Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang lands big-time guard transfer from Memphis

Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang has once again made a late offseason recruiting splash.

Tang, who has been slow and meticulous rebuilding a decimated roster for the 2025-26 season, collected his biggest transfer portal prize Monday when Memphis guard PJ Haggerty withdrew from the NBA Draft and committed to the Wildcats.

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Haggerty, a 6-foot-3, 191-pound redshirt sophomore from Crosby, Texas, was the American Conference player of the year after averaging 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists in helping lead Memphis to a 29-6 record.

K-State will be the fourth stop already for Haggerty, who redshirted while playing in just six games at TCU in 2022-23, then averaging 21.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists at Tulsa two seasons ago.

The acquisition of Haggerty is just the latest transfer exchange between K-State and Memphis. During the 2023-24 season, Wildcat forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin transferred to Memphis, and this offseason guard Dug McDaniel did the same, while K-State got Tigers forward Tyreek Smith as a midyear transfer last season.

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Haggerty was the highest-rated player remaining in the portal and will not come cheap, but the Wildcats showed they are willing to spend for high-end talent last year with Illinois transfer Coleman Hawkins.

Haggerty, while a respectable 36.4% 3-point shooter, is a much more diverse scorer, with only 20% of his attempts coming from beyond the arc. He shot 47.6% overall last season and excelled at getting to the free-throw line, where he made 81.8% of his 274 attempts.

Haggerty’s commitment now gives Tang 12 players for 2025-26, assuming Smith is granted an extra year of eligibility after sitting out last season. The Wildcats lost all five starters from last year’s team through graduation or the portal. In all, six players from that 16-17 team transferred elsewhere.

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Haggerty is K-State’s fifth incoming Division I transfer, joining guards Abdi Bashir (Monmouth) and Nate Johnson (Akron), plus forwards Marcus Johnson (Bowling Green) and Khamari McGriff (UNC-Wilmington). The Wildcats also added junior college forward Stephen Osei (Casper CC), international guard Andrej Kostic from Serbia and high school point guard Exavier Wilson from Columbia, Missouri.

The returning players are forward Taj Manning, guards Mobi Ikegwuruka and David Castillo, and Smith, who practiced with the Wildcats second semester but did not play.

For Tang to land a potential impact player late in the process is nothing new. In his first season, he picked up Florida transfer Keyontae Johnson, who went on to become a third-team All-American, while guard Tylor Perry and forward Arthur Kaluma were late additions two seasons ago and Hawkins last year.

Kansas State basketball roster breakdown

Outgoing transfers

• Macacleab Rich, sophomore forward

• Brendan Hausen, junior guard (Iowa)

• Dug McDaniel, junior guard (Memphis)

• Ugonna Onyenso, junior center

• Baye Fall, sophomore forward (Rutgers)

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Incoming transfers

• Abdi Bashir, sophomore guard (Monmouth)

• PJ Haggerty, redshirt sophomore guard (Memphis)

• Marcus Johnson, senior forward (Bowling Green)

• Nate Johnson, junior guard (Akron)

• Khamari McGriff, junior forward (UNC-Wilmington)

• Stephen Osei, freshman forward (Casper CC)

Incoming freshmen

• Exavier Wilson, guard, Columbia, Mo.

International recruits

• Andrej Kostic, guard, Serbia (age 18)

Returning players

• Taj Manning, sophomore forward

• Mobi Ikegwuruka, sophomore guard

• David Castillo, freshman guard

• *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

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: Kansas State basketball adds AAC player of the year from Memphis