BatCats bounce back on Tuesday, TangCats get a major addition, awards, and upcoming events!
Baseball
After a weekend that saw Kansas State end it’s winning streak end with sub-par defensive play and inconsistent pitching, the BatCats showed great resilience bouncing back in a strong showing on the road to earn an 8-4 win over Missouri State on Tuesday night in Springfield, MO. That’s four wins for the Wildcats over the Bears this season, as the Wildcats also swept the series in Manhattan a few weekends ago.
The story on Tuesday night was Kaelen Culpepper, as the preseason All-American was a double short of the cycle, going 3-4 from the plate and taking a walk in his final at-bat in the 8th inning. Every one of his hits scored runs for the Wildcats, with his single in the 2nd driving in two, his triple in the 4th driving in one, plus his solo home run in the 7th to account for half of K-State’s final total. On the mound, eight Cats saw action with starter Blake Dean picking up his second win of the season allowing no runs in his two innings of work. Tyson Neighbors finished the day with a three-strikeout performance in the 9th.
Next up for the Cats (19-8, 6-3) is a trip to Orlando to face a UCF Knights team that replaced K-State in the Top 25 polls this week. The Knights (19-7, 6-6) opened their Big 12 slate with a sweep at the hands of Oklahoma, but have since won each of their last three series, going 2-1 each against OSU in Orlando, KU in Lawrence, and Texas Tech in Orlando. They’ve also got an impressive 9-6 win over then-#4 Florida on their resume. This will be a tough matchup for the Wildcats, and they will need to play better defensively than they did this past weekend if they want to stay near the top of the Big 12 standings.
First pitch for Friday, April 5th is slated for just after 5pm CDT from John Euliano Park with Josh Wintroub taking the mound. Saturday’s start time is the same with Owen Boerema set to start, and Sunday’s finale is a noon CDT start but the K-State starter has not been announced. All three games, as usual, will be available on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and can be heard online at KStateSports.com/watch and over the air in Manhattan on KMAN (1350AM/93.3/93.7FM)
On Thursday, junior second baseman Brady Day was named to the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List. Day becomes just the third Wildcat to make the midseason watch list, joining Jared King (2013) and Ross Kivett (2014). Day is the leading offensive threat for the Wildcats, and is one of the best hitters in the Big 12 through the first half of the season. If Day can make it to the semifinal list, Wildcat fans will have an opportunity to vote to help him make the finalist list.
Basketball
The TangCats started their offseason with a bang, landing the commitment (and signing) of talented Michigan-transfer guard Dug McDaniel. McDaniel, a 5’11” sophomore point guard originally from Washington, D.C., entered the transfer portal in mid-march after then-Michigan coach Juwan Howard was fired. He is considered one of the top transfers in the country this season, and was immediately the highest priority for the K-State staff. McDaniel will come to K-State with two years of eligibility remaining. This past season at Michigan, Dug averaged 16.3 points per game, including shooting 36.8% from deep, along with 4.7 assists. McDaniel picked K-State over TCU, as well as offers from well over a dozen other power conference and top-level teams.
The K-State staff is also strong on fellow Michigan transfer Tarris Reed Jr., a 6’10” sophomore forward originally from St. Louis. Not only do the Cats have the connection through McDaniel, who roomed with Reed Jr. in Ann Arbor, but Reed Jr. played for current K-State assistant Rodney Perry at LINK Prep in Branson before both went on to college ball.
Golf
It’s been a big week for K-State junior Carla Bernat. Not only did the Spaniard shoot an incredible 3-under 69 at Augusta National on Thursday to improve above the cut line at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and advance to Saturday’s finale, she was also named the Big 12 Golfer of the Month for March. Bernat’s honor is the first for K-State since Reid Isaac received the distinction in Sept. 2019, and is just the 5th time in school history. The award comes after Bernat had a pair of top-three finishes in March, and without shooting a round over par in six tries, while four of the six were in the 60s. Congrats, Carla!
Volleyball
The 2024 K-State volleyball schedule has been released, and features an 18-match Big 12 slate with home-and-home matches with KU, UCF, Iowa State, and West Virginia, as well as a non-conference matchup with former Big 12 foe Oklahoma in Manhattan on Sept 21st as part of a yet-unnamed invitational. K-State opens the season against Purdue in West Layfaette on August 30th as part of the Purdue Volleyball’s Stacy Clark Classic, and will also face USC in Omaha at Creighton’s invitational, and North Carolina at the K-State Invitational in mid-September.