Football is on their third bye weekend of the season thanks to the scheduling quirks associated with the game in Ireland to open the season. So let’s take an opportunity to get caught up.
Football
The big news to end the week wasn’t really all that surprising if you’ve been paying attention. It was first reported by Kellis Robinett, and then later confirmed, on Friday that Dylan Edwards has decided to leave the Kansas State football program and sit out/redshirt the remainder of the season before hitting the transfer
portal.
Edwards has had a tumultuous career at K-State, beginning with his recruitment process, that saw the lightning-fast back from Derby originally commit to the Wildcats before flipping to Notre Dame and then later Colorado. After just a season in Boulder, Edwards decided to return to the Sunflower State and spent most of the 2024 season either hurt or as a backup to 2024 NFL Draft 5th-round pick DJ Giddens before having a breakout game in the 2024 Rate Bowl vs Rutgers where he earned offensive MVP honors after totaling nearly 200 yards on the ground and two touchdowns to help lead the team victory.
But 2025 started with a muff…literally. Edwards first action of the season came on the opening punt return against Iowa State, a punt that he dropped and then didn’t fight for before walking off the field and apparently (read: rumor) injuring himself kicking a bench (or something similar) on the sideline. He missed the remainder of that game, as well as the next three games — a win over North Dakota and the abysmal losses to Army and Arizona — before returning with a bang against UCF. Dylan net 166 rushing yards against the Knights, including an electric 75-yard house call that showcased Edwards’ blazing speed.
But the next week in the loss to Baylor, Edwards ran just 10 times for 26 yards and a score, and that was “all she wrote”. Edwards has since been sidelined with a “lower body/leg injury”, and rumors have been swirling for weeks that he had quit the team. Even with little usage, Edwards leaves K-State 51st on the rushing list with 751 rushing yards on 108 carries and 7 scores on the ground, plus 150 yards and two TDs on 22 receptions. He ranks just ahead of Justin Gilbert, who you might remember as the grad-transfer back who played just one year at K-State in Klieman’s first season in 2019, and two spots behind “Bazooka” Joe Hubener, who amassed 780 yards on the ground, mostly in the broken 2015 season.
Hopefully, with this out of the way, the Wildcats can turn their full attention to Oklahoma State. While the Pokes are mired in an 8-game losing streak in the midst of one of the worst seasons in school history (1-8, 0-6), they are still not a team that can be overlooked by K-State. The Cats are still two wins shy of becoming bowl-eligible, and with just three games left in the regular season, every game matters. The Pokes nearly upset KU last weekend, and also have this weekend off to get extra prepared to try and pick up a conference win this season. The game next weekend in Stillwater is set for an 11am CT kickoff, and will be “aired” on ESPNU.
Basketball
The MittieCats opened the season at full-throttle, and rode a 50-9 first-half effort to a 100-35 win against Omaha on Monday night. The Cats played well, but there was still plenty of things to work on as part of the huge margin of victory was that the Mavericks were just not good. Still, 1-0 is 1-0, and there are lots of bright spots in the re-tooled roster. Third-year guard Taryn Sides looks like she’s growing into the veteran leader we hoped she would become, and the new additions appear to be gelling well. Next up, the Wildcats are on the road this afternoon to take on SMU in Dallas — you can catch the action at 4pm CT streamed live on ACCNX.
Speaking of new additions, after it came out that Kennedy Taylor’s appeal was denied and she would not be granted another season, the Wildcats moved quickly to sign 6’4” Solvenian center Ivona Scekic, and she will join the Wildcats in December and be immediately eligible. Scekic has been a fixture on her country’s various national teams, most recently the 2025 FIBA U18 Women’s EuroBasket, where she saw action in seven games and averaged 5.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists. Scekic should be just development depth this season, but could develop if she sticks around for her full eligiblty.
The men did not start the season full-throttle, and were down by as many as 10 points on the way to a 33-34 halftime deficit to North Carolina….Greensboro. But whatever Tang and staff said/did in the locker room at the break clearly worked, and the Cats came out on fire in the second half enroute to a 93-64 win on Tuesday night to open the season 1-0. As Drew points out, the second half showed this squad has the tools to be good, and PJ Haggarty is a very good basketball player, but it’s not going to be an easy season for the Cats if they keep starting slow.
The TangCats get back to action tonight in Bramlage against Bellarmine, with tip set for 7pm CT and can be seen on ESPN+.
Volleyball
The VolleyCats season is still in the heat of action, and the Wildcats rode a record-setting 13 service aces and career milestones from seniors Ava LeGrand and Shaylee Myers, along with a breakout performance from freshman Avery Stones, to a 3-1 win over Cincinnati on Thursday night at Morgan Family Arena. The win improves the Wildcats to 13-7 overall, and back to even in Big 12 play at 6-6 and sitting in 8th in the league standings. Next up is a big match this afternoon at Morgan Family Arena, as the Wildcats host #20 Colorado at 1pm CT, and you can catch the action on ESPN+.
