Casey Alexander, the new Kansas State basketball coach, emphasizes team-first players for his inaugural roster. He has recruited 12 new players and retained one from the previous season, focusing on winning and teamwork.
Key points
Casey Alexander is the new Kansas State basketball coach
He emphasizes a team-first mentality in player recruitment
The inaugural roster consists of 13 players
Alexander has retained one player from the previous season
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Dezdrick Lindsay
Brandon Rechsteiner
Brock Vice
Casey Alexander has also landed incoming freshmen Devin Hutcherson and Jaylen Alexander.
Assistant coach Phil Cunningham
Assistant coach Kerron Johnson
Assistant coach JJ Butler
Assistant coach Luke Smith
Sean Rutigliano (standing) is Casey Alexander's general manager.
Wes Long (right) is Kansas State's new "chief of staff"
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Meet the new faces of Kansas State basketball heading into 2026-27
New Kansas State basketball coach Casey Alexander
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Meet the new faces of Kansas State basketball heading into 2026-27
New Kansas State basketball coach Casey Alexander
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Meet the new faces of Kansas State basketball heading into 2026-27
Jaden Schutt
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Meet the new faces of Kansas State basketball heading into 2026-27
Andrej Kostic
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Meet the new faces of Kansas State basketball heading into 2026-27
Dezdrick Lindsay
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Meet the new faces of Kansas State basketball heading into 2026-27
Brandon Rechsteiner
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Meet the new faces of Kansas State basketball heading into 2026-27
Brock Vice
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Meet the new faces of Kansas State basketball heading into 2026-27
Casey Alexander has also landed incoming freshmen Devin Hutcherson and Jaylen Alexander.
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Meet the new faces of Kansas State basketball heading into 2026-27
Assistant coach Phil Cunningham
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Meet the new faces of Kansas State basketball heading into 2026-27
Assistant coach Kerron Johnson
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Meet the new faces of Kansas State basketball heading into 2026-27
Assistant coach JJ Butler
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Meet the new faces of Kansas State basketball heading into 2026-27
Assistant coach Luke Smith
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Meet the new faces of Kansas State basketball heading into 2026-27
Sean Rutigliano (standing) is Casey Alexander's general manager.
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Meet the new faces of Kansas State basketball heading into 2026-27
Wes Long (right) is Kansas State's new "chief of staff"
Among those on his 13-man roster, which could grow if he finds a practice-caliber player worth bringing in, are many who didn't exactly put up the biggest stats at their previous stops, but have enough upside that he believes can be developed to compete at a Big 12 level.
"There are big differences going from one program to the next, and how somebody performed at one place isn't entirely a predictor of how it's gonna go somewhere else," Alexander said. "We wanted the right people, we wanted the right kind of guys, and we had to do it on a budget. We were really pleased with how things turned out."
Alexander spoke of the potential in just about every player he added.
JT Rock, New Mexico
Rock is coming off his sophomore season after spending two years at Iowa State and then playing one at New Mexico. At 7-foot-1, he averaged 6.2 points and was a 54.5% shooter, while also making 39.7% of his 3-point attempts. He averaged 3.5 boards and 0.9 blocks in his minutes.
"I think he's your classic guy that's going to get better year after year after year, and we're catching him at a great time. You can throw him out there and give him good minutes, and he'll have an opportunity to have a lot of success. He's really developed his body, and it showed last year at New Mexico."
Timotej Malovec, Miami
At Miami, Malovec appeared in all 33 games and made a pair of starts, averaging about 15 minutes per appearance. The 6-foot-8, 214-pound forward averaged 4.2 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists while shooting 35% from the field and 33.3% from deep.
"He's very comfortable with the ball in his hands; he can be a playmaker. He is a very smart player and is far more than just a 3-point shooter. I think the system and the movement will benefit him. (He and Andrej Kostic) will have good seasons with a lot of versatility there with those guys that need to be tapped into."
Isaiah Abraham, Georgetown
A 6-foot-7 forward, Abraham started 32 of 34 games at Georgetown last season after starting his career at UConn. He averaged 4.7 points and shot 37.4% from the field. More than half of his attempts came from beyond the 3-point line, making 31.3% of his outside shots.
"Although modest numbers (at Georgetown), I think he'll be unleashed a little bit on the offensive end, and we'll see more productivity there. He's an elite defender who's going to guard the other team's best player more times than not. He's got good perimeter size and has a lot of versatility in what he can do on the defensive end of the floor. I don't want to minimize how much I think he can make a better contribution offensively, but we know that on Day 1, he's more than an adequate defender."
Brandon Rechsteiner, Colorado State
Rechsteiner is a 6-foot-1, 190-pounder coming off his junior season in which he started all 33 games and averaged 12 points and 2.6 assists. He started his career at Virginia Tech.
"We recruited him twice, so I've known him for a long time. He's a tough guy and a winner. I think he's very adequate on both sides of the floor. His toughness is what I admire the most. He's a confident kid, he'll definitely be a coach out on the floor type, and he's a confident player who can give us really good results."
Jaden Schutt, Virginia Tech
Schutt spent the last two years at Virginia Tech after starting his career at Duke. He averaged 7.7 points in each of his two seasons with the Hokies, shooting 38.5% from deep this season.
"The best is yet to come for him. He had two pretty good years at Virginia Tech, but I think he will thrive in the offense, having the freedom and kinda some shot volume. When he came out of high school, he was considered maybe the best shooter in the country, and he went to Duke, but he didn't get the opportunity there and was injured a lot. Then at Virginia Tech, he made good contributions, but I would expect him to have his best year yet."
Montana Wheeler, Bradley
A 5-foot-9 guard, Wheeler played his freshman season at Bradley, where he shot 42.6% from the field and 33.7% from 3-point distance.
"He's made of the right stuff. He's a real competitor; just a hoops junkie, very astute in basketball knowledge. I already knew what kind of player he was because we had played against him (at Belmont), but those things really stood out to me. I think he's a winner; he had a tremendous year as a freshman. He was never himself, playing behind Jaquan Johnson, who was one of the best guards in the portal. He was really off the ball a lot, but he still found a way to make a great contribution on a really good team."
Matt Gilhool, LSU
Gilhool redshirted his true freshman season at LSU as a 6-foot-11 forward who was a four-star recruit out of high school.
"(Assistant coach) JJ Butler is really tight with his high school coach and trainer, so it was not a shot in the dark trying to figure out what this guy could do; JJ had seen him a lot. I'm friends with (former LSU coach) Matt McMahon, so we had some conversations there. He was a really highly touted player out of high school — good length, athleticism and can make 3's. I think he's gonna be really good."
Dezdrick Lindsay, Oregon
In 2025-26, the 6-foot-6 forward averaged 20.5 minutes and made 40.3% of his shots. He scored 5.3 points and grabbed 2.8 rebounds, while dishing out 1.5 assists. He shot 32.8% from beyond the arc.
"He'll be the best athlete on the team. What I love about him is that he's a really mature kid; tough, blue-collar and a team guy."
Jaylen Alexander, incoming freshman
Alexander was committed to Casey Alexander at Belmont out of high school.
"We really felt like we got a steal when he signed with us at Belmont originally. The reality is that if we hadn't signed him in November, there's no way we would've gotten him in the spring. He will compete for playing time."
Devin Hutcherson, incoming freshman
Hutcherson was committed to Alexander at Belmont out of high school.
"He's really quick off his feet. He'll help us defensively in transition. He's just a really high-caliber athlete. He's learning; his learning curve and adjustment might take a little longer than Jaylen's, but I think both will be good players in time and maybe in a short time."
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com
