Kansas State University Athletics
Community College Success
There is perhaps no program in the country that has done a better job of developing community-college talent than Kansas State. And with some of the nation’s best community-college football played right in its own backyard, it’s easy to see why K-State has been able to identify and cultivate the best of the best.
Since the mid 1990s, former community-college players have totaled 71 All-Big 12 honors at Kansas State, including three in 2023. Additionally, former community-college players have gone on to claim All-America honors at K-State 13 times in the last 22 seasons.
The Wildcats have also produced 11 Big 12 Newcomers of the Year, while a total of 39 of its former community-college players have gone on to play on some level in the professional ranks.
Among the conference newcomer-of-the-year selections, five have been on the defensive side of the ball as Kansas State produced the league’s top newcomer in four of five seasons from 1997 through 2001.
On offense, quarterback Michael Bishop was named the Big 12’s Offensive Newcomer of the Year in 1997 before going on to win the Davey O’Brien Award and finish as the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 1998. K-State swept the honors in 2007 for the second time in school history, while the latest was D.J. Reed, who was named the 2016 Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year.
11
Big 12-best league newcomers of the year since 1996
71
All-Big 12 honors for Wildcats
who came from the community college ranks
38 of K-State's former community-college players have gone on to play in the professional ranks, including Super Bowl LIV Champion and Super Bowl LV participant Byron Pringle.
After transferring from Butler CC, Ty Zentner went on to make the game-winning kick in overtime of the 2022 Big 12 Championship