Oct 22, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Kansas State head coach Casey Alexander, whose first Wildcats team features 13 newcomers, including 10 Division I transfers, and which has garnered sub-average outside expectations, made an emphatic opening statement on Wednesday at Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Days.
"I have great confidence in our guys," Alexander said to reporters on stage at the T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. "I've said a lot of times today and prior to today that this team feels like my teams feel, they act the way my teams act, and they play the way my teams play. It's comfortable to walk into practice every day and know what we're going to get. That inspires a lot of confidence in me.
"I don't really know what the finished product is going to look like, but when you do have all those changes and you're somewhere new taking over with new players, it's nice to at least know what you're about. We did a great job with these guys."
Alexander was hired at K-State on March 13 after producing 303 wins over his 15-year career at Stetson (2011-13), Lipscomb (2013-19) and his alma mater Belmont (2019-2026). He also has 10 consecutive 20-win seasons — something that only Gonzaga's Mark Few, Houston's Kelvin Sampson and Kansas' Bill Self can boast — while averaging 24 wins per season over that span.
He is in an exciting new world in the Big 12 Conference. The Wildcats were picked near the bottom of the league's preseason rankings, but Alexander appears unfazed by outside perceptions while acknowledging there's ample work to do while striving to find the consistency that he and his coaching staff desires in Manhattan.
"We have to know who we are and none of us are naïve to the fact that this is a pretty steep climb ahead of us," Alexander said. "This is the best league in the country for a reason. Games are hard to win here. I don't think any of us are misled into thinking we have the best talent top to bottom and the best coach. We have to find what's going to make us successful. What's our niche? Being together and playing to a certain style and having the character and our culture and those kinds of things are really important to us. That's the reason why we have had the success that we've had.
"We know what we are, we know what we're about and we know what makes that formula win. I feel really good about that piece of it."
Alexander was joined at Big 12 Media Days by senior guard Brandon Rechsteiner and junior forward Isaiah Abraham.
Rechsteiner is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound senior guard who averaged 7.2 points, 2.3 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game last season at Colorado State. He was voted as a team captain by his K-State teammates.
"We recruited him — twice," Alexander said during the offseason. "I've known him a long time. He's a tough guy and a winner. He's very adequate on both ends of the floor and the kind of guy I really admire. For all the fluff on offense, toughness is what I admire most and is what I expect the most out of our players, and he brings a high level of that for us. He's a very confident kid, and he'll definitely be a coach-on-the-floor type and a confident player who can really give us some good results."
Abraham is a 6-foot-7, 205-pound junior forward who averaged 4.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 19.9 minutes per game last season at Georgetown. Abraham played in 42 games with 31 starts in his time at UConn (2024-25) and Georgetown (2025-26). In those 42 games, he averaged 4.1 pounds on 39% shooting, including 33% from 3-point range, with 2.4 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game.
"He had great credentials for him coming out of high school," Alexander said during the offseason. "He didn't get a ton of time at Connecticut, but he started just about every game at Georgetown this year, although modest numbers. I think he'll be unleashed a little more on the offensive end, and we'll see more productivity from him there. He's an elite defender, and he's going to guard the other team's best player more times than not. He brings that dimension. He has good perimeter size and a lot of versatility in what he can do on the defensive end of the floor. I don't want to minimize how much he can make a better contribution offensively, but we know from day one he's more than an adequate defender."
K-State coaches and players won't have to wait long to test themselves against a Power 4 opponent. After a successful scrimmage against Tulsa earlier in October, K-State plays its first exhibition game against Missouri at Bramlage Coliseum at 7 p.m. Friday before traveling to face Nebraska in Grand Island, Nebraska, on Monday night at 6:30 p.m.
The first official game of the Alexander era is the season opener against South Dakota State at Bramlage on November 3. The Wildcats open their season with five consecutive home games before meeting Gonzaga in Las Vegas on November 24.
"The way that he brings the best out of his players and how he has his team play together and obviously the winning career — all of those had a great deal in me coming to K-State," Abraham said. "Practice is a lot of energy. We're just excited every day we go into practice and go against each other. We're really excited for this upcoming game. It's a lot of energy and motivation. We're just really motivated.
"I'm excited to play at Bramlage Coliseum. I can't wait to have the K-State fans in front of us as we give it our all."
Asked about the balance between wanting immediate success and being patient with a rebuild, Alexander replied, "It's all the cliches, it's control the controllables, it's one day at a time, it's those kinds of things. Coaches, we all operate that way anyway. It's like, 'How do I expect us to do anything if I don't give my best to Kansas State today?' Tomorrow has to be a little bit better and incrementally over time we get to where we want to go. You can't skip steps in order to be good in this business or in this league, or really anything in life for that matter."
Rechsteiner is ready for business and has a strong belief in the Wildcats.
"Coach's background, DNA and resume all aligned," Rechsteiner said. "He's going to win, and I truly believe in what we have going here. I'm just proud to be a part of Kansas State and the family. We all are understanding of how critical our identity is going to be for our success and the more we dial into that, and I think we've done a good job and every day we're getting better at like, we have to be the team that's most together.
"We have a lot of talent, and we have a lot of good coaching, but this is a tough league. When we dial into that, and I think we've done that, it's going to be good."
Alexander is known for producing high-scoring and efficient teams, and he is big on development, culture and roster retention, which have been pillars to his tried-and-true success.
Asked to describe his plans defensively, Alexander replied, "It's really a reflection of what they see on the offensive end in its best form."
"Our offense has been good historically because we play unselfishly, share the ball and understand what we're trying to accomplish, and it's a real team-oriented game," Alexander said. "The defense is the same way. We're not going to look like Houston does defensively. We're just not. We're not built that way, but we can be a team that understands scouting reports, role definition from the other teams. We can be a team that's incredibly prepared and has a high basketball IQ and takes actions away and plays together and is in the right place at the right time and force tough shots. Houston is going to dictate to the offense. We're not going to do that, but it doesn't mean we can't be a successful team on defensive end."
Asked what he would like the Big 12 and NCAA to know about K-State basketball entering the season, Alexander replied, "All we can do is put the best representation of ourselves out there every day."
"It's a roller coaster ride of a season no matter where you coach, what level and what sport," he said. "It's going to test us. It's not going to be easy. I want them to see a team that's pretty predictable every time you watch them play both in how they play and how they play together and what the effort looks like. That's a real test of will, character, and I'd love for whoever is watching to be able to say, 'That looks like a K-State basketball team right now.'"
For Rechsteiner, the time for the Wildcats to prove themselves is now.
"Every game in the Big 12 is a battle," Rechsteiner said. "It's the best of the best league, and I think we all know what we signed up for. We want to embrace that and prove that we belong, too. We deserve to be here, and we want to win every game we play."
Kansas State head coach Casey Alexander, whose first Wildcats team features 13 newcomers, including 10 Division I transfers, and which has garnered sub-average outside expectations, made an emphatic opening statement on Wednesday at Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Days.
"I have great confidence in our guys," Alexander said to reporters on stage at the T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. "I've said a lot of times today and prior to today that this team feels like my teams feel, they act the way my teams act, and they play the way my teams play. It's comfortable to walk into practice every day and know what we're going to get. That inspires a lot of confidence in me.
"I don't really know what the finished product is going to look like, but when you do have all those changes and you're somewhere new taking over with new players, it's nice to at least know what you're about. We did a great job with these guys."
Alexander was hired at K-State on March 13 after producing 303 wins over his 15-year career at Stetson (2011-13), Lipscomb (2013-19) and his alma mater Belmont (2019-2026). He also has 10 consecutive 20-win seasons — something that only Gonzaga's Mark Few, Houston's Kelvin Sampson and Kansas' Bill Self can boast — while averaging 24 wins per season over that span.
He is in an exciting new world in the Big 12 Conference. The Wildcats were picked near the bottom of the league's preseason rankings, but Alexander appears unfazed by outside perceptions while acknowledging there's ample work to do while striving to find the consistency that he and his coaching staff desires in Manhattan.
"We have to know who we are and none of us are naïve to the fact that this is a pretty steep climb ahead of us," Alexander said. "This is the best league in the country for a reason. Games are hard to win here. I don't think any of us are misled into thinking we have the best talent top to bottom and the best coach. We have to find what's going to make us successful. What's our niche? Being together and playing to a certain style and having the character and our culture and those kinds of things are really important to us. That's the reason why we have had the success that we've had.
"We know what we are, we know what we're about and we know what makes that formula win. I feel really good about that piece of it."
Alexander was joined at Big 12 Media Days by senior guard Brandon Rechsteiner and junior forward Isaiah Abraham.
Rechsteiner is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound senior guard who averaged 7.2 points, 2.3 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game last season at Colorado State. He was voted as a team captain by his K-State teammates.
"We recruited him — twice," Alexander said during the offseason. "I've known him a long time. He's a tough guy and a winner. He's very adequate on both ends of the floor and the kind of guy I really admire. For all the fluff on offense, toughness is what I admire most and is what I expect the most out of our players, and he brings a high level of that for us. He's a very confident kid, and he'll definitely be a coach-on-the-floor type and a confident player who can really give us some good results."
Abraham is a 6-foot-7, 205-pound junior forward who averaged 4.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 19.9 minutes per game last season at Georgetown. Abraham played in 42 games with 31 starts in his time at UConn (2024-25) and Georgetown (2025-26). In those 42 games, he averaged 4.1 pounds on 39% shooting, including 33% from 3-point range, with 2.4 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game.
"He had great credentials for him coming out of high school," Alexander said during the offseason. "He didn't get a ton of time at Connecticut, but he started just about every game at Georgetown this year, although modest numbers. I think he'll be unleashed a little more on the offensive end, and we'll see more productivity from him there. He's an elite defender, and he's going to guard the other team's best player more times than not. He brings that dimension. He has good perimeter size and a lot of versatility in what he can do on the defensive end of the floor. I don't want to minimize how much he can make a better contribution offensively, but we know from day one he's more than an adequate defender."
K-State coaches and players won't have to wait long to test themselves against a Power 4 opponent. After a successful scrimmage against Tulsa earlier in October, K-State plays its first exhibition game against Missouri at Bramlage Coliseum at 7 p.m. Friday before traveling to face Nebraska in Grand Island, Nebraska, on Monday night at 6:30 p.m.
The first official game of the Alexander era is the season opener against South Dakota State at Bramlage on November 3. The Wildcats open their season with five consecutive home games before meeting Gonzaga in Las Vegas on November 24.
"The way that he brings the best out of his players and how he has his team play together and obviously the winning career — all of those had a great deal in me coming to K-State," Abraham said. "Practice is a lot of energy. We're just excited every day we go into practice and go against each other. We're really excited for this upcoming game. It's a lot of energy and motivation. We're just really motivated.
"I'm excited to play at Bramlage Coliseum. I can't wait to have the K-State fans in front of us as we give it our all."
Asked about the balance between wanting immediate success and being patient with a rebuild, Alexander replied, "It's all the cliches, it's control the controllables, it's one day at a time, it's those kinds of things. Coaches, we all operate that way anyway. It's like, 'How do I expect us to do anything if I don't give my best to Kansas State today?' Tomorrow has to be a little bit better and incrementally over time we get to where we want to go. You can't skip steps in order to be good in this business or in this league, or really anything in life for that matter."
Rechsteiner is ready for business and has a strong belief in the Wildcats.
"Coach's background, DNA and resume all aligned," Rechsteiner said. "He's going to win, and I truly believe in what we have going here. I'm just proud to be a part of Kansas State and the family. We all are understanding of how critical our identity is going to be for our success and the more we dial into that, and I think we've done a good job and every day we're getting better at like, we have to be the team that's most together.
"We have a lot of talent, and we have a lot of good coaching, but this is a tough league. When we dial into that, and I think we've done that, it's going to be good."
Alexander is known for producing high-scoring and efficient teams, and he is big on development, culture and roster retention, which have been pillars to his tried-and-true success.
Asked to describe his plans defensively, Alexander replied, "It's really a reflection of what they see on the offensive end in its best form."
"Our offense has been good historically because we play unselfishly, share the ball and understand what we're trying to accomplish, and it's a real team-oriented game," Alexander said. "The defense is the same way. We're not going to look like Houston does defensively. We're just not. We're not built that way, but we can be a team that understands scouting reports, role definition from the other teams. We can be a team that's incredibly prepared and has a high basketball IQ and takes actions away and plays together and is in the right place at the right time and force tough shots. Houston is going to dictate to the offense. We're not going to do that, but it doesn't mean we can't be a successful team on defensive end."
Asked what he would like the Big 12 and NCAA to know about K-State basketball entering the season, Alexander replied, "All we can do is put the best representation of ourselves out there every day."
"It's a roller coaster ride of a season no matter where you coach, what level and what sport," he said. "It's going to test us. It's not going to be easy. I want them to see a team that's pretty predictable every time you watch them play both in how they play and how they play together and what the effort looks like. That's a real test of will, character, and I'd love for whoever is watching to be able to say, 'That looks like a K-State basketball team right now.'"
For Rechsteiner, the time for the Wildcats to prove themselves is now.
"Every game in the Big 12 is a battle," Rechsteiner said. "It's the best of the best league, and I think we all know what we signed up for. We want to embrace that and prove that we belong, too. We deserve to be here, and we want to win every game we play."
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