With the men's basketball transfer portal open until Apr. 21, every team is looking at the best prospects to add to their rosters next season. ESPN did a list of the top players in the country, with Kansas State gracing the list twice.
Well, previous Kansas State players. The popular news network highlighted former Wildcats guards PJ Haggerty and Dai Dai Ames as two of the top 60 players in the portal. Haggerty, the star from last year, ranked No. 6 on the list.
"Haggerty will head to his fifth school in as many seasons, but he proved at each of his last three stops that he can produce at a high level, averaging 21.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists over the course of his career," the article wrote. "He hit career highs in scoring (23.4 PPG) and assists (3.8 APG) at Kansas State in 2025-26."
Haggerty was one of the few bright spots for the team last year, leading the team in scoring as one of the best bucket-getters in the nation. He transferred to Texas A&M on Friday.
Ames, who spent his freshman season at Kansas State, rounded out the rankings at No. 60. As a Wildcat, he averaged 5.2 points and two assists, but has seen a spike in production since. He broke out during the 2025-26 season at California, averaging 17 points on 46.4 percent shooting. Ames will now join Tennessee, his fourth school over his college career.
"Ames enjoyed a true breakout campaign as a junior at Cal after up-and-down seasons at Kansas State and Virginia," the article wrote. "The Chicago native averaged 16.9 points for the Golden Bears, shooting nearly 38% from beyond the arc. He scored 25 or more points on five separate occasions, including 31 against Wake Forest and 27 against Florida State in back-to-back March games."
As Kansas State attempts to rebound from last season, it is banking on Casey Alexander's veteran success and history of developing players. The program must do this without last season's stars, a daunting task given the slow start to the transfer portal thus far. The Wildcats have added some solid depth pieces, but no one who moves the needle.
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