This Week Today: Sep. 14th – 20th

To start, senior Alex Lindstrom has moved on from college golf after being the only Wildcat to reach the NCAA Tournament, where he finished 26th in the Corvallis Regional. Lindstrom had the most top 20 finishes on the team with five, and he was the only Cat to play in 12 events. With Lindstrom goes senior Shea Harmeson, the only member of the team to finish in the top three twice last season.

Though KSU’s two top talents from last season are departing, there are still a lot of young members of the Wildcats with real experience from last season. Junior Fionn Dobbin and sophomores Villie Virkkala and Oliver Toyer return for the Cats, all three of whom played in all 11 regular season events. Oliver toyer is the only member of the trio to finish in the top three, doing so as a true freshman.

Even if K-State men’s golf has no senior returners, their underclassmen talent is real and is looking to take a step forward this season. With only a couple of starter spots needing to be filled, it’ll be interesting to see who steps up and how this young Cats squad comes together.

Friday, Sep. 18th – 6:30 p.m. – KSU Soccer vs Houston – Manhattan, KS – Watch on ESPN+

Kansas State soccer ends an empty work week back at home after a long three game road campaign in Iowa and Colorado. Coach Corbin’s squad ends the nonconference part of the season with a 5-0-3 record, still technically remaining undefeated. The Cat’s road campaign in Colorado saw the Cats tying with Colorado State 2-2 and beating Colorado College 3-2. This run saw the first game where goalkeeper Maddie Sibbing allowed more than one goal, with Colorado State scoring two on only three shots on goal. Though Sibbing’s stellar record didn’t hold up in the Rockies, the offense picked up the slack scoring five goals in two games.

The Wildcats now enter Big 12 play back at home for the first time since August against the Houston Cougars. Houston enters Manhattan 4-1-3, with their only loss coming to #3 Vanderbilt. The Cougars have played two ranked opponents, going 0-1-1 against Vanderbilt and #23 Memphis. Both Houston and K-State sit at 35th in the NCAA in goals allowed on average, with Houston only allowing three total goals between their two ranked opponents.

This game will be another tough challenge for Corbin and Co. Maddie Sibbing has been the backbone for the Cats and she will need a return to form for K-State to get the upper hand against a goal-happy Houston team.

Friday, Sep. 18th – 7 p.m. – KSU Volleyball vs Creighton – Omaha, NE – Watch on ESPN2

K-State volleyball, coming off of a successful tournament in Nevada, heads to Nebraska to continue their road campaign leading up to conference play. They start their trip with a matchup against the 4-3 Creighton Blue Jays, a team whose record may look deceiving. 

Unlike K-State, Creighton has been battle tested through seven games, facing five power four teams and four ranked programs. They went 3-2 through those five games and 2-2 against those ranked opponents, with their best win coming against #9 Purdue to open the season. 

K-State on the other hand hasn’t really met a challenge yet. This young Cats squad has had a chance to warm up against smaller D1 schools, but there’s still not a lot of evidence that they’re ready to hang against more proven competition. This will be the first true gauge for HC Jason Mansfield on where his team is, but it will be a really good experience for a group that is still pretty young.

Saturday, Sep. 19th – 11 a.m. – KSU Football vs Tulane – Manhattan, KS – Watch on ESPN2

K-State football is back in Bill Snyder Family Stadium for week three as they face the Tulane Green Wave on family weekend. K-State against Tulane, in week three, at home, on family day. Does this sound familiar? If you were around for K-State’s 2022 Big 12 championship season, then this may ring a lot of alarm bells.

On September 17, 2022, K-State took their first of three losses in the 2022 season to Tulane, 17-10, at home while premiering some new alternate helmets. This loss then perpetuated the alternate uniform curse and may have played a part in keeping a very talented K-State squad from competing in the College Football Playoff.

Now, obviously both teams are far different than they were in 2022. Tulane is on their second coach since Willie Fritz moved to Houston and K-State just lost Chris Klieman to retirement and brought Colin Klein back to Manhattan. But regardless of the change, the feeling of that game still leaves a bad taste in the mouths of Cats fans as the next Caturday approaches.

HC Colin Klein has created a lot of excitement around his squad, with K-State’s defense allowing three points in two games and the offense already scoring 105 points and sitting Avery Johnson in back to back fourth quarters. But this next game feels like a chance to face some skeletons from Chris Klieman’s closet.

Saturday, Sep. 19th – 11 a.m. – KSU Volleyball vs Omaha – Omaha, NE – Watch on Summit League Network

K-State Volleyball continues their two game road trip to Nebraska as they face the Omaha Mavericks. As K-State’s last game of nonconference play, Omaha will be the last non power four K-State faces before things really pick up, so any kinks or mistakes will have to be cleaned up in Omaha before their game against a tough UCF school.

Omaha is currently sitting at 5-3, with no experience against power four schools yet. The Mavericks have struggled against Western Michigan, Washington State and Northern Arizona and currently rank 72nd in kills per set. They also rank 98th in opponent hit percentage, while K-State is top 40 in both metrics. This game should be an easy one for the Cats, but they can’t simply overlook a team like Omaha as they enter conference play.

Saturday, Sep. 19th – Monday, Sep. 21st – Women’s Golf  – Schooner Fall Classic – OU

After a tough start to the 2026-27 season for the Cats, they look to bounce back in Oklahoma for the Schooner Fall Classic entering next week. The Cats finished 11/12 in Minnesota, with Nanami Nakashima leading the Cats finishing in 22nd place. The only team they finished above was the hosting Gophers as the Cats go 42 over par as a team.