - 82 5. Garden City - 89 6. Hays - 126

SES Girls Individual Results 2. Piper Brown 7. Ava McGraw 8. Anna Jackson 16. Regan Duran 42. Layla Lund 46. Brooklyn Hartman 47. Annika Barnaby

By TYLER HENRY Lead Sportswriter - Salina PostThe Southeast of Saline cross country teams excelled at the Salina Invitational, with both teams finishing on the podium despite being the smallest school competing.The Trojans defeated all comers in yet another meet victory, while the Lady Trojans placed third amidst a loaded field.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1746812152965.jpeg" alt="Salina Regional Orthopedic &amp; Sports Medicine- Your home-field advantage starts here." />
 <figcaption>Salina Regional Orthopedic &amp; Sports Medicine- Your home-field advantage starts here.</figcaption>
 </figure>Brayden Walker won the boys’ race, with Jacob Bircher not far behind in fifth.Zachary and Brooks Carlin placed 12th and 13th, respectively, with Edgar Calzada rounding out the top-20 finishers in 19th.On the girls’ side, Piper Brown found the podium individually in second, with Ava McGraw (7th) and Anna Jackson (8th) rounding out the top ten finishers.Full results from this meet can be found below.Boys Team Results 1. SE of Saline - 50 2. Junction City - 53 3. Garden City - 58 4. Salina Central - 100 5. Dodge City - 109 6. Hays - 186 7. Salina South - 202 8. Hutch - 206 9. Wichita Heights - 254SES Boys Individual Results 1. Brayden Walker&nbsp; 5. Jacob Bircher 12. Zach Carlin&nbsp; 13. Brooks Carlin 19. Edgar Calzada 26. Caleb Knopf 34. Cole FranklinGirls Team Results 1. Salina Central - 52 2. Dodge City - 60 3. SE of Saline - 67 4. Junction City - 82 5. Garden City - 89 6. Hays - 126SES Girls Individual Results 2. Piper Brown 7. Ava McGraw 8. Anna Jackson 16. Regan Duran 42. Layla Lund 46. Brooklyn Hartman 47. Annika Barnaby

👟 SES XC posts 1-3 finish at Salina Invitational

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Kansas redshirt senior Jalon Daniels is one of 20 semifinalists for the ninth annual Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year, the organization announced on Tuesday, awarded to honor exemplary leadership by a college player on and off the field.

Daniels, a native of Lawndale, Calif., is a four-time captain for the Jayhawks, Kansas’ first in program history. Daniels was recently named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy -

awarded the top college football player with the best combination of academics, leadership, and on-field performance.

Daniels is having a historic 2025 season, completing 130-of-186 passing for 1,752 yards and 18 touchdowns. Through seven games, Daniels’ 18 passing touchdowns ranks second in college football and are tied for a career-high in a single season. Over his career, Daniels ranks among the best quarterbacks in program history, completing 666-of-1,060 passing for 8,503 yards and 63 touchdowns, all of which rank second in school history. Daniels has also rushed for 1,240 career rushing yards and 20 career rushing touchdowns.

Prior to the 2025 season, Daniels was named to the Walter Camp Award Preseason Watch List and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Watch List entering the 2025 season. Daniels was Kansas’s first Big 12 Football Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2025 and is a 2022 CSC Academic All-American. Daniels is also a five-time Academic All-Big 12 member.

Not only has Daniels been impressive on the field, he has also been very involved in the community, contributing community service to the Lawrence community. Daniels has also started a “Mom2JD6” Foundation committed to supporting single mothers raising athletic children by providing financial aid, mentorship, sports training, and community resources.

Daniels is Kansas’ second Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Semifinalist in the last two seasons, as Devin Neal was a semifinalist for the award in 2024.

The full list of semifinalists for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year includes: CJ Allen (Georgia), Nick Andersen (Wake Forest), Cam Ball (Arkansas), Jude Bowry (Boston College), Deion Burks (Oklahoma), Arion Carter (Tennessee), Dontay Corleone (Cincinnati), Jalon Daniels (Kansas), Nick Dawkins (Penn State), Aiden Fisher (Indiana), Ernest Hausmann (Michigan), Tyler Martinez (New Mexico State), Devin Mockobee (Purdue), Koa Naotala (Old Dominion), Sawyer Robertson (Baylor), Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech), Eli Stowers (Vanderbilt), Michael Taaffe (Texas), Aamil Wagner (Notre Dame) and Tanner Wall (BYU).

Last year, J.J. Weaver of Kentucky won the eighth annual award. The first seven Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year awards were presented to Shaquem Griffin of UCF in 2017, D’Cota Dixon of Wisconsin in 2018, Trey Smith of Tennessee in 2019, Sam Ehlinger of Texas in 2020, Joshua Paschal of Kentucky in 2021, Deslin Alexandre of Pittsburgh in 2022 and Mike Hollins of Virginia in 2023.

The award, presented by Albertsons and Tom Thumb, is the first college football honor to focus primarily on a player’s leadership, both on and off the field. Leadership is a term synonymous with Jason Witten, who, in addition to becoming one of the best tight ends in the history of the sport, served as one of football’s most prominent role models during his 16-year pro career. In addition to winning the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2012, Witten also received the Bart Starr Award, Pro Football Weekly’s Humanitarian of the Year Award, Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP and the Bob Lilly Award, among many others. All of those honors have recognized his work in the community, achievements on the field and dedication to his teammates and family.

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Kansas redshirt senior Jalon Daniels is one of 20 semifinalists for the ninth annual Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year, the organization announced on Tuesday, awarded to honor exemplary leadership by a college player on and off the field.Daniels, a native of Lawndale, Calif., is a four-time captain for the Jayhawks, Kansas’ first in program history. Daniels was recently named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy -awarded the top college football player with the best combination of academics, leadership, and on-field performance.Daniels is having a historic 2025 season, completing 130-of-186 passing for 1,752 yards and 18 touchdowns. Through seven games, Daniels’ 18 passing touchdowns ranks second in college football and are tied for a career-high in a single season. Over his career, Daniels ranks among the best quarterbacks in program history, completing 666-of-1,060 passing for 8,503 yards and 63 touchdowns, all of which rank second in school history. Daniels has also rushed for 1,240 career rushing yards and 20 career rushing touchdowns.Prior to the 2025 season, Daniels was named to the Walter Camp Award Preseason Watch List and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Watch List entering the 2025 season. Daniels was Kansas’s first Big 12 Football Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2025 and is a 2022 CSC Academic All-American. Daniels is also a five-time Academic All-Big 12 member.Not only has Daniels been impressive on the field, he has also been very involved in the community, contributing community service to the Lawrence community. Daniels has also started a “Mom2JD6” Foundation committed to supporting single mothers raising athletic children by providing financial aid, mentorship, sports training, and community resources.Daniels is Kansas’ second Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Semifinalist in the last two seasons, as Devin Neal was a semifinalist for the award in 2024.The full list of semifinalists for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year includes: CJ Allen (Georgia), Nick Andersen (Wake Forest), Cam Ball (Arkansas), Jude Bowry (Boston College), Deion Burks (Oklahoma), Arion Carter (Tennessee), Dontay Corleone (Cincinnati), Jalon Daniels (Kansas), Nick Dawkins (Penn State), Aiden Fisher (Indiana), Ernest Hausmann (Michigan), Tyler Martinez (New Mexico State), Devin Mockobee (Purdue), Koa Naotala (Old Dominion), Sawyer Robertson (Baylor), Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech), Eli Stowers (Vanderbilt), Michael Taaffe (Texas), Aamil Wagner (Notre Dame) and Tanner Wall (BYU).Last year, J.J. Weaver of Kentucky won the eighth annual award. The first seven Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year awards were presented to Shaquem Griffin of UCF in 2017, D’Cota Dixon of Wisconsin in 2018, Trey Smith of Tennessee in 2019, Sam Ehlinger of Texas in 2020, Joshua Paschal of Kentucky in 2021, Deslin Alexandre of Pittsburgh in 2022 and Mike Hollins of Virginia in 2023.The award, presented by Albertsons and Tom Thumb, is the first college football honor to focus primarily on a player’s leadership, both on and off the field. Leadership is a term synonymous with Jason Witten, who, in addition to becoming one of the best tight ends in the history of the sport, served as one of football’s most prominent role models during his 16-year pro career. In addition to winning the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2012, Witten also received the Bart Starr Award, Pro Football Weekly’s Humanitarian of the Year Award, Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP and the Bob Lilly Award, among many others. All of those honors have recognized his work in the community, achievements on the field and dedication to his teammates and family.

Jalon Daniels Named a Semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State and the Big 12 Conference announced game times and television information for the 2025-26 men’s basketball season on Tuesday (Oct. 14).

With the Big 12’s new collaborations with FOX and NBC, the Wildcats could appear across 10 different linear and streaming platforms, including CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, FOX, FS1, Peacock and the SEC Network.

More than a third of the games (13) will be on ESPN platforms (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN+), including nine appearances on ESPN+. In addition, four games will air on ESPN’s linear channels, including the home non-conference game with BIG EAST foe Seton Hall on Saturday, Dec. 6 (ESPNU), the road Big 12 game at TCU on Saturday, Feb. 7 (ESPN2) and the home league games with Baylor on Tuesday, Feb. 17 (ESPN/2) and TCU on Saturday, Feb. 28 (ESPN2).

The exhibition opener at Missouri on Friday, Oct. 24 will air at 9 p.m., CT on the SEC Network.

K-State will have eight games air as part of the expanded FOX package, including four prime matchups on FOX. These include the road contest at No. 23 Creighton on Saturday, Dec. 13, the home games with No. 19 Kansas on Saturday, Jan. 24 and No. 16 Iowa State on Sunday, Feb. 1 and the road contest at No. 10 Texas Tech on Saturday, Feb. 21. Four other games will air on FS1, including the road games at Indiana on Tuesday, Nov. 25, No. 13 Arizona on Wednesday, Jan. 7, West Virginia on Tuesday, Jan. 27 and Colorado on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

The Wildcats will have six games on CBS platforms, including prime CBS matchups with No. 8 BYU in the Big 12 opener on Saturday, Jan. 3 and at No. 19 Kansas in the Big 12 regular-season finale on Saturday, March 7. Four other games will air on CBS Sports Network, including the home game with California on Thursday, Nov. 13 and Big 12 contests with Oklahoma State on Saturday, Jan. 17, Utah on Tuesday, Jan. 20 and Cincinnati on Wednesday, Feb. 11.

Finally, five K-State game will appear on the Peacock streaming service, including the two games in the Hall of Fame Classic and Big 12 games with Arizona State on Saturday, Jan. 10, UCF on Wednesday, Jan. 14 and Houston on Saturday, Feb. 14.

K-State will tip off the season at 7 p.m., CT on Tuesday, Nov. 4 against UNC Greensboro, while the lone home exhibition is set for 7 p.m., CT on Friday, Oct. 31.

To view all game times, please click on this <a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule">link</a>.

In concert with the release of game times, the athletics department has announced the on-sale dates for men’s and women’s basketball conference single-game tickets, along with the Big Game Mini Plan for men’s basketball.

The men’s basketball Big Game Mini Plan includes tickets to five weekend marquee matchups inside Bramlage Coliseum against Seton Hall, BYU, KU, Iowa State, and TCU. The Big Game Mini Plan is the only way to secure seats for the men's KU matchup prior to single-game KU tickets being released at a later date.

Single-game tickets for all non-conference matchups and season tickets are currently available. Tickets can be purchased online at <a href="http://www.kstatesports.com/tickets">www.kstatesports.com/tickets</a>, by visiting the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum or by calling (800) 221.CATS (2287).

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State and the Big 12 Conference announced game times and television information for the 2025-26 men’s basketball season on Tuesday (Oct. 14).With the Big 12’s new collaborations with FOX and NBC, the Wildcats could appear across 10 different linear and streaming platforms, including CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, FOX, FS1, Peacock and the SEC Network.More than a third of the games (13) will be on ESPN platforms (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN+), including nine appearances on ESPN+. In addition, four games will air on ESPN’s linear channels, including the home non-conference game with BIG EAST foe Seton Hall on Saturday, Dec. 6 (ESPNU), the road Big 12 game at TCU on Saturday, Feb. 7 (ESPN2) and the home league games with Baylor on Tuesday, Feb. 17 (ESPN/2) and TCU on Saturday, Feb. 28 (ESPN2).The exhibition opener at Missouri on Friday, Oct. 24 will air at 9 p.m., CT on the SEC Network.K-State will have eight games air as part of the expanded FOX package, including four prime matchups on FOX. These include the road contest at No. 23 Creighton on Saturday, Dec. 13, the home games with No. 19 Kansas on Saturday, Jan. 24 and No. 16 Iowa State on Sunday, Feb. 1 and the road contest at No. 10 Texas Tech on Saturday, Feb. 21. Four other games will air on FS1, including the road games at Indiana on Tuesday, Nov. 25, No. 13 Arizona on Wednesday, Jan. 7, West Virginia on Tuesday, Jan. 27 and Colorado on Wednesday, Feb. 25.The Wildcats will have six games on CBS platforms, including prime CBS matchups with No. 8 BYU in the Big 12 opener on Saturday, Jan. 3 and at No. 19 Kansas in the Big 12 regular-season finale on Saturday, March 7. Four other games will air on CBS Sports Network, including the home game with California on Thursday, Nov. 13 and Big 12 contests with Oklahoma State on Saturday, Jan. 17, Utah on Tuesday, Jan. 20 and Cincinnati on Wednesday, Feb. 11.Finally, five K-State game will appear on the Peacock streaming service, including the two games in the Hall of Fame Classic and Big 12 games with Arizona State on Saturday, Jan. 10, UCF on Wednesday, Jan. 14 and Houston on Saturday, Feb. 14.K-State will tip off the season at 7 p.m., CT on Tuesday, Nov. 4 against UNC Greensboro, while the lone home exhibition is set for 7 p.m., CT on Friday, Oct. 31.To view all game times, please click on this <a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule">link</a>.In concert with the release of game times, the athletics department has announced the on-sale dates for men’s and women’s basketball conference single-game tickets, along with the Big Game Mini Plan for men’s basketball.On-Sale Schedule<ul>
 <li>Ahearn Fund Members (Online Only): Tuesday, October 21 at 5 p.m., CT</li><li>Ahearn Fund In-Person &amp; Phone Sales: Begin Wednesday, October 22 at 8:30 a.m., CT</li><li>Public (Online Only): Thursday, October 23 at 5 p.m., CT</li><li>Public In-Person &amp; Phone Sales: Begin Friday, October 24 at 8:30 a.m., CT</li>
 </ul>The men’s basketball Big Game Mini Plan includes tickets to five weekend marquee matchups inside Bramlage Coliseum against Seton Hall, BYU, KU, Iowa State, and TCU. The Big Game Mini Plan is the only way to secure seats for the men's KU matchup prior to single-game KU tickets being released at a later date.Single-game tickets for all non-conference matchups and season tickets are currently available. Tickets can be purchased online at <a href="http://www.kstatesports.com/tickets">www.kstatesports.com/tickets</a>, by visiting the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum or by calling (800) 221.CATS (2287).

K-State MBB Game Times, TV Information Announced for 2025-26 Season

MANHATTAN, Kansas – K-State women's basketball head coach Jeff Mittie met with the media on Tuesday in advance of the 2025-26 season. Below is a transcript of the session.&nbsp;

K-State will open its 58th season on Monday, November 3, as the Wildcats host Omaha at 6:30 p.m., inside Bramlage Coliseum.

On being a mystery to other teams in the Big 12...

"We've got a lot of unknowns, starting off this year and we've graduated a lot of good players, but we found some awesome players in the portal to redo the roster. I like our group. I've said this numerous times to people. They have really worked hard in the offseason. They've gotten up more shots than any team we've had. But, you know, we're really inconsistent right now, which is to be expected. I'm still trying to figure out lineups. I'm trying to figure out who plays well together at times. And that's very different than a year ago, when we had such a veteran team. I don't really care where we're picked. Honestly, for our group right now, it's how much better can this team be from October, as we sit here today, to March, and I think the growth rate of this team could be really big."

On all the new faces at the first practices...

"I suppose maybe the initial workouts, because there was so much unknown for us of getting players out there, and we had so many veterans a year ago, that was the exact opposite. But there was an excitement to that. It's always exciting to get a group of players out there that you have watched work really hard in the weight room, watched put in work on their own, and then to see, how do we get that to translate? How can we put the pieces together? So there was a different level of excitement, and then a different level of concern, because where are points going to come from? How do we help them the best? All those things are still questions we're trying to figure out."

On what markers has this team hit so far...

"I think there are days when we really shoot the ball well. There are days when we can really move it and we have good shooters. There are days when you can really see a different attack offensively, be really successful. Defensively, there are moments where I see some athleticism that excites me, that we can create some problems for people there. There are moments where our point guard play is exciting because we've got two young ones there in (Izela) Arenas and Gina (Garcia) that are both doing some good things. But if you notice, I keep saying moments, there's not extended stretches of really good play, and that's just the inconsistency that I mentioned right away. So we've got to become more consistent there. And you know, for mid-October, we got a lot of things we got to get better at."

On lineups and combinations and how long will that process take...

"Now, I think it's going to go into the games. Unfortunately, I think it's going to be a longer process with this group. I mean, this is one of the youngest groups I've coached. It's a talented group, but this is one of the youngest groups I've coached. So I think it's just going to take some time."

On the new international players, Nastja Claessens and Gina Garcia...

"Both of them played at a high level. Gina won two gold medals with Spain in the U18s and U20s in Europe. Nastja won a gold medal this summer in the European Championships with Belgium. But both of them just got here, August 22 or something like that. They missed all summer. So when you talk about the adjustment, blending them in has been really good. You could see their talent, but it is also blending them in to everything that we do, the weight room, the demands of going to school, all the demands that are just new to them. Plus, you know, they're half a world away from their families. All those things take some time, but both are exciting players. Both do things well. They both have had, as you mentioned, really good experiences, really quality competition, and both are going to play a big part this year.

On Taryn Sides and her leadership with the new roster...

"We want Taryn to lead in a way she's comfortable. Taryn knows the program, she knows the standards. She's continued to grow in her voice over time but she's not a rah-rah leader. She's not someone that is going to, very often, get into a team or play that leadership role. It's one of the reasons why we recruited Tess Heal. We saw some leadership in her. Coming from Stanford. She had been a big player at Santa Clara her first two years, and was at Stanford a year ago. We saw that when we recruited her, and Tess has kind of filled that role of when she needs to jump the team a little bit. We've got to raise our standard up. We've got to raise our toughness up, but Taryn has been kind of the leader that you would expect when there's not many people on our roster that the group that doesn't know me very well can go to like when we have a tough practice. Not nine players are wondering, 'is this guy nuts, or what?' The answer is yes (laughs), but they don't know that from Taryn. Taryn is the only one that can really answer it. Mikayla Parks has been here a little bit. You know, in the past, when you had veteran groups, right? They would pass along to the freshmen, 'hey, it'll be all right. It'll be all right. Stay the course. He's on us right now about this, stay the course. We got to make some improvements here,' but right now, they're all wondering, when we have a tough practice where things don't go well, how's coach going to react and how's the staff? And so they're all finding that out. But Taryn plays a big role in that, and she's playing a big role right now because we, like I said, we've been so inconsistent right now. She's had to have those conversations with players."

On the youth of the roster and testing his patience...

"My patience is being tested only in the sense of effort and communication, the rest will take care of itself, but those are non-negotiables. Those are non-negotiables, and your efforts got to be consistent, and your communications got to be consistent. We'll work our way through our chemistry on the floor, offensively. We'll work our way through. We'll work our way through us as a staff, getting to know them better. Some of it's on me to figure this thing out, right? So we might be failing in some areas that I think we can be good at, and maybe we just can't. So I've got to figure those things out as fast as I can. But the one thing I'll just go back to with this group. They have worked so hard in the moments that we're not asking them. I come in here all the time, and they're in the gym, so it matters to them. It matters to them right now they're a little paralyzed by their overthinking, and I've got to probably simplify that, and I've got to make sure that I'm patient with them as they grow."

"She's been the same way that all of them have been, really good moments and really rough moments at times. I think one of the first scrimmages that we had, she hit seven out of 10 threes, and then the guys guarded her a lot better, and the next time, it was one of seven. And so we've seen big moments, but we've also seen the struggles that you would expect from a freshman, that now she's being guarded differently than she's ever been guarded in her career. She's a heck of a player, heck of an opportunity to be an impact player right away."

"The NCAA denied it two weeks ago. Kennedy and her family filed an appeal. That's where it sits, and I don't get it. I, for the life of me, can't understand the NCAA on some things. And what I mean by that is, they keep changing the goal post in that this is a case that would have been successful 95 percent of the time previously. And too often, in my opinion, they want to treat things the same. Let's keep in mind what this player is. This is a player that she either is out of eligibility, so she either needs to get a job, go play overseas, and you're asking me this question in October, this is not some appeal, or some case of a sophomore that, oh, they might not be eligible, but they'll be in school and they'll be eligible next year. I mean, this is not some case that you see. This is different. And I, for the life of me, can't figure out why you can't make this decision in June, not July, not August, not September, not October, in June, in fairness to her and in fairness to us, quite frankly, because it's a pretty good player that we're waiting on a decision about. Or you'd like to have the answer. In recruiting you either want a yes or no, maybe is the worst answer you can get. Just strings you along. And this, I think, is the same thing. I don't sit here and pretend to have all the answers. I just know there's a better way to do it for not just Kennedy, but for any player in these situations, and in our particular situation, it's been frustrating."

"Good, solid leadership skills. Has a scoring ability. Izela has an ability to get to the rim. Shoots the three really well. Been consistent there. Love her work ethic. She's a player that in the summer, was shooting shots every morning, at 5 a.m., coming back at night to get more shots. She was very routine. She would shoot twos in the morning, come back in shoot threes at night. She got more shots during a week than any player I've ever had, and we've had some good ones. I like her quickness with the ball. I like her ability to play the ball screen, and she's got some scoring ability that we're going to need."

On the guidance of Mikayla Parks and Alexis Hess...

"Mikayla certainly, Alexis is still trying to get herself on the floor right now. She started to do some light individual work. But yeah, Mikayla has been great. She knows the program standard, she's able to pull players aside. And you're right, she's been around, and she's been around winning teams. And she came from a great high school, played for her dad. I mean, there's some quality leadership there, and she has been able to help some players."

On the exhibition game at Tarleton State...

"We've got a scrimmage Saturday versus Minnesota, but it's one of those closed scrimmages, so, we've got that one. And then, you know, I like taking a team on the road. Two years ago, we went to Illinois for a closed scrimmage. Last year we went to Minnesota for a closed scrimmage. I think there's a lot of value in the eight-hour bus trip. My team sees very little value in it (laughs). I see a lot of value in it. They call it My Appreciation Tour, where we hop on a bus so we appreciate the charter flights later. And I go, 'Well, you call it whatever you want to call it.' But from my standpoint, what I like about it is you have them sequestered. I do think there's value in that bus trip of players spending extra time together, staff spending extra time. The Tarleton situation, though, was different. We were looking for another closed scrimmage, and Tarleton had not been able to find a name opponent to play in the regular season to open up their new arena, so they went to this and I just like the fact that we've got a brand new team. It's a road game. Be in front of a decent crowd. We'll be in front of an excited team, and I think we need to find some answers as quick as we can there. So this one's even better than those other ones, but to stick with our tradition, we will bus it, and we will enjoy that trip down there. I was excited to get that on the schedule, because you don't get that opportunity very often, and especially with a new group for us, being able to go through all those things that you go through on the road, film session, hotel, all those things. I mean, we're literally having to show them where the locker room was in Bramlege the other day. We hadn't practiced there all year. And, and we were like, 'Oh, crap, we haven't shown them the locker room. Some of them, I guess, saw it on the recruiting visit. But Gina and Nastja, they're like, 'we have a locker over there too?' Yeah, we got to get you over there. There's a lot of things that we're going through the first time with this team that we've got to make sure we eliminate as many of the unknowns outside of basketball, of how we do things, and we'll get that good opportunity. I think both Minnesota and Tarleton will be two really good tests for us just to see where we're at and we see what we need to improve on."

K-State Athletics has announced on-sale dates for women’s basketball conference single-game tickets. The on-sale schedule is: Ahearn Fund Members (online only) begin on Tuesday, October 21, at 5 p.m. Ahearn Fund in-person and phone sales begin on Wednesday, October 22, at 8:30 a.m. Public (online only) begins on Thursday, October 23, at 5 p.m. Public in-person and phone sales begin on Friday, October 24, at 8:30 a.m.

MANHATTAN, Kansas – K-State women's basketball head coach Jeff Mittie met with the media on Tuesday in advance of the 2025-26 season. Below is a transcript of the session.&nbsp;K-State will open its 58th season on Monday, November 3, as the Wildcats host Omaha at 6:30 p.m., inside Bramlage Coliseum.On being a mystery to other teams in the Big 12..."We've got a lot of unknowns, starting off this year and we've graduated a lot of good players, but we found some awesome players in the portal to redo the roster. I like our group. I've said this numerous times to people. They have really worked hard in the offseason. They've gotten up more shots than any team we've had. But, you know, we're really inconsistent right now, which is to be expected. I'm still trying to figure out lineups. I'm trying to figure out who plays well together at times. And that's very different than a year ago, when we had such a veteran team. I don't really care where we're picked. Honestly, for our group right now, it's how much better can this team be from October, as we sit here today, to March, and I think the growth rate of this team could be really big."On all the new faces at the first practices..."I suppose maybe the initial workouts, because there was so much unknown for us of getting players out there, and we had so many veterans a year ago, that was the exact opposite. But there was an excitement to that. It's always exciting to get a group of players out there that you have watched work really hard in the weight room, watched put in work on their own, and then to see, how do we get that to translate? How can we put the pieces together? So there was a different level of excitement, and then a different level of concern, because where are points going to come from? How do we help them the best? All those things are still questions we're trying to figure out."On what markers has this team hit so far..."I think there are days when we really shoot the ball well. There are days when we can really move it and we have good shooters. There are days when you can really see a different attack offensively, be really successful. Defensively, there are moments where I see some athleticism that excites me, that we can create some problems for people there. There are moments where our point guard play is exciting because we've got two young ones there in (Izela) Arenas and Gina (Garcia) that are both doing some good things. But if you notice, I keep saying moments, there's not extended stretches of really good play, and that's just the inconsistency that I mentioned right away. So we've got to become more consistent there. And you know, for mid-October, we got a lot of things we got to get better at."On lineups and combinations and how long will that process take..."Now, I think it's going to go into the games. Unfortunately, I think it's going to be a longer process with this group. I mean, this is one of the youngest groups I've coached. It's a talented group, but this is one of the youngest groups I've coached. So I think it's just going to take some time."On the new international players, Nastja Claessens and Gina Garcia..."Both of them played at a high level. Gina won two gold medals with Spain in the U18s and U20s in Europe. Nastja won a gold medal this summer in the European Championships with Belgium. But both of them just got here, August 22 or something like that. They missed all summer. So when you talk about the adjustment, blending them in has been really good. You could see their talent, but it is also blending them in to everything that we do, the weight room, the demands of going to school, all the demands that are just new to them. Plus, you know, they're half a world away from their families. All those things take some time, but both are exciting players. Both do things well. They both have had, as you mentioned, really good experiences, really quality competition, and both are going to play a big part this year.On Taryn Sides and her leadership with the new roster..."We want Taryn to lead in a way she's comfortable. Taryn knows the program, she knows the standards. She's continued to grow in her voice over time but she's not a rah-rah leader. She's not someone that is going to, very often, get into a team or play that leadership role. It's one of the reasons why we recruited Tess Heal. We saw some leadership in her. Coming from Stanford. She had been a big player at Santa Clara her first two years, and was at Stanford a year ago. We saw that when we recruited her, and Tess has kind of filled that role of when she needs to jump the team a little bit. We've got to raise our standard up. We've got to raise our toughness up, but Taryn has been kind of the leader that you would expect when there's not many people on our roster that the group that doesn't know me very well can go to like when we have a tough practice. Not nine players are wondering, 'is this guy nuts, or what?' The answer is yes (laughs), but they don't know that from Taryn. Taryn is the only one that can really answer it. Mikayla Parks has been here a little bit. You know, in the past, when you had veteran groups, right? They would pass along to the freshmen, 'hey, it'll be all right. It'll be all right. Stay the course. He's on us right now about this, stay the course. We got to make some improvements here,' but right now, they're all wondering, when we have a tough practice where things don't go well, how's coach going to react and how's the staff? And so they're all finding that out. But Taryn plays a big role in that, and she's playing a big role right now because we, like I said, we've been so inconsistent right now. She's had to have those conversations with players."On the youth of the roster and testing his patience..."My patience is being tested only in the sense of effort and communication, the rest will take care of itself, but those are non-negotiables. Those are non-negotiables, and your efforts got to be consistent, and your communications got to be consistent. We'll work our way through our chemistry on the floor, offensively. We'll work our way through. We'll work our way through us as a staff, getting to know them better. Some of it's on me to figure this thing out, right? So we might be failing in some areas that I think we can be good at, and maybe we just can't. So I've got to figure those things out as fast as I can. But the one thing I'll just go back to with this group. They have worked so hard in the moments that we're not asking them. I come in here all the time, and they're in the gym, so it matters to them. It matters to them right now they're a little paralyzed by their overthinking, and I've got to probably simplify that, and I've got to make sure that I'm patient with them as they grow."On Jordan Speiser..."She's been the same way that all of them have been, really good moments and really rough moments at times. I think one of the first scrimmages that we had, she hit seven out of 10 threes, and then the guys guarded her a lot better, and the next time, it was one of seven. And so we've seen big moments, but we've also seen the struggles that you would expect from a freshman, that now she's being guarded differently than she's ever been guarded in her career. She's a heck of a player, heck of an opportunity to be an impact player right away."On Kennedy Taylor's waiver status..."The NCAA denied it two weeks ago. Kennedy and her family filed an appeal. That's where it sits, and I don't get it. I, for the life of me, can't understand the NCAA on some things. And what I mean by that is, they keep changing the goal post in that this is a case that would have been successful 95 percent of the time previously. And too often, in my opinion, they want to treat things the same. Let's keep in mind what this player is. This is a player that she either is out of eligibility, so she either needs to get a job, go play overseas, and you're asking me this question in October, this is not some appeal, or some case of a sophomore that, oh, they might not be eligible, but they'll be in school and they'll be eligible next year. I mean, this is not some case that you see. This is different. And I, for the life of me, can't figure out why you can't make this decision in June, not July, not August, not September, not October, in June, in fairness to her and in fairness to us, quite frankly, because it's a pretty good player that we're waiting on a decision about. Or you'd like to have the answer. In recruiting you either want a yes or no, maybe is the worst answer you can get. Just strings you along. And this, I think, is the same thing. I don't sit here and pretend to have all the answers. I just know there's a better way to do it for not just Kennedy, but for any player in these situations, and in our particular situation, it's been frustrating."On Izela Arenas..."Good, solid leadership skills. Has a scoring ability. Izela has an ability to get to the rim. Shoots the three really well. Been consistent there. Love her work ethic. She's a player that in the summer, was shooting shots every morning, at 5 a.m., coming back at night to get more shots. She was very routine. She would shoot twos in the morning, come back in shoot threes at night. She got more shots during a week than any player I've ever had, and we've had some good ones. I like her quickness with the ball. I like her ability to play the ball screen, and she's got some scoring ability that we're going to need."On the guidance of Mikayla Parks and Alexis Hess..."Mikayla certainly, Alexis is still trying to get herself on the floor right now. She started to do some light individual work. But yeah, Mikayla has been great. She knows the program standard, she's able to pull players aside. And you're right, she's been around, and she's been around winning teams. And she came from a great high school, played for her dad. I mean, there's some quality leadership there, and she has been able to help some players."On the exhibition game at Tarleton State..."We've got a scrimmage Saturday versus Minnesota, but it's one of those closed scrimmages, so, we've got that one. And then, you know, I like taking a team on the road. Two years ago, we went to Illinois for a closed scrimmage. Last year we went to Minnesota for a closed scrimmage. I think there's a lot of value in the eight-hour bus trip. My team sees very little value in it (laughs). I see a lot of value in it. They call it My Appreciation Tour, where we hop on a bus so we appreciate the charter flights later. And I go, 'Well, you call it whatever you want to call it.' But from my standpoint, what I like about it is you have them sequestered. I do think there's value in that bus trip of players spending extra time together, staff spending extra time. The Tarleton situation, though, was different. We were looking for another closed scrimmage, and Tarleton had not been able to find a name opponent to play in the regular season to open up their new arena, so they went to this and I just like the fact that we've got a brand new team. It's a road game. Be in front of a decent crowd. We'll be in front of an excited team, and I think we need to find some answers as quick as we can there. So this one's even better than those other ones, but to stick with our tradition, we will bus it, and we will enjoy that trip down there. I was excited to get that on the schedule, because you don't get that opportunity very often, and especially with a new group for us, being able to go through all those things that you go through on the road, film session, hotel, all those things. I mean, we're literally having to show them where the locker room was in Bramlege the other day. We hadn't practiced there all year. And, and we were like, 'Oh, crap, we haven't shown them the locker room. Some of them, I guess, saw it on the recruiting visit. But Gina and Nastja, they're like, 'we have a locker over there too?' Yeah, we got to get you over there. There's a lot of things that we're going through the first time with this team that we've got to make sure we eliminate as many of the unknowns outside of basketball, of how we do things, and we'll get that good opportunity. I think both Minnesota and Tarleton will be two really good tests for us just to see where we're at and we see what we need to improve on."K-State Athletics has announced on-sale dates for women’s basketball conference single-game tickets. The on-sale schedule is: Ahearn Fund Members (online only) begin on Tuesday, October 21, at 5 p.m. Ahearn Fund in-person and phone sales begin on Wednesday, October 22, at 8:30 a.m. Public (online only) begins on Thursday, October 23, at 5 p.m. Public in-person and phone sales begin on Friday, October 24, at 8:30 a.m.

K-State’s Mittie Addresses the Media on Tuesday

Kansas Wesleyan baseball coach <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/709328fc-d233-47f8-8d41-44f4a8f4217e?elinkdata=30706">Bill Neale</a> was thrilled to learn he is the recipient of the 2025 Randy Bemiss Coyote Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award is named in honor of the former KWU golf coach, who passed away in May 2017. It recognizes individuals who have made an impact on the athletics program over an extended period.

For Neale, the honor is heightened on a personal level.

"This means a lot to me," said Neale who enters his 12th season at KWU. "I was one of the last people with him before he passed away. I was there most of those days when he went in the hospital and spent a lot of time with him."

Neale lost a close friend with Bemiss' passing, someone he respected and enjoyed being with. He remembers Bemiss as a unique and up-front guy.

"His honesty," Neale said. "He was blunt, to the point, and he was fun to be around. I mean, he lived a great life. He was in rodeos, he was a golf guy and professional gambler, at one point. He had fun in life.

"He used to tell me all the stories. I rode with him a few times to events and different things, and he would come to my office and just sit down and chat. He really cared about his student-athletes and, ultimately, cared about all the student-athletes in the SAC (Student Activities Center)."

Neale has built a stellar program at Wesleyan. His record is 352-229 and includes a 229-205 slate in the Kansas Conference. The Coyotes have surged the past five seasons, going 200-89 while qualifying for NAIA postseason play the last four years. The 2024 team was the first KWU team to compete in the NAIA World Series.

"I think everyone around here knows how much Kansas Wesleyan means to me, and not just the baseball program," he said. "I teach a lot of different classes, and I take my time to try to get to know kids in other sports. I see kids out in the SAC and say hi to football, volleyball, basketball players, golfers or whomever. I kind of bleed purple and gold now. I want to see every sport do well, I want to see everyone have the success that we've been having."

Neale credits those who have worked alongside him through the years.

"I don't think I'd be getting an award like this if it wasn't for the people that I've surrounded myself with, whether it's GAs or assistant coaches," he said. "Coach (Jonathan) Freemyer (now head coach at Ottawa) came here on very little to no pay. For someone with his experience and recruiting background and professional baseball background to come here was unbelievable.

"And then, right now I have coach (Bret) Ringer and coach Huff (<a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/8951be6d-5852-4be9-a233-19ede590e3c2?elinkdata=30706">Tyler Huffstickler</a> '16) as full-time assistants, who easily both could be head coaches somewhere else. They choose each year to stay here, and I think it's something to do with the program that we've built that people want to be a part of this winning."

Last season, KWU shared the KCAC regular season title with Oklahoma Wesleyan, won the conference's postseason tournament and was runner-up in the Upland, Ind., NAIA Opening Round Tournament.

Consistency is the key, according to Neale.

"I learned a long time ago, there's no just flipping the switch when you want to be good," he said. "You've got to be great every day in the moment of what you're doing, whether it's in the classroom, it's in the weight room or it's on the field."

Neale said he strives to be like Bemiss: "Just being genuine yourself, being the person you are. I think Randy was a person who kind of wore his feelings on his sleeve, and that's me. I tell my players, good, bad or ugly, you're always going to see the true me. I'm not going to fake it, and I'm not going to tell you what you want to hear. I'm their biggest supporter, their biggest cheerleader when they're doing well, and when they're not doing well, it's not that I'm mad at them, I'm frustrated for them.

Kansas Wesleyan baseball coach <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/709328fc-d233-47f8-8d41-44f4a8f4217e?elinkdata=30706">Bill Neale</a> was thrilled to learn he is the recipient of the 2025 Randy Bemiss Coyote Lifetime Achievement Award.The award is named in honor of the former KWU golf coach, who passed away in May 2017. It recognizes individuals who have made an impact on the athletics program over an extended period.For Neale, the honor is heightened on a personal level."This means a lot to me," said Neale who enters his 12th season at KWU. "I was one of the last people with him before he passed away. I was there most of those days when he went in the hospital and spent a lot of time with him."Neale lost a close friend with Bemiss' passing, someone he respected and enjoyed being with. He remembers Bemiss as a unique and up-front guy."His honesty," Neale said. "He was blunt, to the point, and he was fun to be around. I mean, he lived a great life. He was in rodeos, he was a golf guy and professional gambler, at one point. He had fun in life."He used to tell me all the stories. I rode with him a few times to events and different things, and he would come to my office and just sit down and chat. He really cared about his student-athletes and, ultimately, cared about all the student-athletes in the SAC (Student Activities Center)."Neale has built a stellar program at Wesleyan. His record is 352-229 and includes a 229-205 slate in the Kansas Conference. The Coyotes have surged the past five seasons, going 200-89 while qualifying for NAIA postseason play the last four years. The 2024 team was the first KWU team to compete in the NAIA World Series."I think everyone around here knows how much Kansas Wesleyan means to me, and not just the baseball program," he said. "I teach a lot of different classes, and I take my time to try to get to know kids in other sports. I see kids out in the SAC and say hi to football, volleyball, basketball players, golfers or whomever. I kind of bleed purple and gold now. I want to see every sport do well, I want to see everyone have the success that we've been having."Neale credits those who have worked alongside him through the years."I don't think I'd be getting an award like this if it wasn't for the people that I've surrounded myself with, whether it's GAs or assistant coaches," he said. "Coach (Jonathan) Freemyer (now head coach at Ottawa) came here on very little to no pay. For someone with his experience and recruiting background and professional baseball background to come here was unbelievable."And then, right now I have coach (Bret) Ringer and coach Huff (<a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/8951be6d-5852-4be9-a233-19ede590e3c2?elinkdata=30706">Tyler Huffstickler</a> '16) as full-time assistants, who easily both could be head coaches somewhere else. They choose each year to stay here, and I think it's something to do with the program that we've built that people want to be a part of this winning."Last season, KWU shared the KCAC regular season title with Oklahoma Wesleyan, won the conference's postseason tournament and was runner-up in the Upland, Ind., NAIA Opening Round Tournament.Consistency is the key, according to Neale."I learned a long time ago, there's no just flipping the switch when you want to be good," he said. "You've got to be great every day in the moment of what you're doing, whether it's in the classroom, it's in the weight room or it's on the field."Neale said he strives to be like Bemiss: "Just being genuine yourself, being the person you are. I think Randy was a person who kind of wore his feelings on his sleeve, and that's me. I tell my players, good, bad or ugly, you're always going to see the true me. I'm not going to fake it, and I'm not going to tell you what you want to hear. I'm their biggest supporter, their biggest cheerleader when they're doing well, and when they're not doing well, it's not that I'm mad at them, I'm frustrated for them.

Neale to receive Bemiss Lifetime Achievement Award

Stan Razak remembers Gerald Lilly as one of the first people he knew as a young boy.

"I knew Gerald quite well; he knew me longer than I knew him," Razak said. "My dad started school (at Kansas Wesleyan) in 1952, and we lived out in Mentor where all the Lillys lived so I've really known Gerald my whole life."

Their relationship deepened through their association as devoted fans and longtime contributors to the university. Lilly was a fixture at all things KWU as was Razak until his sons then grandsons started competing in middle and high school athletics. Even then he remained a frequent face in the stands, press box and at the scorer's table.

Lilly passed away in 2016 after 68 years as an ardent Coyote supporter. In recognition of his devotion KWU established the Gerald Lilly Award. Fittingly, Razak and his wife Kathy are the 2025 recipients.

The Razaks met while attending Wesleyan in the early 1970s. Stan played basketball, tennis and competed in track while Kathy earned a degree in English education.

"It really touches my heart because I've known Gerald for so long and we lived in 'Lillyville,'" Stan said of his time in Mentor with the Lillys. "One of his brothers lived right in our backyard, the other brother lived nearby so we've known the Lilly family forever.

"It's a big, big honor to get this. It feels like you've accomplished something even though I've just been doing what I enjoy doing - going to ballgames."

"It's an honor because the Lilly family has always been important," said Kathy who works with the KWU Auxiliary. "Gerald was a good friend of Stan's and so that's what makes it special."

Stan said he cannot remember when he became a Coyote fan.

"Supposedly, I went to my first basketball game down in Memorial Hall when I was less than three weeks old so basically, I've been a Coyote my entire life," he said.

After graduating from KWU in 1973 Stan went to work for the Solomon school district and taught sixth grade for more than 30 years. He was a longtime assistant varsity basketball coach at Solomon High School and resides in Solomon.

"My favorite coach to be," he said of his coaching role. "I didn't have to do the paperwork; I didn't have to make schedules; I didn't have to schedule the bus. I just showed up and I enjoyed that very much."

Razak kept the scorebook, ran the time clock and scoreboard and was the announcer for Solomon High basketball games after he left coaching and before retiring from teaching. He performs some of the same duties today at KWU.

"You have the best seat in the house," he said. "You're inside, you don't have to worry about the rain, and they feed you so it's always enjoyable ... except for basketball.

"Everybody thinks that sitting at that scorer's table is the best seat in the house but it's really not because you're so close to the action that you've got the officials in front of you, the coaches in front of you. We're constantly saying, 'who did that, could you see it?'"

Kathy, who hails from Tescott, coordinates the Auxiliary's popular survival kits given to students near the end of the fall semester as they prepare for and take their final exams.

She taught at Ellsworth and Abilene Middle Schools, worked for School Specialty, the district court in Abilene and spent 19 years with the USD Natural Resources Conservation Service before retiring in 2011.

"Wesleyan was an important part of my life because I met Stan, but I've also got some lifelong friends that you just can't beat," she said. "I think this small school and living in the dormitory and all that was what made it special."

Stan says KWU athletics has vastly improved through the years.

"I think it's just gotten better and better as far as the coaches," he said. "The athletes, of course, are much better than they were when I played here - I was a 6-foot big man - and the facilities have gotten a lot better.

"When I played basketball, we didn't even have a gym. We played our games at Sacred Heart (High School), and we practiced out at Schilling (Air Force Base). We just hoped we got back to the cafeteria in time before it closed so we could get supper."

Not surprisingly basketball is his favorite sport but "I enjoy any of them."

Much the same as Lilly who was in attendance regardless of which team was competing. And his fandom went well beyond KWU.

"It was Wesleyan and the surrounding high schools," Razak said. "It wasn't just Wesleyan, and it wasn't just (Salina) Central or (Salina) South, it was anybody. That was his life.

Stan Razak remembers Gerald Lilly as one of the first people he knew as a young boy."I knew Gerald quite well; he knew me longer than I knew him," Razak said. "My dad started school (at Kansas Wesleyan) in 1952, and we lived out in Mentor where all the Lillys lived so I've really known Gerald my whole life."Their relationship deepened through their association as devoted fans and longtime contributors to the university. Lilly was a fixture at all things KWU as was Razak until his sons then grandsons started competing in middle and high school athletics. Even then he remained a frequent face in the stands, press box and at the scorer's table.Lilly passed away in 2016 after 68 years as an ardent Coyote supporter. In recognition of his devotion KWU established the Gerald Lilly Award. Fittingly, Razak and his wife Kathy are the 2025 recipients.The Razaks met while attending Wesleyan in the early 1970s. Stan played basketball, tennis and competed in track while Kathy earned a degree in English education."It really touches my heart because I've known Gerald for so long and we lived in 'Lillyville,'" Stan said of his time in Mentor with the Lillys. "One of his brothers lived right in our backyard, the other brother lived nearby so we've known the Lilly family forever."It's a big, big honor to get this. It feels like you've accomplished something even though I've just been doing what I enjoy doing - going to ballgames.""It's an honor because the Lilly family has always been important," said Kathy who works with the KWU Auxiliary. "Gerald was a good friend of Stan's and so that's what makes it special."Stan said he cannot remember when he became a Coyote fan."Supposedly, I went to my first basketball game down in Memorial Hall when I was less than three weeks old so basically, I've been a Coyote my entire life," he said.After graduating from KWU in 1973 Stan went to work for the Solomon school district and taught sixth grade for more than 30 years. He was a longtime assistant varsity basketball coach at Solomon High School and resides in Solomon."My favorite coach to be," he said of his coaching role. "I didn't have to do the paperwork; I didn't have to make schedules; I didn't have to schedule the bus. I just showed up and I enjoyed that very much."Razak kept the scorebook, ran the time clock and scoreboard and was the announcer for Solomon High basketball games after he left coaching and before retiring from teaching. He performs some of the same duties today at KWU."You have the best seat in the house," he said. "You're inside, you don't have to worry about the rain, and they feed you so it's always enjoyable ... except for basketball."Everybody thinks that sitting at that scorer's table is the best seat in the house but it's really not because you're so close to the action that you've got the officials in front of you, the coaches in front of you. We're constantly saying, 'who did that, could you see it?'"Kathy, who hails from Tescott, coordinates the Auxiliary's popular survival kits given to students near the end of the fall semester as they prepare for and take their final exams.She taught at Ellsworth and Abilene Middle Schools, worked for School Specialty, the district court in Abilene and spent 19 years with the USD Natural Resources Conservation Service before retiring in 2011."Wesleyan was an important part of my life because I met Stan, but I've also got some lifelong friends that you just can't beat," she said. "I think this small school and living in the dormitory and all that was what made it special."Stan says KWU athletics has vastly improved through the years."I think it's just gotten better and better as far as the coaches," he said. "The athletes, of course, are much better than they were when I played here - I was a 6-foot big man - and the facilities have gotten a lot better."When I played basketball, we didn't even have a gym. We played our games at Sacred Heart (High School), and we practiced out at Schilling (Air Force Base). We just hoped we got back to the cafeteria in time before it closed so we could get supper."Not surprisingly basketball is his favorite sport but "I enjoy any of them."Much the same as Lilly who was in attendance regardless of which team was competing. And his fandom went well beyond KWU."It was Wesleyan and the surrounding high schools," Razak said. "It wasn't just Wesleyan, and it wasn't just (Salina) Central or (Salina) South, it was anybody. That was his life.

Razaks thrilled to received award named in honor of longtime friend Gerald Lilly

By TYLER HENRY Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post

In a Facebook announcement earlier this week, the Tescott Trojans announced that they had exhausted all of their options to get a high school football game scheduled for this week, and would be moving their homecoming activities to the evening of October 17th.

“This is an unprecedented and disappointing situation,” the post read. “This is a time where our community and school come together to support our seniors.”

Tescott, who is 5-1 to open their season, was supposed to play Chase on Friday night, but the Kats announced last week that they would be forfeiting the remainder of their season due to a lack of players.

The homecoming lineup will proceed as follows on Friday

6:00 - Parade 6:45 - Pep rally 7:00 - Crowning ceremony 8:00 - Dance

PTO-BC will host a tailgate meal for $7 from 6:30-7:30, all enrolled Tescott students K-12 will eat free.

If a game becomes available on short notice it will be played on Saturday afternoon (10/18)

By TYLER HENRY Lead Sportswriter - Salina PostIn a Facebook announcement earlier this week, the Tescott Trojans announced that they had exhausted all of their options to get a high school football game scheduled for this week, and would be moving their homecoming activities to the evening of October 17th.“This is an unprecedented and disappointing situation,” the post read. “This is a time where our community and school come together to support our seniors.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1746812152965.jpeg" alt="Salina Regional Orthopedic &amp; Sports Medicine- Your home-field advantage starts here." />
 <figcaption>Salina Regional Orthopedic &amp; Sports Medicine- Your home-field advantage starts here.</figcaption>
 </figure>Tescott, who is 5-1 to open their season, was supposed to play Chase on Friday night, but the Kats announced last week that they would be forfeiting the remainder of their season due to a lack of players.The homecoming lineup will proceed as follows on Friday6:00 - Parade 6:45 - Pep rally 7:00 - Crowning ceremony 8:00 - DancePTO-BC will host a tailgate meal for $7 from 6:30-7:30, all enrolled Tescott students K-12 will eat free.If a game becomes available on short notice it will be played on Saturday afternoon (10/18)

🏈 Changes to Tescott homecoming weekend in lieu of game with Chase

SALINA, Kan. - For the second straight year, Kansas Wesleyan will hold its School Days initiative. The program kicks off Nov. 8 and will see KWU provide two free tickets to designated games for students, educators, administrators and staff in particular school districts.

"Community is such an important part of our success at Kansas Wesleyan," said Ken Oliver, executive vice president. "It's our pleasure to continue to give back and, in the process, hopefully create some new Coyote fans!"

Nov. 8 marks Saline County Education Day as KWU football takes on McPherson. All associated with USD 305, homeschools in the county or Saline County private schools are eligible for a pair of free tickets to this critical divisional matchup.

The scene shifts to basketball on Nov. 15 for USD 305 Night, and Homeschool Night follows on Dec. 6, when KWU faces Friends. Saline County Private Schools night is Dec. 13, and USDs 239 and 240 will be eligible for tickets at Ottawa County Schools Night on Jan. 10. Southeast of Saline Night (Jan. 17), Ell-Saline Night (Jan. 28) and Dickinson County Schools Night (Feb. 7) wrap up the planned events. Dickinson County's recognized schools will include USDs 481, 487, 435, 473 and 393.

School Days promotions for basketball games are valid for one or both of the day's contests.

Tickets are available at the gate only. The use of USD IDs, where applicable, is appreciated but not required. All giveaways are subject to availability. For additional information on the School Days program, please contact the KWU Athletic Department at 785-833-4567.

For more information on Kansas Wesleyan University, visit <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/2b84620b-5362-4676-8005-7d4a3bf1f15d?elinkdata=30640">www.kwu.edu/news</a>. More information on KWU Athletics can be found at <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/91c9568e-b899-44ea-b680-414b7056c683?elinkdata=30640">www.kwucoyotes.com</a>.

SALINA, Kan. - For the second straight year, Kansas Wesleyan will hold its School Days initiative. The program kicks off Nov. 8 and will see KWU provide two free tickets to designated games for students, educators, administrators and staff in particular school districts."Community is such an important part of our success at Kansas Wesleyan," said Ken Oliver, executive vice president. "It's our pleasure to continue to give back and, in the process, hopefully create some new Coyote fans!"Nov. 8 marks Saline County Education Day as KWU football takes on McPherson. All associated with USD 305, homeschools in the county or Saline County private schools are eligible for a pair of free tickets to this critical divisional matchup.The scene shifts to basketball on Nov. 15 for USD 305 Night, and Homeschool Night follows on Dec. 6, when KWU faces Friends. Saline County Private Schools night is Dec. 13, and USDs 239 and 240 will be eligible for tickets at Ottawa County Schools Night on Jan. 10. Southeast of Saline Night (Jan. 17), Ell-Saline Night (Jan. 28) and Dickinson County Schools Night (Feb. 7) wrap up the planned events. Dickinson County's recognized schools will include USDs 481, 487, 435, 473 and 393.School Days promotions for basketball games are valid for one or both of the day's contests.Tickets are available at the gate only. The use of USD IDs, where applicable, is appreciated but not required. All giveaways are subject to availability. For additional information on the School Days program, please contact the KWU Athletic Department at 785-833-4567.For more information on Kansas Wesleyan University, visit <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/2b84620b-5362-4676-8005-7d4a3bf1f15d?elinkdata=30640">www.kwu.edu/news</a>. More information on KWU Athletics can be found at <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/91c9568e-b899-44ea-b680-414b7056c683?elinkdata=30640">www.kwucoyotes.com</a>.

KWU to Resume School Days Initiative November 8

WICHITA, Kan. - Kansas Wesleyan's <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/0685051b-0594-4645-9e99-b5dbf4b75f73?elinkdata=30607">Tristyn Hedman</a> has been named as the KCAC Women's Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week as announced by the KCAC conference office. Vivianna Sanchez of Evangel University, Roxanna Varela Parra of No. 9 McPherson College earned this week's KCAC Women's Volleyball Attacker and Setter of the Week honors, respectively. The three student-athletes were selected for their performances from Oct. 6-12 by a vote of conference sports information directors. All KCAC Player of the Week honors are presented by <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/ce1df50a-7a71-4ab6-973a-79e30145019b?elinkdata=30607">Equity Bank</a>.

<a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/a27bd03e-4f54-41e1-ac02-97f6a29f116f?elinkdata=30607">Tristyn Hedman</a> - Kansas Wesleyan University

WICHITA, Kan. - Kansas Wesleyan's <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/0685051b-0594-4645-9e99-b5dbf4b75f73?elinkdata=30607">Tristyn Hedman</a> has been named as the KCAC Women's Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week as announced by the KCAC conference office. Vivianna Sanchez of Evangel University, Roxanna Varela Parra of No. 9 McPherson College earned this week's KCAC Women's Volleyball Attacker and Setter of the Week honors, respectively. The three student-athletes were selected for their performances from Oct. 6-12 by a vote of conference sports information directors. All KCAC Player of the Week honors are presented by <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/ce1df50a-7a71-4ab6-973a-79e30145019b?elinkdata=30607">Equity Bank</a>.Defender of the Week<a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/a27bd03e-4f54-41e1-ac02-97f6a29f116f?elinkdata=30607">Tristyn Hedman</a> - Kansas Wesleyan University5-5 | So. | DS | Grand Island, Neb.

Tristyn Hedman earns KCAC Women's Volleyball weekly honor

Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes

OPENING STATEMENT:&nbsp;“First of all, our fans were phenomenal. It was great to have an opportunity to come back to GEHA Field at Arrowhead (Stadium) and play in front of them (the fans). I appreciate their support. As far as the team went, I thought there were some really good things that took place. As far as Josh’s (Simmons) situation goes, it’s a personal issue. I’m not going to talk about that; I did a little bit last night (and) then leave it at that. But I thought Jaylon (Moore) stepped in and did a nice job there. As I mentioned it’s a tribute to (Offensive Line Coach) Andy Heck and the way he rotates all of his guys and makes sure that they can play, and Jaylon has played in a couple of different spots, both sides of the tackle, both sides at the guard so he’s busy during practice hitting all of these things. Offensively, again it was good to see Patrick (Mahomes) and (Travis) Kelce hook up for a few nice catches there and getting Hollywood (Brown) in the end zone. Hollywood is a good player. We just got a lot of guys, and we’re going to end here adding one with Rashee (Rice). So, it’s hard to get everybody going, but I thought Patrick did a nice job getting everyone involved and spreading things around. I thought (Offensive Coordinator) Matt Nagy had an unbelievable game plan for the guys, and they bought into it and he and (Pass Game Coordinator) Joe (Bleymaier) kind of worked that thing together and put this thing together and come up with stuff with Andy Heck and the rest of the guys. It was strong. Defensively, I loved the transition that (Defensive Coordinator Steve) Spags made there. We had a couple (of) drives at the beginning, and he worked through that and kept everybody together and made a couple of adjustments there and guys tightened up the back end and kind of some of those gaps inside. I thought his game plan was spot on. That’s an explosive offensive group. We knew that going in, and they’ve scored a ton of points in all of their games, and we knew it would be a big challenge, and I thought the guys handled that well. I thought the coaches that were involved there did a great job with it. (Linebackers Coach) Brendan Daly doesn’t get enough credit for working with the linebackers. He’s kind of stuck in the middle between the secondary and that d-line. (Nick) Bolton I thought played really well, got a ton of tackles in there, and made some big plays that could have been extended even though they had gained a little bit of yardage. They could’ve been even bigger than that, and he was able to snag them. And then special teams wise, I mentioned it was great to get (Harrison) Butker a field goal right there at the end, and he drilled that son of a gun which was great. And we only had one punt, so (Matt) Araiza didn’t have a very busy day there but did fine with it. Then I thought the return groups were good, Nikko (Remigio) again had a couple of nice returns there. Field position is always a big thing, especially against good teams and that includes all three phases, but special teams (has) got a lot of that responsibility.”

Q: What does Rashee Rice’s return to practice and the upcoming game look like?

REID:&nbsp;“Listen, I know he’s (Rashee Rice) been working like crazy. The rule states that we can’t work with him, but I know he’s been working out hard. And I think it’s just a matter of getting him back in the swing. I’ve got to see it to kind of work through it. I know he’s in good shape, that’s the one thing that I do know. I think that will be important, him coming back in there and getting with Patrick (Mahomes) and kind of getting on the same page and that whole deal. But we’ll just see how all that works out. We haven’t put the game plan in yet so we’re working through all of that now.”

Q:&nbsp;What impressed you most about Jaylon Moore’s performance?

REID:&nbsp;“I thought he was just solid. He (Jaylon Moore) did a nice job. He was going against an all-pro player 50% of the time, so that’s a tough ask without play time. But he handled it. I love the way he handles himself during the week and how he practices fast and aggressive during the week, and he never hangs his head that I’m not playing or this or that, he just gets in there and bears down. So, I think that paid off for him once this thing happened. He was solid in the run game too, run and pass. He had a productive day.”

Q: Do you anticipate when Josh Simmons will be back with the team?

REID:&nbsp;“Just to take care of business. That’s how those things work.”

Q: Were there any injuries that Travis Kelce was battling behind the scenes last year? Seems he is playing a few years younger this year.

REID:&nbsp;“No, not that I recall. We’ve been giving him (Travis Kelce) a lot of Geritol, and he really has progressed (laughs).”

Q: Were you surprised that the Lions elected to receive the ball first?

REID:&nbsp;“It’s not the first time. That was the third time they (Detroit Lions) had done that this year. We anticipated something like that possibly happening, and the guys were good with that. I don’t know if it was motivation or not, but our guys knew that they had done it before, so it wasn’t a big surprise.”

Q: How important was it to score at the end of the first half and then to open the second half with a score?

REID:&nbsp;“That was a positive, definitely. That’s huge, and you’re right, the stop before the half was also big. We ended up taking a knee there at the end with just a few seconds on the clock but that drive to be able to stop them there was big and then the drive before that where we were able to get a score was good. Obviously, coming out (in) the second half, you’re always striving for that (a touchdown) you try to come out with a purpose and the guys did a great job of executing and getting a score.”

Q: What does the amount of penalties say about this team after committing so many last week?

REID:&nbsp;“Yeah Nick (Jacobs), listen, I thought the officials let the guys play. I’m not saying I agreed with everything that went on, but I thought they were very fair how they did it. They could’ve called us on some, and they could’ve called them (Detroit Lions) on some and they just let it play out and let the teams really show off what they’ve got, which I think is good. I think it’s good for everybody, I think it’s good for the fans within reason and then we had to tighten some things up Nick. The calls, all 13 of those calls weren’t wrong, that’s not what I’m saying here. We had to tighten some things up and I thought our guys did that. They worked on it during the week and just making sure their fundamentals and technique were right and half of it is moving yourself into a position where you can execute. That comes down to footwork, speed and angles. You have to do that. Those are things that you can take charge of and work on.”

Q: What do you hope the offensive line and the running backs take away from going against a physical Lions team?

REID:&nbsp;“I thought Pop (Isiah Pacheco) ran hard. I thought he (Isiah Pacheco) was accurate with his reads and then when Kareem (Hunt) came in, I thought the same thing, powerful. It starts with the o-line. They’ve got to have things rolling up front, but they played physical. Our offensive line played physical against a good defensive line – a defensive front because those linebackers aren’t tiny guys either, they’re big ol’ guys back there and physical but I thought they played well. There are things what we can do better all the way around. There’s places that we need to tighten up and make it better than what we had, but overall, I’d tell you it was a pretty good job.”

Q: What have you seen from the wide receiver room and the chemistry they’ve built this season?

REID:&nbsp;“Yeah Jesse (Newell), I’d tell you that – this is what I meant by when I said after the game that having one (Xavier Worthy) come back into the fold there and be able to play and then Rashee (Rice) coming back in the building period, they kind of felt whole. And that’s because they like each other. They get along. They hang out together. They work together on their route combinations, and they’re always talking about stuff to get better there. And they’ve got a good friendship, which will be needed now because we have more guys and we only have one football. You want them to help support each other and I think that ends up being important. JuJu (Smith-Schuster) has a big part in that, he’s a uniter, and he’s still a tough guy and all that bit that goes with it and a good receiver and he has been around. I think he keeps it all together there.”

Q: On Harrison Butker’s missed extra point and if he needed more encouragement on that last field goal.

REID:&nbsp;“I’m a big Harrison Butker fan, so I think he’s a great great kicker and if not the best, one of the best clutch kickers in the National Football League. I know how that thing goes. I know that the swing (and) I understand all of that. Sometimes that ball looks nice and fat, and other times it looks a little tiny. The first one, he didn’t hit very good on the PAT, and then he came back and finished strong the rest of the night. And I thought getting a field goal in there, I think that’s big. Listen, we’re all human and a little pat on the back, you’re being nice on that – but a nice pat on the back was a positive.”

Q: Is there more that you’re looking from the running back group moving forward to help relieve Patrick Mahomes?

REID:&nbsp;“Yeah, Pat (Mahomes) had the 30 yards rushing. Listen, he’s (Patrick Mahomes) going to rush no matter what. He’s going to run the ball. There’s just times where something doesn’t look right or maybe there is a pressure here or there, and he’s going to take off and go and I get that. It’s important that he does like he did last night. He got down on the ground and not take the big hits with the exception on one run there. He was able to get down and try to limit the hits on him. I thought our guys ran the ball well. I thought they had a good night at that. There was a mix, so when you do this RPO game, you’re calling runs, but some of them turn into passes. That’s the beauty of the thing. Maybe your numbers are down just a little bit, but they end up increasing in the completions.”

Q: How excited are you to see the trio of Xavier Worthy, Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown on the field together in the regular season for the first time?

Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid QuotesOctober 13, 2025OPENING STATEMENT:&nbsp;“First of all, our fans were phenomenal. It was great to have an opportunity to come back to GEHA Field at Arrowhead (Stadium) and play in front of them (the fans). I appreciate their support. As far as the team went, I thought there were some really good things that took place. As far as Josh’s (Simmons) situation goes, it’s a personal issue. I’m not going to talk about that; I did a little bit last night (and) then leave it at that. But I thought Jaylon (Moore) stepped in and did a nice job there. As I mentioned it’s a tribute to (Offensive Line Coach) Andy Heck and the way he rotates all of his guys and makes sure that they can play, and Jaylon has played in a couple of different spots, both sides of the tackle, both sides at the guard so he’s busy during practice hitting all of these things. Offensively, again it was good to see Patrick (Mahomes) and (Travis) Kelce hook up for a few nice catches there and getting Hollywood (Brown) in the end zone. Hollywood is a good player. We just got a lot of guys, and we’re going to end here adding one with Rashee (Rice). So, it’s hard to get everybody going, but I thought Patrick did a nice job getting everyone involved and spreading things around. I thought (Offensive Coordinator) Matt Nagy had an unbelievable game plan for the guys, and they bought into it and he and (Pass Game Coordinator) Joe (Bleymaier) kind of worked that thing together and put this thing together and come up with stuff with Andy Heck and the rest of the guys. It was strong. Defensively, I loved the transition that (Defensive Coordinator Steve) Spags made there. We had a couple (of) drives at the beginning, and he worked through that and kept everybody together and made a couple of adjustments there and guys tightened up the back end and kind of some of those gaps inside. I thought his game plan was spot on. That’s an explosive offensive group. We knew that going in, and they’ve scored a ton of points in all of their games, and we knew it would be a big challenge, and I thought the guys handled that well. I thought the coaches that were involved there did a great job with it. (Linebackers Coach) Brendan Daly doesn’t get enough credit for working with the linebackers. He’s kind of stuck in the middle between the secondary and that d-line. (Nick) Bolton I thought played really well, got a ton of tackles in there, and made some big plays that could have been extended even though they had gained a little bit of yardage. They could’ve been even bigger than that, and he was able to snag them. And then special teams wise, I mentioned it was great to get (Harrison) Butker a field goal right there at the end, and he drilled that son of a gun which was great. And we only had one punt, so (Matt) Araiza didn’t have a very busy day there but did fine with it. Then I thought the return groups were good, Nikko (Remigio) again had a couple of nice returns there. Field position is always a big thing, especially against good teams and that includes all three phases, but special teams (has) got a lot of that responsibility.”Q: What does Rashee Rice’s return to practice and the upcoming game look like?REID:&nbsp;“Listen, I know he’s (Rashee Rice) been working like crazy. The rule states that we can’t work with him, but I know he’s been working out hard. And I think it’s just a matter of getting him back in the swing. I’ve got to see it to kind of work through it. I know he’s in good shape, that’s the one thing that I do know. I think that will be important, him coming back in there and getting with Patrick (Mahomes) and kind of getting on the same page and that whole deal. But we’ll just see how all that works out. We haven’t put the game plan in yet so we’re working through all of that now.”Q:&nbsp;What impressed you most about Jaylon Moore’s performance?REID:&nbsp;“I thought he was just solid. He (Jaylon Moore) did a nice job. He was going against an all-pro player 50% of the time, so that’s a tough ask without play time. But he handled it. I love the way he handles himself during the week and how he practices fast and aggressive during the week, and he never hangs his head that I’m not playing or this or that, he just gets in there and bears down. So, I think that paid off for him once this thing happened. He was solid in the run game too, run and pass. He had a productive day.”Q: Do you anticipate when Josh Simmons will be back with the team?REID:&nbsp;“Just to take care of business. That’s how those things work.”Q: Were there any injuries that Travis Kelce was battling behind the scenes last year? Seems he is playing a few years younger this year.REID:&nbsp;“No, not that I recall. We’ve been giving him (Travis Kelce) a lot of Geritol, and he really has progressed (laughs).”Q: Were you surprised that the Lions elected to receive the ball first?REID:&nbsp;“It’s not the first time. That was the third time they (Detroit Lions) had done that this year. We anticipated something like that possibly happening, and the guys were good with that. I don’t know if it was motivation or not, but our guys knew that they had done it before, so it wasn’t a big surprise.”Q: How important was it to score at the end of the first half and then to open the second half with a score?REID:&nbsp;“That was a positive, definitely. That’s huge, and you’re right, the stop before the half was also big. We ended up taking a knee there at the end with just a few seconds on the clock but that drive to be able to stop them there was big and then the drive before that where we were able to get a score was good. Obviously, coming out (in) the second half, you’re always striving for that (a touchdown) you try to come out with a purpose and the guys did a great job of executing and getting a score.”Q: What does the amount of penalties say about this team after committing so many last week?REID:&nbsp;“Yeah Nick (Jacobs), listen, I thought the officials let the guys play. I’m not saying I agreed with everything that went on, but I thought they were very fair how they did it. They could’ve called us on some, and they could’ve called them (Detroit Lions) on some and they just let it play out and let the teams really show off what they’ve got, which I think is good. I think it’s good for everybody, I think it’s good for the fans within reason and then we had to tighten some things up Nick. The calls, all 13 of those calls weren’t wrong, that’s not what I’m saying here. We had to tighten some things up and I thought our guys did that. They worked on it during the week and just making sure their fundamentals and technique were right and half of it is moving yourself into a position where you can execute. That comes down to footwork, speed and angles. You have to do that. Those are things that you can take charge of and work on.”Q: What do you hope the offensive line and the running backs take away from going against a physical Lions team?REID:&nbsp;“I thought Pop (Isiah Pacheco) ran hard. I thought he (Isiah Pacheco) was accurate with his reads and then when Kareem (Hunt) came in, I thought the same thing, powerful. It starts with the o-line. They’ve got to have things rolling up front, but they played physical. Our offensive line played physical against a good defensive line – a defensive front because those linebackers aren’t tiny guys either, they’re big ol’ guys back there and physical but I thought they played well. There are things what we can do better all the way around. There’s places that we need to tighten up and make it better than what we had, but overall, I’d tell you it was a pretty good job.”Q: What have you seen from the wide receiver room and the chemistry they’ve built this season?REID:&nbsp;“Yeah Jesse (Newell), I’d tell you that – this is what I meant by when I said after the game that having one (Xavier Worthy) come back into the fold there and be able to play and then Rashee (Rice) coming back in the building period, they kind of felt whole. And that’s because they like each other. They get along. They hang out together. They work together on their route combinations, and they’re always talking about stuff to get better there. And they’ve got a good friendship, which will be needed now because we have more guys and we only have one football. You want them to help support each other and I think that ends up being important. JuJu (Smith-Schuster) has a big part in that, he’s a uniter, and he’s still a tough guy and all that bit that goes with it and a good receiver and he has been around. I think he keeps it all together there.”Q: On Harrison Butker’s missed extra point and if he needed more encouragement on that last field goal.REID:&nbsp;“I’m a big Harrison Butker fan, so I think he’s a great great kicker and if not the best, one of the best clutch kickers in the National Football League. I know how that thing goes. I know that the swing (and) I understand all of that. Sometimes that ball looks nice and fat, and other times it looks a little tiny. The first one, he didn’t hit very good on the PAT, and then he came back and finished strong the rest of the night. And I thought getting a field goal in there, I think that’s big. Listen, we’re all human and a little pat on the back, you’re being nice on that – but a nice pat on the back was a positive.”Q: Is there more that you’re looking from the running back group moving forward to help relieve Patrick Mahomes?REID:&nbsp;“Yeah, Pat (Mahomes) had the 30 yards rushing. Listen, he’s (Patrick Mahomes) going to rush no matter what. He’s going to run the ball. There’s just times where something doesn’t look right or maybe there is a pressure here or there, and he’s going to take off and go and I get that. It’s important that he does like he did last night. He got down on the ground and not take the big hits with the exception on one run there. He was able to get down and try to limit the hits on him. I thought our guys ran the ball well. I thought they had a good night at that. There was a mix, so when you do this RPO game, you’re calling runs, but some of them turn into passes. That’s the beauty of the thing. Maybe your numbers are down just a little bit, but they end up increasing in the completions.”Q: How excited are you to see the trio of Xavier Worthy, Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown on the field together in the regular season for the first time?

Chiefs Quotes: 10-13-25

<a>MANHATTAN, Kan.</a>&nbsp;–&nbsp;Following his two-interception performance in Kansas State’s 41-28 Homecoming victory over TCU, senior linebacker&nbsp;Des Purnell&nbsp;has been named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced on Monday.

It is the first-ever conference weekly award for Purnell and the first for a Wildcat defender since Kobe Savage earned the nod after the Texas Tech contest in 2023.

A native of Topeka, Kansas, Purnell came away with eight tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, a sack and two pass breakups in addition to his two picks. On back-to-back plays in the third quarter, Purnell recorded an eight-yard sack before picking off a pass and returning it 25 yards for a touchdown. It was K-State’s first pick-6 since current San Francisco 49er Marques Sigle returned an interception 43 yards for a score last year at West Virginia.

Purnell had another interception in the fourth quarter, one he returned 21 yards that led to a K-State field goal to make it a three-score game.

Purnell is one of three linebackers in the country this season to record multiple interceptions in a game, while he is one of only two Big 12 linebackers since 2022 to accomplish the feat. He was the first K-State linebacker with two picks in a game since Elijah Lee against TCU in 2015.

<a>MANHATTAN, Kan.</a>&nbsp;–&nbsp;Following his two-interception performance in Kansas State’s 41-28 Homecoming victory over TCU, senior linebacker&nbsp;Des Purnell&nbsp;has been named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced on Monday.It is the first-ever conference weekly award for Purnell and the first for a Wildcat defender since Kobe Savage earned the nod after the Texas Tech contest in 2023.A native of Topeka, Kansas, Purnell came away with eight tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, a sack and two pass breakups in addition to his two picks. On back-to-back plays in the third quarter, Purnell recorded an eight-yard sack before picking off a pass and returning it 25 yards for a touchdown. It was K-State’s first pick-6 since current San Francisco 49er Marques Sigle returned an interception 43 yards for a score last year at West Virginia.Purnell had another interception in the fourth quarter, one he returned 21 yards that led to a K-State field goal to make it a three-score game.Purnell is one of three linebackers in the country this season to record multiple interceptions in a game, while he is one of only two Big 12 linebackers since 2022 to accomplish the feat. He was the first K-State linebacker with two picks in a game since Elijah Lee against TCU in 2015.

K-State’s Purnell Named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week

LAWRENCE, Kan. –&nbsp;The 2025&nbsp;Dillons&nbsp;Sunflower Showdown between the Kansas&nbsp;Jayhawks&nbsp;and the Kansas State Wildcats will kick off at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, Oct. 25, at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, the Big 12 Conference announced on Monday.&nbsp; The game will air on TNT with a simulcast on&nbsp;truTV&nbsp;and HBO MAX.

It will be the 123rd&nbsp;meeting between the two schools, in a series that the Jayhawks lead all-time, 65-52-5, including a 37-23-2 record in games played in Lawrence.

The 11 a.m. kickoff will be Kansas' second morning game of the season, after hosting Cincinnati on Sept. 27. The Jayhawks will also take on Utah in their regular season finale on Nov. 28 at 11 a.m. This will be Kansas' second game on TNT this year.The&nbsp;Jayhawks&nbsp;will enter the&nbsp;Dillons&nbsp;Sunflower Showdown fresh off a bye, following a 42-17 loss at Texas Tech on Oct. 11. Kansas holds a 4-3 overall record with a 2-2 mark in Big 12 Conference play.

The Jayhawks have had success following a bye under head coach Lance Leipold, where the Jayhawks are 5-1, including a 41-10 win over West Virginia following a bye earlier this year.

Tickets for the 123rd&nbsp;Dillons&nbsp;Sunflower Showdown are still available&nbsp;<a href="https://kuathletics.evenue.net/event/F25/05" target="_blank">by clicking here</a>. It will be Kansas' fifth of seven home games in 2025, where the Jayhawks hold a 3-1 record entering their&nbsp;matchup&nbsp;with Kansas State.

LAWRENCE, Kan. –&nbsp;The 2025&nbsp;Dillons&nbsp;Sunflower Showdown between the Kansas&nbsp;Jayhawks&nbsp;and the Kansas State Wildcats will kick off at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, Oct. 25, at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, the Big 12 Conference announced on Monday.&nbsp; The game will air on TNT with a simulcast on&nbsp;truTV&nbsp;and HBO MAX.It will be the 123rd&nbsp;meeting between the two schools, in a series that the Jayhawks lead all-time, 65-52-5, including a 37-23-2 record in games played in Lawrence.The 11 a.m. kickoff will be Kansas' second morning game of the season, after hosting Cincinnati on Sept. 27. The Jayhawks will also take on Utah in their regular season finale on Nov. 28 at 11 a.m. This will be Kansas' second game on TNT this year.The&nbsp;Jayhawks&nbsp;will enter the&nbsp;Dillons&nbsp;Sunflower Showdown fresh off a bye, following a 42-17 loss at Texas Tech on Oct. 11. Kansas holds a 4-3 overall record with a 2-2 mark in Big 12 Conference play.The Jayhawks have had success following a bye under head coach Lance Leipold, where the Jayhawks are 5-1, including a 41-10 win over West Virginia following a bye earlier this year.Tickets for the 123rd&nbsp;Dillons&nbsp;Sunflower Showdown are still available&nbsp;<a href="https://kuathletics.evenue.net/event/F25/05" target="_blank">by clicking here</a>. It will be Kansas' fifth of seven home games in 2025, where the Jayhawks hold a 3-1 record entering their&nbsp;matchup&nbsp;with Kansas State.

Dillons Sunflower Showdown Set for 11 a.m. Kickoff on Oct. 25

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs knew they were going to have a fight on their hands when the Detroit Lions, riding a four-game winning streak and a whole bunch of momentum, rolled into Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night.

They probably didn't expect their dominant performance to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lions-chiefs-fight-brian-branch-e1f8f03a80052ad16856673846b2791c">end with an actual fistfight</a>.

Mahomes threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns, scrambled for another score, and led Kansas City to a 30-17 victory that was so comprehensive that Lions safety Brian Branch boiled over at its conclusion. Branch delivered a right hook to Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster as the teams were coming together at midfield, touching off a brief melee among players.

“It is what it is,” Mahomes said. “You just kind of move on. We won the football game.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/10/1760320332355.png" alt="Photo Kansas City Chiefs" />
 <figcaption>Photo Kansas City Chiefs</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs knew they were going to have a fight on their hands when the Detroit Lions, riding a four-game winning streak and a whole bunch of momentum, rolled into Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night.They probably didn't expect their dominant performance to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lions-chiefs-fight-brian-branch-e1f8f03a80052ad16856673846b2791c">end with an actual fistfight</a>.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">A little post game hands never hurt nobody!<a href="https://t.co/W0A0tal25f">pic.twitter.com/W0A0tal25f</a>&mdash; Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) <a href="https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1977572824664715455?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Mahomes threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns, scrambled for another score, and led Kansas City to a 30-17 victory that was so comprehensive that Lions safety Brian Branch boiled over at its conclusion. Branch delivered a right hook to Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster as the teams were coming together at midfield, touching off a brief melee among players.“It is what it is,” Mahomes said. “You just kind of move on. We won the football game.”Did they ever.Marquise Brown had two touchdown receptions and Xavier Worthy had another for the Chiefs (3-3), who played a near-flawless game — no penalties, no turnovers — one week after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-city-chiefs-analysis-1bf025fe0f083690f71bc75f47417202">a mistake-strewn, last-second loss</a>&nbsp;at Jacksonville.Kansas City also managed to hold in check the NFL's highest-scoring offense to snap Detroit's winning streak.“We just didn't make the plays we needed to make,” said Lions coach Dan Campbell, who began his postgame briefing by saying that Branch's cheap shot was “inexcusable and not going to be accepted here," and that he had apologized to the Chiefs for it.“We were able to do some good things in phases at times but not enough for a team like that with the pedigrees they have,” Campbell continued. “We were not able to compliment each other and we were not able to make it a game, really. We weren't.”Jared Goff finished with 203 yards passing for the Lions (4-2), though he did connect with Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta for scores. Amon-Ra St. Brown was held to 45 yards receiving and Jahmyr Gibbs needed 17 carries to gain just 65 yards.Detroit was intent on trying to grind down the Chiefs' defense and keep their potent offense off the field.The Lions did a good job on the opening drive, too. They ran 15 plays over a 9:39 span, chewing up so much clock that Mahomes looked downright bored on the sideline. And it looked as if it would pay off when David Montgomery took a direct snap and threw to Goff, who powered into the end zone from a yard out for a touchdown.But the officials came together to discuss the play, and even though nobody had thrown a flag, they eventually said Goff was not set — an illegal motion penalty. After a delay of game, the Lions had to settle for Jake Bates' chip-shot field goal.“I've got to do a little research on exactly what went wrong,” Goff said.Kansas City wasted no time answering, marching 70 yards in eight plays. Mahomes hit three receivers on the drive, and Worthy hauled in a 6-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal to give the Chiefs the lead.The back-and-forth continued throughout the first half: The Lions went the other way with Williams grabbing a 22-yard pass to give them the lead back, and the Chiefs answered with Mahomes scoring on a keeper for a 13-10 edge at halftime.“It was important to get that lead back and get the momentum and get the crowd going,” Mahomes said.The banged-up Lions defense, missing cornerbacks D.J. Reed, Terrion Arnold and Avonte Maddox, couldn't slow down the Chiefs, who are finding their offensive mojo again just in time to get suspended wide receiver Rashee Rice back next week.They roared downfield on the opening drive of the second half, this time with Marquise Brown hauling in the touchdown catch to extend the lead. And when the Lions finally answered behind a flurry of passes to St. Brown and a nifty toss to LaPorta in the end zone, Kansas City rolled right back downfield as Marquise Brown pulled in another touchdown reception for a 27-17 lead.Detroit proceeded to go three-and-out, and the Chiefs put the game away from there.“I'm disappointing, you know? I'm disappointed, because it's been a long time ago since you were watching someone kneel it three times in front of you, and it's not even close,” Campbell said. “We got worked pretty good. So yeah, it's disappointing.”<h2>Missing Simmons</h2>The Chiefs played&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-city-chiefs-detroit-lions-e5f1f4336f1f82195304345e8a892b7b">without left tackle Josh Simmons,</a>&nbsp;their first-round pick, who had a personal issue that kept him from making it back to Kansas City for the game. Jaylon Moore played well in his place against Aidan Hutchinson and the Detroit pass rush.<h2>More on Mahomes</h2>Mahomes has 302 career touchdown passes, including the postseason, becoming the quickest player in NFL history to reach the 300 mark. He accomplished the feat in 139 games, eight faster than Aaron Rodgers, to the delight of a crowd that included Taylor Swift — the fiancee of tight end Travis Kelce — and WNBA star Caitlin Clark.<h2>Injuries</h2>Lions: CB Terrion Arnold (shoulder) and LT Taylor Decker (shoulder) were inactive.Chiefs: CB Nohl Williams was evaluated for a concussion and cleared in the first half.<h2>Up next</h2>Lions: Host Tampa Bay next Monday night.Chiefs: Host Las Vegas next Sunday.