Kansas State Basketball: Wildcats get early start to 2025-26 roster with Tyreek Smith

ansas State Basketball is one of the programs that has embraced the transfer portal and NIL era more than others. In the past offseason, they landed several notable names, especially in the frontcourt. Some include Coleman Hawkins, Achor Achor, Ugonna Onyenso, and Baye Fall.

After this season, the Wildcats will need to replace some of the talent, with Hawkins, Achor, and David N'Guessan, the team’s best frontcourt player so far this season (13.7 ppg and 6.6 rpg), all being seniors in their last year of eligibility. And it looks like Coach Jerome Tang got off to an early start in the transfer portal.

Tyreek Smith is a 6’7 frontcourt player who has played at Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and, most recently, SMU. He posted career-high numbers with the Mustangs last season with 8.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, and nearly two blocks a game on 58% shooting from the field. Smith had originally committed to Memphis and was with them in the preseason before deciding to leave and enter the portal, preserving his last year of eligibility. 

Smith is a physical big man who can defend, playing at the four and five-spots. His inability to space the floor and shoot from the perimeter raises questions about his viability back at the Big 12 level. Plus, they still have both Onyenso and Fall to play at center a year from now.

But if the goal is to have a veteran who can soak up minutes off the bench and provide defense, then Smith will work for Kansas State. Depth is needed at any level, especially in the Big 12, where an injury or two can torpedo a team. He might not put up a ton of stats for the Wildcats a year from now, but he will be a solid addition to the program in the future.