<a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/6e35da8c-5cb8-43c9-8045-a18fd349a26b?elinkdata=33419">Garrett Young</a> challenged his Kansas Wesleyan women's cross country team numerous times this fall and they never failed to respond.

He is asking the Coyotes to take on one final "tall task," this one Friday during the NAIA National Championship.

"Telling a group of athletes 'I want you to get out at a pace I know you can't sustain for an entire race is a tall task,'" he said. "But they have to accept that 'I'm going to go out, I'm going to do this, and I'm going come out the other side okay.'"

KWU will compete in the 6,000-meter race at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla. The event begins at 7:30 a.m. central time.

The Coyotes qualified for nationals by winning the Kansas Conference Championship on Nov. 8 in Leavenworth. They upset prerace favorite and 10th-ranked Saint Mary on the Spires' home course. It was KWU's first women's KCAC cross country title since 2013.

"Saint Mary has been in control of our conference for cross country for a while now, so beating them on their home course was phenomenal; it was amazing," said senior <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/7a6a1aff-d3aa-4519-a2b5-2085a2a79626?elinkdata=33419">Kirstin Hackney</a> who finished third. "I don't think they were expecting it, so that made it even better."

Senior <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/a243658e-da95-4f05-a261-2f433f25a106?elinkdata=33419">Kierra Jensen</a> led the way with a second-place finish followed by Hackney, senior <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/673059ab-6646-45de-81ee-e40cce144e89?elinkdata=33419">Josie Koppes</a> in sixth, senior <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/a59e3b6e-9f42-44de-b83e-d3aa304b5739?elinkdata=33419">Madisyn Ehrlich</a> seventh and sophomore <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/cef192a1-4537-4ef2-aebd-164c3b39ec39?elinkdata=33419">Micah Dickens</a> ninth.

The Coyotes placed 14th in last year's NAIA race in Columbia, Mo. with Ehrlich leading the way in 49th. She'll be joined in Florida by Jensen, Hackney, Koppes, Dickens, senior <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/313cd605-76b7-4d99-8e58-8cbfb00dff11?elinkdata=33419">Charlee Lind</a> and junior <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/e63fd027-cf18-4ef9-a699-56e8169b8b54?elinkdata=33419">Shelby Lingle</a>.

KWU is ranked 11th going into the race and Young is confident the team will prove themselves one more time.

"From the very get go winning a conference championship was on the goal sheet so I am really proud of the way they bought into everything," he said. "I asked some pretty big things out of them so having their trust and having their belief was really important this season.

"Bringing back six out of our top seven that ran at nationals and essentially everyone else eight through 12, we definitely came in this year with high goals, high expectations. They worked really hard to get to the point that they're at."

Hackney said teamwork has been and is the secret sauce.

"Knowing that we have people that are really good in certain areas can make it easier going into it, especially on a course that we don't know much about," she said. "Trust the training, know that we've done this before. It's a 6K and we've done that 100 times, we can do it again."

Young isn't worried about the course that will host the World Cross Country Championships in January. Weather, though, is a concern.

"The course is pretty fast," he said. "It's a net downhill; it's got one sharp uphill. But it's Florida, and it's scheduled to be in the 80s all week. Our race is at 7:30 so I'm expecting a balmy 70 or 75 degrees. The weather's been pretty warm here all things considered, so I think we're ready for it."

"We run all the time in the summer so should be able to deal with it," Hackney said. "We're going to figure it out, hopefully. We'll find out."

Apalachee Regional Park was the site of the 2022 NAIA Championship. Ehrlich is the only member of the current squad who competed there.

Hackney said conquering this year's challenge is a matter of focusing on the task at hand.

<a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/6e35da8c-5cb8-43c9-8045-a18fd349a26b?elinkdata=33419">Garrett Young</a> challenged his Kansas Wesleyan women's cross country team numerous times this fall and they never failed to respond.He is asking the Coyotes to take on one final "tall task," this one Friday during the NAIA National Championship."Telling a group of athletes 'I want you to get out at a pace I know you can't sustain for an entire race is a tall task,'" he said. "But they have to accept that 'I'm going to go out, I'm going to do this, and I'm going come out the other side okay.'"KWU will compete in the 6,000-meter race at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla. The event begins at 7:30 a.m. central time.The Coyotes qualified for nationals by winning the Kansas Conference Championship on Nov. 8 in Leavenworth. They upset prerace favorite and 10th-ranked Saint Mary on the Spires' home course. It was KWU's first women's KCAC cross country title since 2013."Saint Mary has been in control of our conference for cross country for a while now, so beating them on their home course was phenomenal; it was amazing," said senior <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/7a6a1aff-d3aa-4519-a2b5-2085a2a79626?elinkdata=33419">Kirstin Hackney</a> who finished third. "I don't think they were expecting it, so that made it even better."Senior <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/a243658e-da95-4f05-a261-2f433f25a106?elinkdata=33419">Kierra Jensen</a> led the way with a second-place finish followed by Hackney, senior <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/673059ab-6646-45de-81ee-e40cce144e89?elinkdata=33419">Josie Koppes</a> in sixth, senior <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/a59e3b6e-9f42-44de-b83e-d3aa304b5739?elinkdata=33419">Madisyn Ehrlich</a> seventh and sophomore <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/cef192a1-4537-4ef2-aebd-164c3b39ec39?elinkdata=33419">Micah Dickens</a> ninth.The Coyotes placed 14th in last year's NAIA race in Columbia, Mo. with Ehrlich leading the way in 49th. She'll be joined in Florida by Jensen, Hackney, Koppes, Dickens, senior <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/313cd605-76b7-4d99-8e58-8cbfb00dff11?elinkdata=33419">Charlee Lind</a> and junior <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/e63fd027-cf18-4ef9-a699-56e8169b8b54?elinkdata=33419">Shelby Lingle</a>.KWU is ranked 11th going into the race and Young is confident the team will prove themselves one more time."From the very get go winning a conference championship was on the goal sheet so I am really proud of the way they bought into everything," he said. "I asked some pretty big things out of them so having their trust and having their belief was really important this season."Bringing back six out of our top seven that ran at nationals and essentially everyone else eight through 12, we definitely came in this year with high goals, high expectations. They worked really hard to get to the point that they're at."Hackney said teamwork has been and is the secret sauce."Knowing that we have people that are really good in certain areas can make it easier going into it, especially on a course that we don't know much about," she said. "Trust the training, know that we've done this before. It's a 6K and we've done that 100 times, we can do it again."Young isn't worried about the course that will host the World Cross Country Championships in January. Weather, though, is a concern."The course is pretty fast," he said. "It's a net downhill; it's got one sharp uphill. But it's Florida, and it's scheduled to be in the 80s all week. Our race is at 7:30 so I'm expecting a balmy 70 or 75 degrees. The weather's been pretty warm here all things considered, so I think we're ready for it.""We run all the time in the summer so should be able to deal with it," Hackney said. "We're going to figure it out, hopefully. We'll find out."Apalachee Regional Park was the site of the 2022 NAIA Championship. Ehrlich is the only member of the current squad who competed there.Hackney said conquering this year's challenge is a matter of focusing on the task at hand.

👟 Women's Cross Country NAIA Nationals Preview: Coyotes ready for NAIA National Championship Challenge

Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes

OPENING STATEMENT:&nbsp;“Alright, as far as injuries go for today’s practice, Kingsley (Suamataia) won’t practice but (is) doing well he had a concussion, but he’s doing pretty good right now. Then Xavier (Worthy) tweaked his ankle a little bit, he did the walk through, but we will see about practice as we go forward here. Look forward to the challenge of playing Indianapolis. A good football team (and) well coached so look forward to coming GEHA Field At Arrowhead Stadium. It’s a great venue here and we love playing here. With that, time is yours.”

Q: Will Isiah Pacheco return to practice this week?

Q: On penalties and what the team can do at this point of the season to be more consistent.

REID:&nbsp;“I mentioned it to you after the game, just the penalties. In this league they get you. Even though you might overcome it, you’ve utilized certain plays to do it and plays are valuable as you go through a game here and you have to take care of that part of it, start there and then take care of the turnovers and make sure we’re giving the guys good stuff to work with which we look at first.”

Q: On Travis Kelce mentioning on his podcast that most of the team’s issues are self-inflicted.

REID:&nbsp;“Yeah, I told you I start with myself. It happens. I’d tell you, yes. We have good guys, and they work hard so we’ll make sure we take care of it.”

Q: What’s the balance between adjusting to this team’s record and overacting to it?

REID:&nbsp;“Yeah, we’re not overreacting, but there is a certain urgency you got to have. To make sure that you clean up some of the stuff we’ve had. Overreacting doesn’t help, what helps is that you take care of your business individually and then collectively as a team. It’s what you have to do.”

Q: Is the framework of the offense still the right path?

REID:&nbsp;“You guys see it all, you know this. When you do it in crucial situations, that gets you. Then it’s tough to overcome at times. Whether it’s a third down and short or where you’re down at the two-yard line and then you have to back up, those types of things, those come back to haunt you when you’re playing good teams. We might be able to overcome it against a not very good team, but against good teams, you got to be sharp. There’s not a huge secret to that. You guys watch it like we watch it. As coaches we got to make sure we are giving the guys the stuff they can do the best at.”

Q: Is it concerning that the offense hasn’t had as quick of starts as you would like and do you think you need to give Patrick Mahomes more rhythm in the first quarter?

REID:&nbsp;“Yeah, Nate (Taylor) every year is different. I approach it that way. Every game is different, so I go back and we look at everything. So, for games that maybe we didn’t start (quick), why? And let’s answer it or whatever. We’re not running the ball, let’s look at why. That’s the way we address it, and we do it on every play and make sure we come up with a better solution.”

Q: On the offensive scheme shifting throughout the season.

REID:&nbsp;“We’re not in a position where we need to wholesale that (the current offensive scheme). That’s not where we’re at right now. We need to just clean up some things. The nice part about this offense is you got a lot of directions you can go with it. A whole lot of things – different things you can do with it. It’s important that we do the right things and get ourselves in the right place.”

Q: What are your thoughts on the Indianapolis Colts?

REID:&nbsp;“He’s (Colts Head Coach Shane Steichen) done a nice job there. The quarterback (Colts QB Daniel Jones) is playing well for him. Defensively, they have a great scheme, and they’re very accurate with what they do, solid. Then special teams, they’ve just done a good job there. He’s got a good football team all the way around. It’s not by chance that he’s sitting where he is sitting record wise.”

Q: You’ve played deep into the season every year now. Do you think part of the problem is that everyone has so much film on you guys and fatigue?

REID:&nbsp;“I’m really tired of these press conferences (laughter). I don’t think so. There is enough changeover in today’s world, it keeps it fresh and so on. I think we’re okay there.”

Q: How do you evaluate Patrick Mahomes’ year compared to previous years?

REID:&nbsp;“I mean listen; he’s (Patrick Mahomes) really having a good year. We’ve got a couple of things we got to clean up all the way around, but he’s played great football. The margin between winning and losing this week is like this (motions small). We’ve got to take care of this (the small margin) and get ourselves where we can do a little bit better all the way around.”

Q: What did you learn about Josh Simmons last week?

REID:&nbsp;“Yeah, listen, for being away for a few weeks there I thought he (Josh Simmons) did a nice job. Got to clean up a couple things – with the penalties and that. His effort, his attitude, and everything was great. He was able to keep everything focused back to the football part of it. He had to take care of business, and he took care of it and that’s where he is at.”

<a>Q:&nbsp;</a>How can you turn the corner and be more consistent?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“Yeah, I think it just comes with the history that we’ve had and knowing that we have the guys to do it. It’s about going out there and proving it now and getting better at practice, getting better in the film room (and) getting extra time at the facility. But talking with the guys throughout the building this week, I think guys are excited for the opportunity to go out there and prove that. But like I said, you got to go out there and do it. You can’t just keep talking about it, you got to go out there and do it, and it starts with me and has to feed through the entire team.”

Q:&nbsp;What was the most frustrating part about the loss in Denver?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“For me, it was just getting the ball with four minutes left and not getting points and not getting a first down or really anything. Just being in those moments before and knowing how important it is to get some momentum in your team by at least moving the ball a little bit and changing the field position and not being able to do that was big. That was the most disappointing part for me because even though I didn’t feel like we played to our best level (and) our best standard, there was still an opportunity to win the football game, and we weren’t able to do that.”

Q:&nbsp;On the offense being improved from last season but capitalizing on situational football.

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“I’ve preached that for the last few years. These games are a couple plays here and there. There’s not a lot of times in this league where you’re blowing teams out. There’s a couple plays here and there that you have to make and we’ve been able to make those plays these last few years and we’re not doing that this year. Now it’s about giving ourselves more opportunities to make those plays and then when we get those opportunities, going out there and doing it. I’m excited for it. We have a lot of good football teams coming up, starting off with the Colts, but it’s a great opportunity to go out there and get our season turned around and get going in the right direction.”

Q:&nbsp;Have you seen common denominators on the deep passes that you haven’t connected on?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“Yeah, I’m just not making the throws. That’s pretty much the biggest thing. Guys are getting open and giving me chances to make the plays down the field. I give them chances to make plays and if you look at the one to Tyquan (Thornton) later in the game, it wasn’t necessarily the best thrown ball but it gave him (Tyquan Thornton) a chance and I think that’s something I can learn from with guys like Xavier’s (Worthy) early, is that it might not be the perfect pass that’s going to be a touchdown and catch like that, but if I can throw the ball and just give him (Xavier Worthy) a chance to make a play, he’ll make the play on it, then he can make the play and score the touchdown from there. Being better there and giving guys chances usually works out.”

Q:&nbsp;On Xavier Worthy’s deep route in the first quarter and if he had the right angle.

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“Yeah, the angle stuff is one thing. I think what I’ve learned from just playing for awhile now is that those deep passes – like I said those deep passes don’t have to be perfect. I think we always want to make the perfect throw, but if he (Xavier Worthy) wins like that, you can flatten his angle (and) you can throw the ball with more air underneath it then he can adjust and that’s why he is the player that he is so why not give him that opportunity and try to throw the ball perfectly down the field and it looks awesome when it happens but obviously there’s more misses than there is completions. If you look at the best deep ball throwers in the league and in the history of the NFL, they weren’t always just these perfectly thrown balls, but they were giving guys chances and they were going out there and making plays.”

Q:&nbsp;On Colts Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo and if the Colts run the same type of defense as the Cincinnati Bengals when Coach Anarumo was in Cincinnati.

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“They (Indianapolis Colts) definitely do some of the stuff, (Colts Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Lou) Anarumo is a great defensive coordinator, a great coach, and he has his stuff, but what I think makes him such a great defensive coordinator is that he tailors his scheme to the team that he’s playing with. He wants to go with their strengths. Getting their guys in the best position to succeed and even from some of the trades that they’ve made, they’ve adjusted their defense as well. I think that’s something that makes him a great coach is that he’s not stuck in his ways of how he calls things, he adjusts his scheme to the team that’s around him and obviously they have done a lot of great things this year.”

Q:&nbsp;Do you care whether you are under center or shotgun?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“Nah my preference is to win so whatever way that happens, I’m good with.”

Q:&nbsp;Is it difficult to prepare for a guy like Colts Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo when he changes his scheme so much?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“Obviously, there’s going to be some difficulties there but at the same time we’ve played him (Colts Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo) so many times that you just go back and watch every game that you’ve played against him and see the different things that he has done to you, the changeups he has thrown at you and then you know there is going to be a wrinkle that he has this game (and) try and make a positive play out of it. It doesn’t have to be a home run shot or whatever it is but getting the ball to a checkdown, getting the ball to a guy that can get five to six yards and then get back into the flow of the game. I think that’s something that’s important against him is that he’ll continue to throw different things at you just to make sure that you’re not settled with what he’s calling and that’s something that I have to continue to be great with throughout the entire football game.”

Q:&nbsp;How have you felt on your decision making with run pass options (RPOs)?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“I feel like I’ve done a good job of it. I think there’s times when I should hand it (off) and there’s times I should throw the ball more. You have to continue to read and get better and better with it. More than anything, I think it’s just giving guys chances either catching the ball or running the ball even if the perfect look is not there. There’s times where I might’ve thrown it and we got five or six yards and that’s a positive play, but you can hand the ball off and kind of keep defenses honest as well. That’s stuff that I’ve worked with throughout my entire career and it’s something that has been huge in our offense for a long time. I think for us, it’s just continuing to get better and better each and every game.”

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“There’s multiple. There’s times – (Offensive Line) Coach (Andy) Heck and (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid and all of them, they coach multiple ways of reading it. There’s times where we’re reading a certain guy and there’s times, we’re reading coverages and there’s times where you’re reading space. It just kind of depends on that week and the team that you’re playing and being able to adjust accordingly. Like I said, our goal is to get five or six yards every single time we run RPO, either running the ball or throwing the ball and I think we’ve done a good job at that throughout this season, but at the end of the day, like I said sometimes you have to hand the ball off, even if the throw gets you five or six yards just to keep the defense honest and to set up other stuff throughout the rest of the game.”

Q:&nbsp;On lack of intermediate throws.

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“It’s just kind of the coverages that we’ve been getting. Teams are playing more man coverage against us, which gives more opportunities to throw the ball down the field but until we can prove that we can hit those throws down the field teams are going to continue to play man coverage. That’s something that’s going to be important for us is to hit some of those throws and once we start hitting some of the throws like you saw this last game against Denver, you hit one deep throw and all of a sudden the offense opens up and then you’re able to hit other throws as well. I think we’ve always done a really good job of being able to take what’s there, it’s just about hitting some of those deeper throws to loosen the defense up and then give us opportunities to throw the ball everywhere throughout the offense.”

Q:&nbsp;Can you pinpoint why you have had slower starts on offense this season?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“I mean there has been games where we’ve had great starts, and we’ve usually won them and there have been games when we don’t have good starts and we’ve lost them this year. I think just learning from those. I mean this last week, you just hit the throw to Xavier (Worthy), that’s a great start and then to Tyquan (Thornton) after that. It’s just little things here and there but those little things add up, and I think that’s something that we have to continue to get better and better at. I have to be better at getting us going in the right direction. If I’m going to make that throw to Xavier I have to hit it, if not I have to hit Travis (Kelce) to keep the chains moving. Those are decisions that I have to make and when I make those decisions, I have to go out there and execute them.”

Q:&nbsp;How do you handle the sense of urgency throughout the week?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“Just like if you were going to a big divisional game or a playoff game or whatever it is, you just have to know what’s at stake. You try to prepare yourself throughout the week and do the little extra stuff so that your mind can be settled on gameday and then you can go out there and just play, knowing that you need to go out there and win the football game and knowing we’re going – we’re playing against a really good football team that’s playing great football right now. It’s a great opportunity at the end of the day. Obviously, we’re 5-5, not where we want to be at, but we get to write the rest of this season’s story, and it starts this week with the Colts at (GEHA Field at) Arrowhead (Stadium) and I’m excited for us to go out there and do it.”

Q:&nbsp;How do you hold teammates accountable?

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“First, you have to go out and do it. I’m always a big, you have to go out and show you’re going to put in the work and I think if you do that, you can ask guys and push guys to do more. We have a lot of great dudes in this locker room and you can see that their mindset and the way that they’re walking around the building this week is that they’re pushing themselves to be even better, knowing that we’re this close, you just have to continue to push yourself to kind of breakthrough that barrier and get to where we want to be at as a football team. I’m excited. Like I said, it’s not where we want to be at and it has been a rough kind of high-low season, but we get to write the rest of the story so let’s go out there and do it.”

Q:&nbsp;On Josh Simmons’ performance Sunday.

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“He’s (Josh Simmons) a great football player, and he has gotten better every week that he’s played, and he’ll continue to get better. For him, it’s just continuing to stack days on days of just getting better, pushing himself to be the best player that he can be. Like I said, since OTAs when he got out there and the way he was rehabbing and the way he was getting back at it to training camp and to the season, he’s gotten better and better. I think the sky’s the limit, and he has got to keep pushing to get better.”

Q:&nbsp;On the decision of RPOs based on opponent.

MAHOMES:&nbsp;“Yeah, there is. The first play of the game this last week with that safety pressure and we knew they might get into a run blitz type of thing and you throw the ball to Rashee (Rice), you get a first down and kind of get things going. That’s the stuff that you want, but then there’s times where you throw the ball and it might get three yards like I did Travis (Kelce) later in the game and you want to make sure you give guys chances to run the football on plays like that. Just reading the coverages, understanding what the defense is doing and then making the best decision you feel like for the team.”

OPENING STATEMENT:&nbsp;“First, I want to thank the entire Kansas City and this club for having my six for the time I was away from the team. It showed how much love this team and city has for me, and I can’t wait to give it back to them.”

Q:&nbsp;Is there anything that you want to share about your absences?

SIMMONS:&nbsp;“I kind of want to keep that in house. (With) all due respect. I know everybody wants to (know), but it’s something I kind of want to keep inside.”

Q:&nbsp;How do you think you played in your first game back?

SIMMONS:&nbsp;“There’s always room (for growth). But I think as a front we swung as hard as we could. There are obviously some things you can’t control. They’re (Denver Broncos) also a really good football team. I think it’s just kind of picking up on the film and cleaning some stuff up.”

Q:&nbsp;Do you feel a little rust?

SIMMONS:&nbsp;“A little bit. I mean 15 (Nik Bonitto) is an extremely gifted player, so going against that wasn’t fair looking back, but I think with the teammates that I had throughout that week they helped me up and kind of helped brush that stuff off.”

Q:&nbsp;On Colts RB Jonathan Taylor.

BOLTON:&nbsp;“Obviously this year he (Jonathan Taylor) looks fresh (and) he looks rejuvenated. He’s running the ball very well, doing a lot of different things for them (Indianapolis Colts). Obviously scheme wise, some things are similar (and) some things are different. They have a lot of key guys that are the same. They find different ways to use those guys and get them out in space and obviously get the ball to 28 (Jonathan Taylor) whenever they get the chance to.”

Q:&nbsp;What have you seen differently from Colts QB Daniel Jones?

BOLTON:&nbsp;“First and foremost, taking care of the football. He’s (Daniel Jones) doing a great job of getting the ball out to his pass catchers and giving them a chance to make plays with the ball. They do a great job of getting guys out in space, attacking schemes and he’s doing a good job at getting people the ball on time and on target. I think he’s confident, looks driven and a great opportunity for him and another opportunity for us to play at home.”

Q:&nbsp;On Colts rookie TE Tyler Warren.

Chiefs Quotes: 11-20-25

KWU announced Wednesday morning that the 2026 version of Night with the Yotes, one of the university's marquee events, will be held on Friday, Feb. 20. 

Tickets will go on sale in the near future.&nbsp;Last year, more than 600 people attended and 75 corporate sponsors helped the university raise in excess of $200,000. That set a new high water mark in the event's 14 years.&nbsp;

Continued sound and light upgrades to Sams Chapel, long-term planning for KWU's strength and conditioning areas and general upgrades for Art and Design, Theatre and DECA were among the specific areas supported.

For more information on Night with the Yotes 2026, stay tuned to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kwu.edu/NWTY26">www.kwu.edu/NWTY26</a>&nbsp;or call the university's Advancement Office at 785-833-4392. You can also contact KWU Advancement to donate or support the event.

KWU announced Wednesday morning that the 2026 version of Night with the Yotes, one of the university's marquee events, will be held on Friday, Feb. 20. Tickets will go on sale in the near future.&nbsp;Last year, more than 600 people attended and 75 corporate sponsors helped the university raise in excess of $200,000. That set a new high water mark in the event's 14 years.&nbsp;Continued sound and light upgrades to Sams Chapel, long-term planning for KWU's strength and conditioning areas and general upgrades for Art and Design, Theatre and DECA were among the specific areas supported.For more information on Night with the Yotes 2026, stay tuned to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kwu.edu/NWTY26">www.kwu.edu/NWTY26</a>&nbsp;or call the university's Advancement Office at 785-833-4392. You can also contact KWU Advancement to donate or support the event.

KWU announces date for 2026 Night with the Yotes

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—In conjunction with the Texas Rangers and Surprise Stadium, the Kansas City Royals today announced home game times for their 32-game exhibition schedule for 2026. Game dates and opponents were announced earlier this month. Game times are subject to change.

The Royals will begin their 24th season in the Cactus League on Friday, Feb. 20 as the road team vs. the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium beginning at 2:05 p.m. CT. Kansas City’s schedule features 15 home games at Surprise Stadium, plus 2 games as the visiting team vs. the Rangers on Feb. 20 and March 18.

Seven of the 1st 8 home games will begin at 2:05 p.m. CT. Starting on Sunday, March 8, when Daylight Saving Time begins, the Royals normal start time will be 3:05 p.m. CT. They will host 3 night games during Cactus League play, on Thursday, March 5 vs. the Texas Rangers (7:05 p.m. CT), Friday, March 13 vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks (8:05 p.m. CT) and Tuesday, March 17 vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers (8:05 p.m. CT).

There are two split-squad dates, on which the Royals will field a pair of teams and play 2 games, on Wednesday, March 11 and Thursday, March 19. Both home games on those dates will begin at 3:05 p.m. CT.

The Royals will play 32 games in 33 days next spring, including 29 Cactus League games. The other 3 games include an exhibition vs. Team Cuba on Tuesday, March 3 at Surprise Stadium (2:05 p.m. CT), plus 2 games vs. the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Monday, March 23 and Tuesday, March 24, after the conclusion of Cactus League play.

The Royals are scheduled for two off days in Arizona, on Wednesday, March 4 and Monday, March 16. Their final Cactus League game is scheduled for Saturday, March 21 vs. Colorado at 2:05 p.m. CT, after which they’ll have an off day on Sunday, March 22, before their games in Arlington, Texas.

The Royals will play their neighbors in Surprise, the Texas Rangers, five times in total, including 2 games as the home team. They will play every other Cactus League team twice, including 1 home game and 1 road game.

The Royals will play their regular season opener on Thursday, March 26 at Truist Park vs. the Atlanta Braves. Their home opener will be on Monday, March 30 vs. the Minnesota Twins.

Group and season ticket packages for the 2026 Spring Training season are now on sale. Individual game tickets for Spring Training at Surprise Stadium will go on sale Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 10 a.m. MST online at&nbsp;<a href="http://surprisestadium.com/" target="_blank">SurpriseStadium.com</a>. Information regarding game times and promotional events will be announced later.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—In conjunction with the Texas Rangers and Surprise Stadium, the Kansas City Royals today announced home game times for their 32-game exhibition schedule for 2026. Game dates and opponents were announced earlier this month. Game times are subject to change.The Royals will begin their 24th season in the Cactus League on Friday, Feb. 20 as the road team vs. the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium beginning at 2:05 p.m. CT. Kansas City’s schedule features 15 home games at Surprise Stadium, plus 2 games as the visiting team vs. the Rangers on Feb. 20 and March 18.Seven of the 1st 8 home games will begin at 2:05 p.m. CT. Starting on Sunday, March 8, when Daylight Saving Time begins, the Royals normal start time will be 3:05 p.m. CT. They will host 3 night games during Cactus League play, on Thursday, March 5 vs. the Texas Rangers (7:05 p.m. CT), Friday, March 13 vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks (8:05 p.m. CT) and Tuesday, March 17 vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers (8:05 p.m. CT).There are two split-squad dates, on which the Royals will field a pair of teams and play 2 games, on Wednesday, March 11 and Thursday, March 19. Both home games on those dates will begin at 3:05 p.m. CT.The Royals will play 32 games in 33 days next spring, including 29 Cactus League games. The other 3 games include an exhibition vs. Team Cuba on Tuesday, March 3 at Surprise Stadium (2:05 p.m. CT), plus 2 games vs. the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Monday, March 23 and Tuesday, March 24, after the conclusion of Cactus League play.The Royals are scheduled for two off days in Arizona, on Wednesday, March 4 and Monday, March 16. Their final Cactus League game is scheduled for Saturday, March 21 vs. Colorado at 2:05 p.m. CT, after which they’ll have an off day on Sunday, March 22, before their games in Arlington, Texas.The Royals will play their neighbors in Surprise, the Texas Rangers, five times in total, including 2 games as the home team. They will play every other Cactus League team twice, including 1 home game and 1 road game.The Royals will play their regular season opener on Thursday, March 26 at Truist Park vs. the Atlanta Braves. Their home opener will be on Monday, March 30 vs. the Minnesota Twins.Group and season ticket packages for the 2026 Spring Training season are now on sale. Individual game tickets for Spring Training at Surprise Stadium will go on sale Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 10 a.m. MST online at&nbsp;<a href="http://surprisestadium.com/" target="_blank">SurpriseStadium.com</a>. Information regarding game times and promotional events will be announced later.

Royals Announce 2026 Spring Training Home Game Times

MANHATTAN, Kansas&nbsp;–&nbsp;Playing its fourth game in eight days, K-State women’s basketball fought its way to an 81-59 win over Troy at Bramlage Coliseum on Tuesday night.

K-State (4-2) was paced by freshman guard Jordan Speiser with her second double-double, as she tallied 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Joining Speiser in double figures were freshman guard Brandie Harrod with 12 points and four rebounds, while senior guard Tess Heal added 11 points and nine rebounds.

- The Wildcats shot 33.3 percent (12-of-36) from the field in the opening half, but were perfect from the foul line (9-of-9) to hold a 35-28 lead at halftime. Defensively, K-State held Troy (3-1) to a 25.0 percent (11-of-44) effort from the floor.

- K-State strung together a 16-2 run midway through the third quarter to build a 57-38 lead with 1:10 remaining in the frame. Five different Wildcats scored during the run, highlighted by five points from freshman guard Gina Garcia. The product of Barcelona, Spain, ended the night with eight points and five assists.

- The Wildcats would win the third quarter, 24-13, and hold a 59-41 lead entering the final stanza. K-State shot 47.4 percent (9-of-19) from the floor in the third.

- K-State had its best shooting percentage of the night in the fourth quarter, tabulating a 52.9 percent (9-of-17) performance from the field. The Wildcats made four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, equaling their makes from the first three quarters.

- For the night, the Wildcats shot 41.7 percent (30-of-72) performance from the field and tallied an 86.7 percent (13-of-15) effort from the foul line.

- Defensively, K-State held Troy to a 26.5 percent (22-of-83) effort from the field. This was the second-lowest shooting percentage by a K-State opponent this season (25.5 percent; Omaha, Nov. 3).

- The teams combined for 105 rebounds in the game, as Troy held the slight edge, 55-50.

- This was the first meeting in the series between K-State and Troy. The Wildcats are 11-8 (.579) against current members of the Sun Belt.

- The Wildcats are 8-1 against schools from the state of Alabama.

- K-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 676-380 (.640), including a mark of 222-145 (.605).

- K-State is 416-159 (.723) in its 38th-season inside Bramlage Coliseum, including a 146-51 (.741) record under Mittie. The Wildcats are 241-32 (.883) in non-conference games in Bramlage including an 87-11 (.888) mark during Mittie’s time at K-State.

- The Wildcats are 170-57 (.749) in games played in the month of November. Under head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State is 56-14 (.800) in games during the 11th&nbsp;month.

- K-State's starting five consisted of guards Gina Garcia, Brandie Harrod, Tess Heal, Taryn Sides and Jordan Speiser. This was the second time this lineup has started together this season. This was the 80th&nbsp;career start for Heal and her sixth at K-State. This was the sixth career start for Harrod. This was the fifth career start for Sides. This was the fourth career start for Garcia. Speiser made her second career start.

- The Wildcats held a 35-28 lead at halftime on Tuesday. Under Mittie, K-State is 179-21 (.895) when leading at halftime, including a 3-0 mark this season.

- The Wildcats registered three quarters (second, third and fourth) with 20 or more points on Tuesday. Since the start of the quarter system in 2015-16, K-State is 163-67 (.709) when scoring 20 or more points in any quarter in a game. K-State has 11 quarters this season with 20 or more points scored.

- K-State had the edge in bench scoring, 28-12. The Wildcats have received 20 or more points from its bench in all six games this season.

- The Wildcats pulled in 50 rebounds, which are the most for K-State since pulling in 51 against Milwaukee on Nov. 20, 2024.

- K-State’s 40 defensive rebounds are the most for K-State since Nov. 18, 2024, when K-State pulled down 42 defensive rebounds against Little Rock.

- Speiser reached double figures in points for the third time in her career.

- Speiser connected on two field goals from long range. This was her second career game with two or more conversions from distance.

- Speiser pulled in 10 rebounds on Tuesday. This was her third game this season with five or more rebounds and her second with 10 or more.

- Heal tallied 11 points. She owns 77 career games in double figures, including three this season.

- Heal connected on two 3-pointers on Tuesday. This was her 24th&nbsp;career game with two or more connections from long range.

- Heal grabbed nine rebounds against Troy. This was her third game this season and the 32nd&nbsp;of her career with five or more rebounds.

- Harrod tied her career-high in points and it was her third game this season in double figures.

- Taryn Sides hauled in nine rebounds on Tuesday. This was her 20th&nbsp;career game with five or more rebounds and her fourth this season.

- Sides dished out six assists on Tuesday night, her third game this season with five or more assists. In her career, Sides has 18 career games with five or more assists. With her assist total on Tuesday, Sides improved her career assist total to 216.

- Garcia recorded her third career game with five or more assists.

- With her 1-of-1 effort from the foul line on Tuesday, Garcia has now made 17 consecutive free throws to begin her career.

On the biggest difference between the first and second half…

“I think throwing it to our team helped. There's a lot of chaos in that first half. I think there's no doubt that we're a tired team right now. We’ve played a lot of games early here. We’ve played a lot of games. There has not been a lot of practice time, mental fatigue, and I think unfortunately for us, you play a team like Troy that's got a chaos element to their defensive scheme, and you better be sound. You better be fundamentally sound. And I thought particularly, I thought our guards looked tired. I thought Gina (Garcia) looked tired, and she's played a lot of stressful minutes, right? And a lot of physical minutes. So proud of our group for fighting through it. But the obvious answer is that we threw it to us a lot more in the second half than we did the first half.”

On Nastja Claessens having played in Lithuania on Sunday and then here tonight…

“I mean, she's in shape, she's young. I don't know what time she got in, maybe 2:30 or 3:00 last night, back to campus here. She never said a word. She was up grabbing some food, I think, around 10:00, 10:30 this morning, and ready to go. And I know she's tired. She needs to take tomorrow off and sleep in. But competitor, the good thing is, it's not like she was away for a week with an injury. She was playing basketball. It's not like she had to get back into that part of it. But, you could see the difference she makes for us, particularly at the defensive end of the floor, because we're able to put her on a problem, and if we have another problem, we can move her to that one, because she's such a versatile defender. And you know that's important for us to be able to do.”

On what the team did best defensively…

“I'll start with (Jordan) Speiser. I thought she was physical down low with the center. I think she's continuing to improve defensively. I felt like we guarded the straight line drive better tonight. It did not feel like they were downhill as much as we've seen, some teams get downhill against us. Really defended the three well early in this game. Now they really got hot late and knocked some threes down. But I thought we had a pretty good awareness there. So I think we were battling. I didn't ever question that we were battling. It just looked to me like you could see the physical fatigue and you could see the mental fatigue, but I know they wanted to come out on the right side. This has been a tough week for us. I'll just go back to really pleased that we were able to battle, not play great, but play well enough, and have some balance to that, because I think everybody did some good things.”

On the scoring run in the third and fourth quarter…

“I felt like in that stretch we probably played together as well as any time of the game. I didn't really feel like the game ever had any rhythm to it. So many turnovers, a lot of chaos, we couldn't play well enough to get any rhythm. That part of the game felt like it had some rhythm to it. Felt like the right play was being made more often than not. And while it was a chaos game. You saw (Aniya) Foy&nbsp; do some really good things. I saw Brandie (Harod), I think, slow down some at the rim and finish better than she has. Speiser, like I mentioned, her rebounding has continued to really, really improve. So we're seeing some areas, particularly from our young group that's just getting better and better.”

On how nice it will be to have some time to focus on the team and not the next opponent…

“Yeah, it's been really a challenge to find that practice, as we talked even last week. It's just different with a really veteran team than it is with a younger team. You want to have more practice time. You want to continue to build good habits. Hey, look, I'd like to sleep past 5 a.m., one day this week. I prefer to see 6:00 on an off day. I think it’ll be nice just to have the win. I’d much rather correct things after a win. I think our group will be excited about that. I'll be excited to go back on film and actually maybe evaluate some things, as opposed to going forward and looking at an opponent. It'll be nice tonight, when I get home, grab some food. I can, instead of going to the next opponent already, I can at least go back and maybe help our team get better. Because I think that, as I've said numerous times, this is a team that we can see a lot of growth from.”

K-State Junior Forward Nastja Claessens

On how crazy the past couple of days have been…

“I'm running on five hours of sleep right now, so I'm a little tired, but it's okay. I'm happy with the win. That's what matters, and I get to sleep after this.”

On how soon she was able to get to Manhattan after playing a game in Lithuania…

“I left Monday morning, I was supposed to fly out at 9 a.m., but then my flight got canceled. It was a whole thing. And I got here in Manhattan at 2 a.m. this morning.”

On if her tiredness wore off as the game went on…

“Yeah, at first you always have to get through the first fatigue. But after that, you play a game, you're concentrated on winning, and you're not thinking about you being tired or your body being tired. You're just pushing through.”

On if she noticed anything new about the team when she got back…

“The past two games we had tough losses, and I think we came back stronger. We had a team talk, and we talked about the values of our team, and I think everybody thought about it pretty seriously. Mentally, we came back stronger, and you could see it on the court today. We fought for every ball, we got the win, and it feels great.”

K-State Freshman Guard Brandie Harrod

On the biggest change at halftime…

“Just focusing on finishing and no turnovers. That was really the main thing we talked about in the locker room, just playing as a team.”

On where her game has grown throughout the first 5 games…

“Just focusing on helping out my teammates, getting the open shots that I can get, and being a great teammate.”

On how it feels to get a win after two tough losses…

“It feels amazing. We've been working in practice these past few days, this long stretch of games, we've been very tired, but getting this one tonight and then having an off day tomorrow will be really good.”

“She's able to space the floor the bigs, and we're able to get more shots. And even if we don't get our shot, we can just pass it out to her. She can hit shots, and she's able to facilitate as well.”

“Probably being in the gap so they don't have any driving lanes, and then boxing out as well. Even though today wasn't our best boxing out or getting rebounds day, we've been working on that a lot, and getting our gaps as well.”

K-State will play its next five games away from the Little Apple, as the Wildcats travel to Wisconsin to face Green Bay on Saturday at 1 p.m.

MANHATTAN, Kansas&nbsp;–&nbsp;Playing its fourth game in eight days, K-State women’s basketball fought its way to an 81-59 win over Troy at Bramlage Coliseum on Tuesday night.K-State (4-2) was paced by freshman guard Jordan Speiser with her second double-double, as she tallied 13 points and 10 rebounds.Joining Speiser in double figures were freshman guard Brandie Harrod with 12 points and four rebounds, while senior guard Tess Heal added 11 points and nine rebounds.HOW IT HAPPENED- The Wildcats shot 33.3 percent (12-of-36) from the field in the opening half, but were perfect from the foul line (9-of-9) to hold a 35-28 lead at halftime. Defensively, K-State held Troy (3-1) to a 25.0 percent (11-of-44) effort from the floor.- K-State strung together a 16-2 run midway through the third quarter to build a 57-38 lead with 1:10 remaining in the frame. Five different Wildcats scored during the run, highlighted by five points from freshman guard Gina Garcia. The product of Barcelona, Spain, ended the night with eight points and five assists.- The Wildcats would win the third quarter, 24-13, and hold a 59-41 lead entering the final stanza. K-State shot 47.4 percent (9-of-19) from the floor in the third.- K-State had its best shooting percentage of the night in the fourth quarter, tabulating a 52.9 percent (9-of-17) performance from the field. The Wildcats made four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, equaling their makes from the first three quarters.- For the night, the Wildcats shot 41.7 percent (30-of-72) performance from the field and tallied an 86.7 percent (13-of-15) effort from the foul line.- Defensively, K-State held Troy to a 26.5 percent (22-of-83) effort from the field. This was the second-lowest shooting percentage by a K-State opponent this season (25.5 percent; Omaha, Nov. 3).- The teams combined for 105 rebounds in the game, as Troy held the slight edge, 55-50.QUICK FACTS- This was the first meeting in the series between K-State and Troy. The Wildcats are 11-8 (.579) against current members of the Sun Belt.- The Wildcats are 8-1 against schools from the state of Alabama.- K-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 676-380 (.640), including a mark of 222-145 (.605).- K-State is 416-159 (.723) in its 38th-season inside Bramlage Coliseum, including a 146-51 (.741) record under Mittie. The Wildcats are 241-32 (.883) in non-conference games in Bramlage including an 87-11 (.888) mark during Mittie’s time at K-State.- The Wildcats are 170-57 (.749) in games played in the month of November. Under head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State is 56-14 (.800) in games during the 11th&nbsp;month.TEAM NOTES- K-State's starting five consisted of guards Gina Garcia, Brandie Harrod, Tess Heal, Taryn Sides and Jordan Speiser. This was the second time this lineup has started together this season. This was the 80th&nbsp;career start for Heal and her sixth at K-State. This was the sixth career start for Harrod. This was the fifth career start for Sides. This was the fourth career start for Garcia. Speiser made her second career start.- The Wildcats held a 35-28 lead at halftime on Tuesday. Under Mittie, K-State is 179-21 (.895) when leading at halftime, including a 3-0 mark this season.- The Wildcats registered three quarters (second, third and fourth) with 20 or more points on Tuesday. Since the start of the quarter system in 2015-16, K-State is 163-67 (.709) when scoring 20 or more points in any quarter in a game. K-State has 11 quarters this season with 20 or more points scored.- K-State had the edge in bench scoring, 28-12. The Wildcats have received 20 or more points from its bench in all six games this season.- The Wildcats pulled in 50 rebounds, which are the most for K-State since pulling in 51 against Milwaukee on Nov. 20, 2024.- K-State’s 40 defensive rebounds are the most for K-State since Nov. 18, 2024, when K-State pulled down 42 defensive rebounds against Little Rock.PLAYER NOTES- Speiser reached double figures in points for the third time in her career.- Speiser connected on two field goals from long range. This was her second career game with two or more conversions from distance.- Speiser pulled in 10 rebounds on Tuesday. This was her third game this season with five or more rebounds and her second with 10 or more.- Heal tallied 11 points. She owns 77 career games in double figures, including three this season.- Heal connected on two 3-pointers on Tuesday. This was her 24th&nbsp;career game with two or more connections from long range.- Heal grabbed nine rebounds against Troy. This was her third game this season and the 32nd&nbsp;of her career with five or more rebounds.- Harrod tied her career-high in points and it was her third game this season in double figures.- Taryn Sides hauled in nine rebounds on Tuesday. This was her 20th&nbsp;career game with five or more rebounds and her fourth this season.- Sides dished out six assists on Tuesday night, her third game this season with five or more assists. In her career, Sides has 18 career games with five or more assists. With her assist total on Tuesday, Sides improved her career assist total to 216.- Garcia recorded her third career game with five or more assists.- With her 1-of-1 effort from the foul line on Tuesday, Garcia has now made 17 consecutive free throws to begin her career.FROM THE HEAD COACHK-State Head Coach Jeff MittieOn the biggest difference between the first and second half…“I think throwing it to our team helped. There's a lot of chaos in that first half. I think there's no doubt that we're a tired team right now. We’ve played a lot of games early here. We’ve played a lot of games. There has not been a lot of practice time, mental fatigue, and I think unfortunately for us, you play a team like Troy that's got a chaos element to their defensive scheme, and you better be sound. You better be fundamentally sound. And I thought particularly, I thought our guards looked tired. I thought Gina (Garcia) looked tired, and she's played a lot of stressful minutes, right? And a lot of physical minutes. So proud of our group for fighting through it. But the obvious answer is that we threw it to us a lot more in the second half than we did the first half.”On Nastja Claessens having played in Lithuania on Sunday and then here tonight…“I mean, she's in shape, she's young. I don't know what time she got in, maybe 2:30 or 3:00 last night, back to campus here. She never said a word. She was up grabbing some food, I think, around 10:00, 10:30 this morning, and ready to go. And I know she's tired. She needs to take tomorrow off and sleep in. But competitor, the good thing is, it's not like she was away for a week with an injury. She was playing basketball. It's not like she had to get back into that part of it. But, you could see the difference she makes for us, particularly at the defensive end of the floor, because we're able to put her on a problem, and if we have another problem, we can move her to that one, because she's such a versatile defender. And you know that's important for us to be able to do.”On what the team did best defensively…“I'll start with (Jordan) Speiser. I thought she was physical down low with the center. I think she's continuing to improve defensively. I felt like we guarded the straight line drive better tonight. It did not feel like they were downhill as much as we've seen, some teams get downhill against us. Really defended the three well early in this game. Now they really got hot late and knocked some threes down. But I thought we had a pretty good awareness there. So I think we were battling. I didn't ever question that we were battling. It just looked to me like you could see the physical fatigue and you could see the mental fatigue, but I know they wanted to come out on the right side. This has been a tough week for us. I'll just go back to really pleased that we were able to battle, not play great, but play well enough, and have some balance to that, because I think everybody did some good things.”On the scoring run in the third and fourth quarter…“I felt like in that stretch we probably played together as well as any time of the game. I didn't really feel like the game ever had any rhythm to it. So many turnovers, a lot of chaos, we couldn't play well enough to get any rhythm. That part of the game felt like it had some rhythm to it. Felt like the right play was being made more often than not. And while it was a chaos game. You saw (Aniya) Foy&nbsp; do some really good things. I saw Brandie (Harod), I think, slow down some at the rim and finish better than she has. Speiser, like I mentioned, her rebounding has continued to really, really improve. So we're seeing some areas, particularly from our young group that's just getting better and better.”On how nice it will be to have some time to focus on the team and not the next opponent…“Yeah, it's been really a challenge to find that practice, as we talked even last week. It's just different with a really veteran team than it is with a younger team. You want to have more practice time. You want to continue to build good habits. Hey, look, I'd like to sleep past 5 a.m., one day this week. I prefer to see 6:00 on an off day. I think it’ll be nice just to have the win. I’d much rather correct things after a win. I think our group will be excited about that. I'll be excited to go back on film and actually maybe evaluate some things, as opposed to going forward and looking at an opponent. It'll be nice tonight, when I get home, grab some food. I can, instead of going to the next opponent already, I can at least go back and maybe help our team get better. Because I think that, as I've said numerous times, this is a team that we can see a lot of growth from.”FROM THE FLOORK-State Junior Forward Nastja ClaessensOn how crazy the past couple of days have been…“I'm running on five hours of sleep right now, so I'm a little tired, but it's okay. I'm happy with the win. That's what matters, and I get to sleep after this.”On how soon she was able to get to Manhattan after playing a game in Lithuania…“I left Monday morning, I was supposed to fly out at 9 a.m., but then my flight got canceled. It was a whole thing. And I got here in Manhattan at 2 a.m. this morning.”On if her tiredness wore off as the game went on…“Yeah, at first you always have to get through the first fatigue. But after that, you play a game, you're concentrated on winning, and you're not thinking about you being tired or your body being tired. You're just pushing through.”On if she noticed anything new about the team when she got back…“The past two games we had tough losses, and I think we came back stronger. We had a team talk, and we talked about the values of our team, and I think everybody thought about it pretty seriously. Mentally, we came back stronger, and you could see it on the court today. We fought for every ball, we got the win, and it feels great.”K-State Freshman Guard Brandie HarrodOn the biggest change at halftime…“Just focusing on finishing and no turnovers. That was really the main thing we talked about in the locker room, just playing as a team.”On where her game has grown throughout the first 5 games…“Just focusing on helping out my teammates, getting the open shots that I can get, and being a great teammate.”On how it feels to get a win after two tough losses…“It feels amazing. We've been working in practice these past few days, this long stretch of games, we've been very tired, but getting this one tonight and then having an off day tomorrow will be really good.”On Jordan Speiser…“She's able to space the floor the bigs, and we're able to get more shots. And even if we don't get our shot, we can just pass it out to her. She can hit shots, and she's able to facilitate as well.”On holding Troy to 59 points…“Probably being in the gap so they don't have any driving lanes, and then boxing out as well. Even though today wasn't our best boxing out or getting rebounds day, we've been working on that a lot, and getting our gaps as well.”UP NEXTK-State will play its next five games away from the Little Apple, as the Wildcats travel to Wisconsin to face Green Bay on Saturday at 1 p.m.

🏀 K-State WBB Grinds Out Win Over Troy

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The Kansas City Royals announced today they have selected right-handed pitchers&nbsp;Ben Kudrna&nbsp;(<a href="https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/video/upload/mlb/da3pl3idzha8qndbkjkt.m4a" target="_blank">koo-dur-nuh</a>) and&nbsp;Steven Zobac. Kansas City’s Major League Reserve List is now at 39.

Kudrna, 22, made a career-high 24 appearances (22 starts) between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha in 2025. He made 20 appearances (19 starts) with Northwest Arkansas and recorded a 4.21 ERA (44 ER in 94.0 IP) with 96 strikeouts (9.2 K/9). In his last 6 starts at Double-A, from July 4-Aug. 13, he recorded a 1.71 ERA (6 ER in 31.2 IP), including a career-high 11 strikeouts in 6.0 innings on July 22 at Arkansas. That stretch earned him Northwest Arkansas Pitcher of the Month honors for July and Texas League Pitcher of the Week honors for the period of July 21-27.

Kudrna was a SiriusXM Futures Game selection in 2024 and was named the organization’s&nbsp;Paul Splittorff&nbsp;Pitcher of the Year in 2022. He was selected by Kansas City in the 2nd round of the 2021 Draft out of Blue Valley Southwest High School in Overland Park, Kan.

Zobac, 25, was limited to 14 starts in 2025 due to injuries, including 11 starts with Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He recorded 37 strikeouts (9.2 K/9) and issued only 14 walks (3.5 BB/9) in 36.1 innings with the Naturals. Zobac also made 3 rehab starts in the Arizona Complex League.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The Kansas City Royals announced today they have selected right-handed pitchers&nbsp;Ben Kudrna&nbsp;(<a href="https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/video/upload/mlb/da3pl3idzha8qndbkjkt.m4a" target="_blank">koo-dur-nuh</a>) and&nbsp;Steven Zobac. Kansas City’s Major League Reserve List is now at 39.Kudrna, 22, made a career-high 24 appearances (22 starts) between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha in 2025. He made 20 appearances (19 starts) with Northwest Arkansas and recorded a 4.21 ERA (44 ER in 94.0 IP) with 96 strikeouts (9.2 K/9). In his last 6 starts at Double-A, from July 4-Aug. 13, he recorded a 1.71 ERA (6 ER in 31.2 IP), including a career-high 11 strikeouts in 6.0 innings on July 22 at Arkansas. That stretch earned him Northwest Arkansas Pitcher of the Month honors for July and Texas League Pitcher of the Week honors for the period of July 21-27.Kudrna was a SiriusXM Futures Game selection in 2024 and was named the organization’s&nbsp;Paul Splittorff&nbsp;Pitcher of the Year in 2022. He was selected by Kansas City in the 2nd round of the 2021 Draft out of Blue Valley Southwest High School in Overland Park, Kan.Zobac, 25, was limited to 14 starts in 2025 due to injuries, including 11 starts with Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He recorded 37 strikeouts (9.2 K/9) and issued only 14 walks (3.5 BB/9) in 36.1 innings with the Naturals. Zobac also made 3 rehab starts in the Arizona Complex League.

Royals Select Two Players to 40-Man Roster

NEW YORK (AP) — Cameron Boozer had 18 points and 10 rebounds, twin brother Cayden made a couple of big second-half baskets and fifth-ranked Duke outlasted No. 24 Kansas, defeating the undermanned Jayhawks 78-66 on Tuesday night in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-25-mens-college-basketball-3c18427817e906bc679c1b14dc92a032">annual Champions Classic</a>.

Isaiah Evans scored 16 points and Patrick Ngongba had 13 on 4-of-4 shooting for the Blue Devils (5-0).

The Jayhawks (3-2) were still without their best player, freshman Darryn Peterson, the nation's top recruit and potentially the top pick in next year's NBA draft, because of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-darryn-peterson-mens-basketball-348cbc7e304cea3d70a5c62a2ef0367c">a lingering hamstring injury</a>. Peterson has missed three consecutive games since hurting himself during a shootaround.

Peterson's absence was enough to make a difference at Madison Square Garden even though the Blue Devils were less consistent than in their previous four victories. Kansas rattled Duke with some fast-break points early before getting worn down by foul trouble and a depth disparity.

All five Kansas starters had at least one foul and three had two apiece in the first half, and Duke closed it out on a 17-5 run to lead by eight. The Jayhawks trimmed their deficit to 67-64 on Melvin Council Jr.'s 3-pointer with 4:59 left.

The foul trouble showed in some tired legs. Flory Bidunga picked up his fourth with more than seven minutes left, and Bryson Tiller fouled out with 3:04 remaining.

Evans hit a 3 coming out of the under-4-minute timeout, and Cameron Boozer scored four of the eight points in an 8-0 run by Duke to pull away.

Tre White tried at every turn to keep Kansas in the game, scoring 23 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

Kansas: Faces Notre Dame on Monday night in each team's opening game of the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1763521602490.png" alt="Photo Kansas Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Photo Kansas Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Cameron Boozer had 18 points and 10 rebounds, twin brother Cayden made a couple of big second-half baskets and fifth-ranked Duke outlasted No. 24 Kansas, defeating the undermanned Jayhawks 78-66 on Tuesday night in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-25-mens-college-basketball-3c18427817e906bc679c1b14dc92a032">annual Champions Classic</a>.Isaiah Evans scored 16 points and Patrick Ngongba had 13 on 4-of-4 shooting for the Blue Devils (5-0).The Jayhawks (3-2) were still without their best player, freshman Darryn Peterson, the nation's top recruit and potentially the top pick in next year's NBA draft, because of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-darryn-peterson-mens-basketball-348cbc7e304cea3d70a5c62a2ef0367c">a lingering hamstring injury</a>. Peterson has missed three consecutive games since hurting himself during a shootaround.Peterson's absence was enough to make a difference at Madison Square Garden even though the Blue Devils were less consistent than in their previous four victories. Kansas rattled Duke with some fast-break points early before getting worn down by foul trouble and a depth disparity.All five Kansas starters had at least one foul and three had two apiece in the first half, and Duke closed it out on a 17-5 run to lead by eight. The Jayhawks trimmed their deficit to 67-64 on Melvin Council Jr.'s 3-pointer with 4:59 left.The foul trouble showed in some tired legs. Flory Bidunga picked up his fourth with more than seven minutes left, and Bryson Tiller fouled out with 3:04 remaining.Evans hit a 3 coming out of the under-4-minute timeout, and Cameron Boozer scored four of the eight points in an 8-0 run by Duke to pull away.Tre White tried at every turn to keep Kansas in the game, scoring 23 points and grabbing nine rebounds.<h2>Up next</h2>Kansas: Faces Notre Dame on Monday night in each team's opening game of the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas.

🏀 Cameron Boozer scores 18 points as Duke outlasts Kansas 

<a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/33d8b2fe-a009-4933-85db-0fb48a8e1241?elinkdata=33314">Chris Snyder</a>, an assistant coach for the Kansas Wesleyan football program, has been named the university's flag football coach. He replaces Melinda Nguyen, who has accepted a Division I head coaching job in a southern state.

Snyder was passing game coordinator, recruiting coordinator, quarterbacks coach and developmental team head coach this fall. The Coyotes finished 7-4 in first-year head coach Matt Middleton's first year.

Snyder has been at KWU for nearly four years in his second stint. He was co-interim head coach for the final six games of the 2024 season and helped the Coyotes win the Kansas Conference's Gene Bissell Division with a 5-0 record and gain a berth in the NAIA National Championships. He also served as interim bowling coach and was associate director of admissions from 2022-24.

He was assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for coach Dave Dallas from 2009-12 during his first tour of duty at KWU.

Snyder has considerable college coaching experience. He has coached quarterbacks for 22 years, spent 17 as a recruiting coordinator, 16 as an offensive coordinator and 12 as a receivers coach, with stops at Bethany twice, Saint Mary, Independence Community College and Doane. He was head coach at Mendocino College (Calif.) during the 2014 season and was the school's offensive and recruiting coordinator from 2004-09.

"Coach Snyder's experience, leadership and proven record of success on the field make him an outstanding fit for this position," Athletic Director <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/ad787c3a-6450-443e-b331-7c72baeee77a?elinkdata=33314">Miguel Paredes</a> said. "We look forward to the continued growth of our program under his direction."

Snyder said it was an offer he couldn't refuse.

"I've always had an interest in flag football and, in the last few years, it has been a growing sport," he said. "Having daughters that play sports - one's in college now and one's in junior high - the more opportunities the better. So, it was very appealing and staying in athletics was also key.

"It's good for the school. There isn't much turnover, and we can kind of keep things rolling. It's already a very established program so putting all those together, it was definitely a no-brainer."

The Coyotes were 49-17 (27-5 in the KCAC) during Nguyen's three seasons.

Snyder will continue to assist Middleton.

"I'm still the recruiting coordinator for football," he said. "Not much is going to change other than I'll bounce around from office to office. I'll recruit for both sports; I'll just be a little busier. Middleton and I will figure out what's best for both programs with practicing and things like that."

There are similarities between flag and tackle football, Snyder said.

"I've been on the offensive side for 24 years and there is easily a correlation. A hitch route doesn't matter if it's flag or Division I or NAIA, you run route concepts. There are a lot of correlations that people probably don't think about," he said.

"You don't have five or six guys rushing you and stunting and stuff like that. But when you're looking at concepts, and you're teaching your players routes or quarterbacks about anticipation, there's going to be a lot of similarities. That's just something I'm going to have to show the team in practice."

Snyder said he will handle the offense and assistant coach <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/af27c284-5dfb-4713-987a-f64bd557555b?elinkdata=33314">Alexa Mansur</a> will work with the defense.

"Change is hard, but it's the world you live in whether it's coaching or the real world," he said. "Things change pretty quickly, and you've got to be able to adapt. I just hope in the next few weeks, the ladies learn that I care about this program and it's my priority. I'm going to care about them and the winning culture, and that's the expectation and standard. Nothing changes there.

<a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/33d8b2fe-a009-4933-85db-0fb48a8e1241?elinkdata=33314">Chris Snyder</a>, an assistant coach for the Kansas Wesleyan football program, has been named the university's flag football coach. He replaces Melinda Nguyen, who has accepted a Division I head coaching job in a southern state.Snyder was passing game coordinator, recruiting coordinator, quarterbacks coach and developmental team head coach this fall. The Coyotes finished 7-4 in first-year head coach Matt Middleton's first year.Snyder has been at KWU for nearly four years in his second stint. He was co-interim head coach for the final six games of the 2024 season and helped the Coyotes win the Kansas Conference's Gene Bissell Division with a 5-0 record and gain a berth in the NAIA National Championships. He also served as interim bowling coach and was associate director of admissions from 2022-24.He was assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for coach Dave Dallas from 2009-12 during his first tour of duty at KWU.Snyder has considerable college coaching experience. He has coached quarterbacks for 22 years, spent 17 as a recruiting coordinator, 16 as an offensive coordinator and 12 as a receivers coach, with stops at Bethany twice, Saint Mary, Independence Community College and Doane. He was head coach at Mendocino College (Calif.) during the 2014 season and was the school's offensive and recruiting coordinator from 2004-09."Coach Snyder's experience, leadership and proven record of success on the field make him an outstanding fit for this position," Athletic Director <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/ad787c3a-6450-443e-b331-7c72baeee77a?elinkdata=33314">Miguel Paredes</a> said. "We look forward to the continued growth of our program under his direction."Snyder said it was an offer he couldn't refuse."I've always had an interest in flag football and, in the last few years, it has been a growing sport," he said. "Having daughters that play sports - one's in college now and one's in junior high - the more opportunities the better. So, it was very appealing and staying in athletics was also key."It's good for the school. There isn't much turnover, and we can kind of keep things rolling. It's already a very established program so putting all those together, it was definitely a no-brainer."The Coyotes were 49-17 (27-5 in the KCAC) during Nguyen's three seasons.Snyder will continue to assist Middleton."I'm still the recruiting coordinator for football," he said. "Not much is going to change other than I'll bounce around from office to office. I'll recruit for both sports; I'll just be a little busier. Middleton and I will figure out what's best for both programs with practicing and things like that."There are similarities between flag and tackle football, Snyder said."I've been on the offensive side for 24 years and there is easily a correlation. A hitch route doesn't matter if it's flag or Division I or NAIA, you run route concepts. There are a lot of correlations that people probably don't think about," he said."You don't have five or six guys rushing you and stunting and stuff like that. But when you're looking at concepts, and you're teaching your players routes or quarterbacks about anticipation, there's going to be a lot of similarities. That's just something I'm going to have to show the team in practice."Snyder said he will handle the offense and assistant coach <a href="http://kwucoyotes.com/services/go.ashx/af27c284-5dfb-4713-987a-f64bd557555b?elinkdata=33314">Alexa Mansur</a> will work with the defense."Change is hard, but it's the world you live in whether it's coaching or the real world," he said. "Things change pretty quickly, and you've got to be able to adapt. I just hope in the next few weeks, the ladies learn that I care about this program and it's my priority. I'm going to care about them and the winning culture, and that's the expectation and standard. Nothing changes there.

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