Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang has infused his Wildcat roster with some more international talent for the coming season.
Elias Rapieque, a 6-foot-8 forward from Berlin, Germany, ended weeks of speculation Wednesday by announcing his commitment to K-State. He is Tang’s second international pickup for the 2025 recruiting cycle, joining Serbian guard Andrej Kostic.
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Rapieque, 21, has spent the past several years with his home club ALBA Berlin in the European League, where he averaged 15 minutes per game, 4.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists during the 2024-25 season. He also represented Germany in the 2022 European U18 championship and the U20 championships in 2023-24.
With the addition of Rapieque, K-State’s roster now could be complete with 13 players, assuming the NCAA grants Memphis transfer forward Tyreek Smith an extra year of eligibility after he sat out last season. Stephen Osei, a forward from Casper Community College in Wyoming, is expected to redshirt in 2025-26 while recovering from an injury.
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Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang reacts during the Wildcats’ Big 12 opener against Cincinnati on Dec. 30 at Bramlage Coliseum.
Tang, who had said he hoped to model his program after Houston’s by emphasizing player retention, instead was forced to rebuild the roster nearly from scratch after losing all five starters either to graduation or the transfer portal, with only three returning.
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The only players back from last season are forward Taj Manning and guards Mobi Ikegwuruka and David Castillo, plus Smith, who practiced with the team second semester but did not play.
While the roster has been slow in developing, Tang’s patience has paid off with the addition of seven players since mid-April. Last week, he landed guard PJ Haggerty, the American Athletic Conference player of the year.
Kansas State basketball roster breakdown
Outgoing transfers
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Macacleab Rich, sophomore forward
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Brendan Hausen, junior guard (Iowa)
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Dug McDaniel, junior guard (Memphis)
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Ugonna Onyenso, junior center
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Baye Fall, sophomore forward (Rutgers)
Incoming transfers
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Abdi Bashir, sophomore guard (Monmouth)
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PJ Haggerty, redshirt sophomore guard (Memphis)
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Marcus Johnson, senior forward (Bowling Green)
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Nate Johnson, junior guard (Akron)
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Khamari McGriff, junior forward (UNC-Wilmington)
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Stephen Osei, freshman forward (Casper CC)
Incoming freshmen
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Exavier Wilson, guard, Columbia, Mo.
International recruits
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Andrej Kostic, guard, Serbia (age 18)
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Elias Rapieque, forward, Germany (age 21)
Returning players
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Taj Manning, sophomore forward
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Mobi Ikegwuruka, sophomore guard
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David Castillo, freshman guard
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*Tyreek Smith, senior forward
*Smith, a midyear transfer from Memphis who did not play last season is seeking a waiver from the NCAA for another year of eligibility
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Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: German forward Elias Rapieque commits to Kansas State basketball
