Thursday, April 23
Dallas, Texas
Kansas State University
vs
Big 12 Championship
Wildcats Ready for 2026 Big 12 Championship
Apr 21, 2026 | Women's Golf
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Coming off three weeks of preparation, the 38th-ranked Kansas State women's golf team is set to compete in the 2026 Big 12 Women's Golf Championship presented by Allstate, Thursday through Saturday, at the par-72, 6,270-yard Dallas Athletic Club in Dallas, Texas.
The Wildcats are looking to gain momentum into what will be their second-straight NCAA Regional appearance. Playing in one of the most competitive women's golf conferences in the country, K-State has finished in the top five of the Big 12 Championship each of the last two seasons – the first time in program history they have accomplished that feat – with a program-best third-place finish in 2024.
"The ladies are looking forward to getting back into competition at the Big 12 Championship," said third-year head coach Stew Burke, whose squad has four top-three finishes and seven top-five showings this season to tie for fourth in school history in both categories. "We have had plenty of rest and great preparation leading up to the event. Good ball striking and elite green speed will be rewarded this week, and fortunately, we have a group that can excel in both areas and have really worked hard in those areas recently. The Dallas Athletic Club will be a great test of golf, and we are very fortunate to have been able to mimic the course conditions at Colbert Hills in addition to a practice at Mission Hills this past weekend. We are ready to compete, and I am excited to put the plan together with the players in the practice round."
Despite residing in the top 40 of the National Collegiate Golf Rankings, Kansas State is the No. 9 seed in this year's Big 12 Championship due to the overall depth of the conference. The top eight seeds are 15th-ranked UCF, No. 21 Arizona State, No. 22 Oklahoma State, No. 25 Iowa State, No. 26 Baylor, No. 29 Arizona, No. 36 Houston and No. 37 Kansas. No. 42 TCU and No. 47 Colorado also rank in the top 50, while Texas Tech, BYU and Cincinnati round out the field.
The Wildcats, who hold a team scoring average of 287.93 to currently rank as the best mark in school history, will send six members of the squad to Dallas in senior Noa van Beek, sophomores Kelsey Chen and Nanami Nakashima, and freshmen Stalee Fields, Casey Kang and Keen Visavapattamawan. Five players will comprise the initial scoring lineup, and the sixth player can be utilized as a substitution.
Chen, van Beek and Nakashima each hold a sub-73.00 scoring average this season. A native of Dalian, China, Chen leads the way with a 71.86 mark that currently ranks third in program history. She has finished in top 20 in eight of her 10 starts this season, which includes five in the top-10 with four of those coming this spring.
Nakashima and van Beek hold identical 72.41 scoring averages this season to tie for fourth in school history. Additionally, Nakashima's 73.28 career average over 67 rounds ranks second in program history, while van Beek's 73.93 mark over 110 rounds ranks fourth. This will be van Beek's fourth Big 12 Championship as she looks to finish in the top 20 for the first time in her career.
Visavapattamawan, a native of Bangkok, Thailand, is fourth on the team with a 73.76 scoring average having competed in all 10 events this season and as a member of the scoring lineup each of the last nine times. She is coming off her fifth top-20 finish this season when she placed 15th in the Silicon Valley Showcase.
A product of Lanzhou, China, Kang has produced a 75.71 scoring average over 17 rounds. Her best finish of the season has been a tie for 16th place at the Powercat Invitational to close the fall, while her best 54-hole score was 222 last month at the Yale Invitational West.
Fields, who hails from Fort Worth, Texas, is averaging 74.80 strokes over her 15 total rounds. Like Chen, her best finish was at the Powercat Invitational when she tied for 18th place. Fields is looking to be a member of the scoring lineup for the first time since the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in late September.
One round of the 2026 Big 12 Championship presented by Allstate will be contested each day with tee times beginning play for all three rounds. The Wildcats begin first-round play off the first tee on Thursday morning at 8:50 a.m., as they will be paired with Houston and Kansas.
Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd, while Saturday's final round will be shown on ESPN+ with John Liddle (play by play) and Hope Barnett (analyst) on the call.
The Wildcats are looking to gain momentum into what will be their second-straight NCAA Regional appearance. Playing in one of the most competitive women's golf conferences in the country, K-State has finished in the top five of the Big 12 Championship each of the last two seasons – the first time in program history they have accomplished that feat – with a program-best third-place finish in 2024.
"The ladies are looking forward to getting back into competition at the Big 12 Championship," said third-year head coach Stew Burke, whose squad has four top-three finishes and seven top-five showings this season to tie for fourth in school history in both categories. "We have had plenty of rest and great preparation leading up to the event. Good ball striking and elite green speed will be rewarded this week, and fortunately, we have a group that can excel in both areas and have really worked hard in those areas recently. The Dallas Athletic Club will be a great test of golf, and we are very fortunate to have been able to mimic the course conditions at Colbert Hills in addition to a practice at Mission Hills this past weekend. We are ready to compete, and I am excited to put the plan together with the players in the practice round."
Despite residing in the top 40 of the National Collegiate Golf Rankings, Kansas State is the No. 9 seed in this year's Big 12 Championship due to the overall depth of the conference. The top eight seeds are 15th-ranked UCF, No. 21 Arizona State, No. 22 Oklahoma State, No. 25 Iowa State, No. 26 Baylor, No. 29 Arizona, No. 36 Houston and No. 37 Kansas. No. 42 TCU and No. 47 Colorado also rank in the top 50, while Texas Tech, BYU and Cincinnati round out the field.
The Wildcats, who hold a team scoring average of 287.93 to currently rank as the best mark in school history, will send six members of the squad to Dallas in senior Noa van Beek, sophomores Kelsey Chen and Nanami Nakashima, and freshmen Stalee Fields, Casey Kang and Keen Visavapattamawan. Five players will comprise the initial scoring lineup, and the sixth player can be utilized as a substitution.
Chen, van Beek and Nakashima each hold a sub-73.00 scoring average this season. A native of Dalian, China, Chen leads the way with a 71.86 mark that currently ranks third in program history. She has finished in top 20 in eight of her 10 starts this season, which includes five in the top-10 with four of those coming this spring.
Nakashima and van Beek hold identical 72.41 scoring averages this season to tie for fourth in school history. Additionally, Nakashima's 73.28 career average over 67 rounds ranks second in program history, while van Beek's 73.93 mark over 110 rounds ranks fourth. This will be van Beek's fourth Big 12 Championship as she looks to finish in the top 20 for the first time in her career.
Visavapattamawan, a native of Bangkok, Thailand, is fourth on the team with a 73.76 scoring average having competed in all 10 events this season and as a member of the scoring lineup each of the last nine times. She is coming off her fifth top-20 finish this season when she placed 15th in the Silicon Valley Showcase.
A product of Lanzhou, China, Kang has produced a 75.71 scoring average over 17 rounds. Her best finish of the season has been a tie for 16th place at the Powercat Invitational to close the fall, while her best 54-hole score was 222 last month at the Yale Invitational West.
Fields, who hails from Fort Worth, Texas, is averaging 74.80 strokes over her 15 total rounds. Like Chen, her best finish was at the Powercat Invitational when she tied for 18th place. Fields is looking to be a member of the scoring lineup for the first time since the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in late September.
One round of the 2026 Big 12 Championship presented by Allstate will be contested each day with tee times beginning play for all three rounds. The Wildcats begin first-round play off the first tee on Thursday morning at 8:50 a.m., as they will be paired with Houston and Kansas.
Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd, while Saturday's final round will be shown on ESPN+ with John Liddle (play by play) and Hope Barnett (analyst) on the call.
– k-statesports.com –
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Women's Golf, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Women's Golf, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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