Jimmy Coffman
Wednesday, August 26th, 2026
KANSAS CITY – Kansas State enters the 2026 season with their largest transfer class in the portal era, but who in this class is bound for a breakout season with the Wildcats?
The modern landscape of college athletics has created chaotic offseasons for all sports as athletic programs around the country lose large parts of their rosters to the transfer portal every year. For Kansas State, the departure of Coach Chris Klieman after an underwhelming 6-6 season made way for one of the largest transfer classes in the program’s history, with 31 players leaving Manhattan and 27 transfers joining new HC Collin Klein for their first year as a Wildcat.
Since the beginning of the portal era, K-State has fared well in acquiring talent from the portal. Guys like Travis Bates, Jaron Tibbs, Qua Moss and Marques Sigle have become fan favorites in their time as Cats and key contributors on some quality rosters over the years.
So when looking at this class of new Cats, what names stand out as potential break out players for the 2026 season?
SO Wendell Gregory – Defensive End – Oklahoma State
It should be no surprise that the number one name out of K-State’s transfer class is the only four star in the group. Coming from Oklahoma State, Gregory was named third team All-Big 12 last season, recording 4 sacks as a freshman with the Cowboys. Gregory is one of the bigger members of the DE depth chart, standing at 6’3 and weighing 263lb as an underclassman.
On top of his size, Gregory is fast off of the snap and slippery on the edge. His best performance as a Cowboy was against Arizona in Tucson, where Gregory had a forced fumble, tipped pass and five tackles, many of which came behind the line of scrimmage. Wendell Gregory comes at a pretty hefty price tag, with On3 having his NIL valuation sitting at two million Dollars. But if his flashes at OSU are any indication of what is to come, he will be a worthy member of K-State’s long line of defensive legends.
SO Rodney Fields Jr. – Running Back – Oklahoma State
Dipping back into the Oklahoma State sophomores, Rodney Fields Jr. has plenty of traits to be excited about when put into a K-State offense. Fields was in an OSU offense that has its fair share of glaring issues, namely in the passing game. The Cowboys used eight different quarterbacks, combining for only 2,089 passing yards and seven passing touchdowns. Needless to say OSU put a lot of focus into the run game, which gave Fields a lot of time to shine. The freshman averaged five yards per carry on 124 carries, ranking 79th in all of FBS while only playing nine games for the Cowboys.
Fields led the team in rushing yards by a wide margin while also landing 4th in receiving yards on a team that desperately needed the firepower. Fields’ ability to find the hole and break out into the second level is impressive, especially when paired with his ability to sneak out of the backfield on wheel routes and trick plays, something that OSU used quite a bit this last season. Overall, Rodney Fields is someone who looks like a perfect RB2 to put behind Joe Jackson and the perfect passing back for K-State’s offense.
SR Ja’Son Prevard – Safety – Virginia
Ja’Son Prevard is a great addition to K-State’s safety room. In his time with the Cavaliers, Prevard led the team in INTs with three and added five deflected passes. One of Prevard’s biggest plays at Virginia was his game winning INT against Florida State that was immediately met with one of the craziest field storms of the 2025 season. The senior plays well on deep passes and had plenty of experience going step for step with wide outs last year.
Prevard is also a great blitzer out of the secondary, blowing up a lot of plays at Virginia with his speed and ability to read the offense. He tends to swarm whoever is holding the ball and is not afraid of contact, especially in moments on the goal line. UVA was 22nd in the nation in red zone defense, with Prevard being a key contributor in a lot of close game plays.
Ja’Son Prevard was a valuable piece of a secondary that allowed less than 200 passing yards per game, and his experience on the field will be much needed following the departure of guys like Daniel Cobbs, Amarion Fortenberry and Colby McAllister.