Kansas State University Athletics
Staff Directory
Carpenter, Austin
Austin Carpenter
- Title:
- Director of Player Development
- Email:
- Phone:
- (785) 532-6531
Austin Carpenter At A Glance
Features (click on headline for link)
Austin Carpenter is in his fourth season at Kansas State as the program’s Director of Player Development in 2025-26 after joining head coach Jerome Tang’s staff on April 8, 2022.
Carpenter has been part of a coaching staff that has helped reenergize a K-State program the past 3 seasons, leading the Wildcats to 61 wins, including 28 in Big 12 play, with consecutive postseason appearances (2023 NCAA Tournament, 2024 NIT) highlighted by the run to the 2023 Elite Eight. Among the 61 wins the past 3 seasons are 16 against teams ranked in the Top 25, including 7 Top 10 opponents.
During their memorable first season in 2022-23, Carpenter helped the Wildcats to their third-highest win total (26) and a thrilling run to the Elite Eight despite being picked last in the Big 12 preseason poll after three consecutive losing seasons.
Carpenter assisted in the development of a pair of All-Americans in 2023 Bob Cousy Award winner Markquis Nowell and forward Keyontae Johnson, who became the first duo in school history to each earn the recognition from The Associated Press when they were selected to the Third Team. Both players were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, while Johnson was the league's Newcomer of the Year.
In addition to his work with Johnson and Nowell, Carpenter has helped develop four more All-Big 12 performers in Third Team selection Coleman Hawkins (2024-25) and honorable mention picks Arthur Kaluma (2023-24), David N’Guessan (2024-25) and Tylor Perry (2023-24).
Carpenter, along with the rest of the staff, have capitalized on the program’s excitement by helping attract some of the top transfer classes in the country. Kaluma and Perry were high-level transfer portal additions in 2023-24, which also included a top-35 high school recruiting class. He also helped continue that recruiting momentum this off-season with the additions of five Division I transfers (Abdi Bashir Jr., PJ Haggerty, Marcus Johnson, Nate Johnson, Khamari McGriff), a pair of international standouts (Andrej Kostic and Elias Rapieque), a junior college player (Stephen Osei) and a top-50 high school senior (Exavier Wilson).
Carpenter came to K-State in April 2022 after spending two seasons (2020-22) working as a graduate assistant at Baylor, where he worked alongside Tang. During his time in Waco, Carpenter was a part of the greatest two-year stint in the school’s history, as the Bears won their first National Championship in 2021, along with back-to-back Big 12 regular-season titles in 2021 and 2022.
Prior to his time at Baylor, Carpenter also worked in recruiting operations as an undergraduate at Oklahoma for the powerhouse football and golf programs from 2018-20.
All told, Carpenter has been a part of four Big 12 Championships (two in football at Oklahoma and two in men’s basketball in Baylor), two College Football Playoff (CFP) appearances at Oklahoma, an NCAA title and Final Four berth at Baylor in 2021 along with an Elite Eight run at K-State in 2023.
During his time in Waco, Carpenter spent considerable time with Tang working on opposing team scouting reports. The Bears led the Big 12 in scoring margin, steals, turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio in both 2020-21 and 2021-22, while finishing in the top-4 in scoring defense each season.
Carpenter helped Baylor navigate a successful 2021-22 season, as the Bears won 27 games and tied for the Big 12 regular-season title despite numerous injuries to key players. The team lost in heartbreaking fashion to eventual national runner-up North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, as they rallied from 25 points down with 10 minutes remaining before losing 93-86 in overtime. The squad ran their winning streak to 21 games, including 15 consecutive wins to start the year, spending five weeks at No. 1 before finishing No. 8 in the final USA Today Coaches poll. Three Bears earned All-Big 12 honors, while senior Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua (Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year) and freshman Jeremy Sochan (Sixth Man Award) earned individual awards.
Sochan became the fourth Baylor player (and second consecutive) to be a lottery pick when he was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 9 pick of the 2022 NBA Draft. Teammate Kendall Brown followed in the second round with the No. 48 selection by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Carpenter played a role in the development of L.J. Cryer, who had a breakout sophomore season at Baylor in 2021-22 before it was derailed due to a foot injury. Cryer led the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage (.468) as a sophomore while finishing third on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game.
In Carpenter’s first season in Waco, Baylor lost just twice during its historic national championship season in 2020-21, posting a 28-2 overall record and a 14-1 mark in Big 12 play. The Bears enjoyed the best start in program history with an 18-game winning streak en route to collecting the school’s first conference title in 71 years and cumulating with an 86-70 win over No. 1 ranked Gonzaga in the national championship game.
A school-record three Bears earned All-America honors in 2020-21, including Jared Butler becoming the first consensus First Team selection in program history. Davion Mitchell and MaCio Teague were both Third Team All-Americans, while Mitchell swept every major National Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Carpenter was a recruiting strategist for the Oklahoma men’s golf program and two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year Ryan Hybl from January to August 2020. During the COVID-19 shortened season, the Sooners were among the best teams in the country, climbing to No. 1 in the GCAA and Golfweek polls and finishing the year ranked No. 2 nationally. Carpenter spent time creating a comprehensive recruiting strategy for the program, which included creating graphics and video content for social media as well as alumni engagement.
Carpenter spent two years (2018-20) as an undergraduate at Oklahoma working in the football recruiting operation, first serving as a game day assistant (Fall 2018) before becoming a student recruiting assistant from January 2019 to August 2020 under former Assistant AD of Recruiting Strategy Annie Hanson. He was a part of consecutive Top 10 signing classes in both 2019 and 2020, as he focused primarily on recruiting operations of both official and unofficial visitors.
A native of Tulsa, Okla., Carpenter earned a bachelor's degree in Sports Management and Supply Chain Management from Oklahoma in 2020, while he added a master’s degree in Sports Pedagogy from Baylor in May 2022. He and his wife, Mallory, have a daughter Mary Blake.
Professional Experience
Game Day Assistant, Oklahoma Football, Fall 2018
Student Recruiting Assistant, Oklahoma Football, January 2019-August 2020
Recruiting Strategist, Oklahoma Golf Program, January-August 2020
Graduate Assistant, Baylor, 2020-22
Director of Player Development, Kansas State, 2022-present
Education
Bachelor’s degree in business administration, University of Oklahoma, 2020
Master’s degree in health and human Sciences, Baylor University, 2022
Personal
Wife: Mallory
Daughter: Mary Blake
- Entering his fourth season at K-State as the school's Director of Player Development in 2025-26.
- Has spent time working in recruiting operations for Baylor men's basketball and Oklahoma football and men's golf, where he was part of 4 Big 12 Championships (2 in football at Oklahoma and 2 in men's basketball at Baylor), 2 College Football Playoff (CFP) appearances (Oklahoma) and 1 Final Four (Baylor).
- Was a graduate assistant at Baylor (2020-22) during its greatest two-year stretch in school history, winning the NCAA title in 2021 and winning Big 12 titles in 2021 and 2022.
- Got his start as an undergraduate at Oklahoma, where he worked for both the powerhouse football and men's golf programs.
Features (click on headline for link)
- Austin Carpenter on building relationships and a contender at K-State (K-State Sports Extra, Sept. 20, 2022)
- A Key Member of Another Winning Culture (K-State Sports Extra, May 31, 2023)
Austin Carpenter is in his fourth season at Kansas State as the program’s Director of Player Development in 2025-26 after joining head coach Jerome Tang’s staff on April 8, 2022.
Carpenter has been part of a coaching staff that has helped reenergize a K-State program the past 3 seasons, leading the Wildcats to 61 wins, including 28 in Big 12 play, with consecutive postseason appearances (2023 NCAA Tournament, 2024 NIT) highlighted by the run to the 2023 Elite Eight. Among the 61 wins the past 3 seasons are 16 against teams ranked in the Top 25, including 7 Top 10 opponents.
During their memorable first season in 2022-23, Carpenter helped the Wildcats to their third-highest win total (26) and a thrilling run to the Elite Eight despite being picked last in the Big 12 preseason poll after three consecutive losing seasons.
Carpenter assisted in the development of a pair of All-Americans in 2023 Bob Cousy Award winner Markquis Nowell and forward Keyontae Johnson, who became the first duo in school history to each earn the recognition from The Associated Press when they were selected to the Third Team. Both players were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, while Johnson was the league's Newcomer of the Year.
In addition to his work with Johnson and Nowell, Carpenter has helped develop four more All-Big 12 performers in Third Team selection Coleman Hawkins (2024-25) and honorable mention picks Arthur Kaluma (2023-24), David N’Guessan (2024-25) and Tylor Perry (2023-24).
Carpenter, along with the rest of the staff, have capitalized on the program’s excitement by helping attract some of the top transfer classes in the country. Kaluma and Perry were high-level transfer portal additions in 2023-24, which also included a top-35 high school recruiting class. He also helped continue that recruiting momentum this off-season with the additions of five Division I transfers (Abdi Bashir Jr., PJ Haggerty, Marcus Johnson, Nate Johnson, Khamari McGriff), a pair of international standouts (Andrej Kostic and Elias Rapieque), a junior college player (Stephen Osei) and a top-50 high school senior (Exavier Wilson).
Carpenter came to K-State in April 2022 after spending two seasons (2020-22) working as a graduate assistant at Baylor, where he worked alongside Tang. During his time in Waco, Carpenter was a part of the greatest two-year stint in the school’s history, as the Bears won their first National Championship in 2021, along with back-to-back Big 12 regular-season titles in 2021 and 2022.
Prior to his time at Baylor, Carpenter also worked in recruiting operations as an undergraduate at Oklahoma for the powerhouse football and golf programs from 2018-20.
All told, Carpenter has been a part of four Big 12 Championships (two in football at Oklahoma and two in men’s basketball in Baylor), two College Football Playoff (CFP) appearances at Oklahoma, an NCAA title and Final Four berth at Baylor in 2021 along with an Elite Eight run at K-State in 2023.
During his time in Waco, Carpenter spent considerable time with Tang working on opposing team scouting reports. The Bears led the Big 12 in scoring margin, steals, turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio in both 2020-21 and 2021-22, while finishing in the top-4 in scoring defense each season.
Carpenter helped Baylor navigate a successful 2021-22 season, as the Bears won 27 games and tied for the Big 12 regular-season title despite numerous injuries to key players. The team lost in heartbreaking fashion to eventual national runner-up North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, as they rallied from 25 points down with 10 minutes remaining before losing 93-86 in overtime. The squad ran their winning streak to 21 games, including 15 consecutive wins to start the year, spending five weeks at No. 1 before finishing No. 8 in the final USA Today Coaches poll. Three Bears earned All-Big 12 honors, while senior Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua (Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year) and freshman Jeremy Sochan (Sixth Man Award) earned individual awards.
Sochan became the fourth Baylor player (and second consecutive) to be a lottery pick when he was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 9 pick of the 2022 NBA Draft. Teammate Kendall Brown followed in the second round with the No. 48 selection by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Carpenter played a role in the development of L.J. Cryer, who had a breakout sophomore season at Baylor in 2021-22 before it was derailed due to a foot injury. Cryer led the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage (.468) as a sophomore while finishing third on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game.
In Carpenter’s first season in Waco, Baylor lost just twice during its historic national championship season in 2020-21, posting a 28-2 overall record and a 14-1 mark in Big 12 play. The Bears enjoyed the best start in program history with an 18-game winning streak en route to collecting the school’s first conference title in 71 years and cumulating with an 86-70 win over No. 1 ranked Gonzaga in the national championship game.
A school-record three Bears earned All-America honors in 2020-21, including Jared Butler becoming the first consensus First Team selection in program history. Davion Mitchell and MaCio Teague were both Third Team All-Americans, while Mitchell swept every major National Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Carpenter was a recruiting strategist for the Oklahoma men’s golf program and two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year Ryan Hybl from January to August 2020. During the COVID-19 shortened season, the Sooners were among the best teams in the country, climbing to No. 1 in the GCAA and Golfweek polls and finishing the year ranked No. 2 nationally. Carpenter spent time creating a comprehensive recruiting strategy for the program, which included creating graphics and video content for social media as well as alumni engagement.
Carpenter spent two years (2018-20) as an undergraduate at Oklahoma working in the football recruiting operation, first serving as a game day assistant (Fall 2018) before becoming a student recruiting assistant from January 2019 to August 2020 under former Assistant AD of Recruiting Strategy Annie Hanson. He was a part of consecutive Top 10 signing classes in both 2019 and 2020, as he focused primarily on recruiting operations of both official and unofficial visitors.
A native of Tulsa, Okla., Carpenter earned a bachelor's degree in Sports Management and Supply Chain Management from Oklahoma in 2020, while he added a master’s degree in Sports Pedagogy from Baylor in May 2022. He and his wife, Mallory, have a daughter Mary Blake.
Professional Experience
Game Day Assistant, Oklahoma Football, Fall 2018
Student Recruiting Assistant, Oklahoma Football, January 2019-August 2020
Recruiting Strategist, Oklahoma Golf Program, January-August 2020
Graduate Assistant, Baylor, 2020-22
Director of Player Development, Kansas State, 2022-present
Education
Bachelor’s degree in business administration, University of Oklahoma, 2020
Master’s degree in health and human Sciences, Baylor University, 2022
Personal
Wife: Mallory
Daughter: Mary Blake
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