KSN Keys: Women’s Basketball vs Wichita State

Though coach Jeff Mittie has time to figure out how this K-State team will come together, there are still a lot of new and inexperienced players on the roster that will have to adjust to the speed of college basketball and grow in his system. Tonight will be a good chance to gauge what this team could look like in the future, but a few things need to happen for the Cats in order to collect the win over Wichita:

1. Taryn Sides and Nastja Claessens have to take control

The end of the 2025-26 season saw a lot of young talent transfer out of Manhattan, including standout freshmen like Aniya Foy and Jordan Speiser. As things change in Manhattan, two standout starters remain at the top of the depth chart in seniors Nastja Claessens and Taryn Sides.

Last season saw Sides and Claessens end with the most points, rebounds and steals on the team, being two of the most dynamic players on the court. Part of what makes them so effective is how they play off of each other while being in completely different positions; Claessens runs the front court while Sides holds it down on the perimeter. This duo became the centerpiece of Mittie’s team last season and their return is so important if the Cats want to start hot this season.

2. Gina Garcia has to protect the basketball

Gina Garcia enters her second season with K-State after a freshman campaign that showed flashes of brilliance. Garcia led the team in assists, being the main distributor for a Cats squad that needed the extra boost in playmaking. While Garcia was proficient in table-setting, she also had her fair share of moments where the speed of the game got to her and she turned the ball over. 

Now, in season two of her collegiate career, K-State would take a massive step forward if Garcia kept the ball out of harm’s way. She ended last season with some really strong games as a passer, having three double doubles in her last eight games. If she keeps her turnover margin above 1-2, Garcia could be one of the stars of this Cats team.

3. The new members need to make up for lost production

K-State women’s basketball has struggled to make it to game one intact after losing guard Brandie Harrod and center Ramiya White to season-ending injuries a few weeks back. In their place, some new Cats will have chances to make an impact and HC Jeff Mittie will have the chance to experiment against the Shockers tonight.

Over the offseason, the Cats added multiple transfers to the roster that come from a number of different countries. There’s transfers like Tea Cleante, a France-native guard who spent her first season playing for Penn State and starting in 24 games. Then there’s players like Tzoana Tampakou and Shaila Nde, who’ve never played a minute of American basketball after travelling from their home countries. 

K-State women’s basketball has a 12 player roster that is made up of seven different nationalities, making them one of the more diverse rosters in the country. As so many new additions have a wealth of experience from playing overseas, they will have to learn and adapt to the faster and more physical version of basketball that the Big 12 is known for. There is a wealth of opportunity for new Cats to take big steps in coach Mittie’s system and K-State will need more production after two returners are left on the injury report. But it has to happen quick because K-State’s schedule picks up pretty quickly towards the end of November.