Kansas State Among Big-Money NIL Spenders To Miss NCAA Tournament

Kansas State missed the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season.

This one was perhaps more disappointing because of how much the Wildcats spent in the offseason. They signed Coleman Hawkins, Dug McDaniel and Achor Achor with hopes of it being money well spent to compete for a championship.

Instead, longtime college basketball writer Jeff Goodman noted the Wildcats were among the big NIL spenders to miss the Tournament. Indiana, another school that dished out a bunch of bucks, also can put away its dancing shoes this March.

3 of the Top 5 teams this season in NIL:

Kansas State - did not make NCAA tourney

Indiana - did not make NCAA tourney

Arkansas - barely made the NCAA tourney
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 17, 2025

The Wildcats took plenty of criticism during the season because of the expensive deals. While it was never revealed, some reports said Hawkins was paid at least $1 million. Despite the high-priced talent, the only consistency K-State showed was a six-game winning streak in late January and early February.

That was followed with four straight losses. After a glimpse of hope, the Wildcats finished with six losses in the final nine games.

LEE EXPECTED BACK FOR NCAAs

The Kansas State women's basketball team received some encouraging news entering the NCAA Tournament.

Coach Jeff Mittie provided an update on star Ayoka Lee heading into the No. 5 seed Wildcats' game Friday against No. 12 Fairfield in Lexington, Ky. Lee missed 14 of the last 15 games because of a foot injury.

"Better than I expected," Mittie said of Lee. "Thursday, Friday, we went [practiced] back to back. That was a pleasant surprise to me because I was concerned about the back to back."

Lee only played briefly in a victory against Kansas Feb. 22 but Mittie anticipates she plays throughout the tournament. On Sunday, Lee went through a full practice. A 6-foot-6 forward, Lee averaged 16 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks on 65 percent shooting. She is the Wildcats' career scoring leader. In 2022, she set the women's Division I record with 61 points against Oklahoma.

"She did more and didn't step out of a drill at all," Mittie said. "Probably as good as we could expect."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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