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Kansas State Basketball Has Hired Their New Coach

The Wildcats hired their new head basketball coach, and it came as a surprise to some, but it shouldn't have.
Ryan Kay|
New Kansas State head coach Casey Alexander gives instruction to his players.
New Kansas State head coach Casey Alexander gives instruction to his players. | George Walker IV / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Kansas State Wildcats

As the season ended for many teams and conference tournaments concluded, Kansas State officially announced its new head coach.

First, there were false reports about Kansas State hiring, and all of them were inaccurate, as seen below.

Then, on Thursday night, reports surfaced that Kansas State was close to hiring their new head coach.

Last, Kansas State made the official announcement that Casey Alexander of Belmont is the new head coach of the Kansas State men's basketball program.

Alexander is described as a "program builder" who focuses on player development and high school recruiting rather than a heavy reliance on the transfer portal, which has contributed to Belmont's consistent success in developing competitive teams in their conference.

He played for Belmont in the mid-90s, and then he became an assistant coach there from 1995 to 2011. His first head coaching job was at Stetson for two full seasons, and then he took the head coaching job at Lipscomb for six seasons. From 2016 to 2019, he led them to three consecutive seasons of 20 or more victories, and he led them to the NCAA tournament in 2018. The following year, his team had an outstanding season.

In his last season at Lipscomb, his team won at SMU and at TCU in two very impressive back-to-back victories. In conference play, they went 14-2 and then won their first four games of the NIT tournament, defeating NC State and Wichita State to make the tournament championship game. They ended up losing to Texas to be NIT Tournament runners-up, but they finished the season with a 29-8 record.

He took the Belmont job for the 2019-20 season and has coached there, his alma mater, since. In his first season, his team won at Boston College and Western Kentucky. In Ohio Valley Conference play, Belmont won their last 12 conference games, including winning the conference tournament, defeating Murray State. However, the Covid-19 pandemic cancelled the NCAA tournament in which they earned an automatic bid.

In his second season there, they went 26-4, and his third season at Belmont was similar, winning 25 games and having their season end with a loss to Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament. From 2022 to 2025, all three seasons resulted in 20 or more wins because the competition improved after they became members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

This past season, his team won their first eight games, including wins over Air Force and defeated Toledo in the championship game of the Coconut Hoops Royal Palm Division final. They went 16-4 and were regular season conference champions, winning the league title by three games. Now he is left a school that he was at as a student-athlete, assistant coach, and head coach for a total of over 25 years to become the new head coach of Kansas State.

Here are some of the reactions to Alexander being named the new head coach.

Time will tell if this hire will work out but Kansas State looks to have chosen a proven winner who can develop players and convince them not to enter the transfer portal. Fans seem to be excited but somewhat a little underwhelmed by this hire. However, winning in Manhattan is all that will matter, and he will be judged by his wins and losses.

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Ryan Kay
RYAN KAY

Ryan Kay is a journalist who graduated from Michigan State in 2003 and is passionate about covering college sports and enjoys writing features and articles covering various collegiate teams. He has worked as an editor at Go Joe Bruin and has been a contributor for Longhorns Wire and Busting Brackets. He is a contributor for Kansas State On SI.

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