Does Casey Alexander have the resources needed to compete at Kansas State?
Does Casey Alexander have the resources needed to compete at Kansas State?
Wyatt D. Wheeler, Topeka Capital-Journal Tue, May 5, 2026 at 8:06 AM UTC
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MANHATTAN — Casey Alexander listed two things that he and the new Kansas State basketball coaching staff were looking for when they set out to recruit their inaugural roster: They needed to be the right kind of guys, and they needed to do that within budget.
The latter of which has been much discussed in light of his roster construction and the resources Kansas State appeared to have in the past.
Alexander wasn't complaining and said the Wildcats "definitely" had what they needed to build their roster, but it's a different kind of challenge than the one he faced with the limited resources he had when leading Belmont.
"You've got to be smart about it," Alexander said. "I think we were really cautious to not overspend."
Kansas State's 13-man might be complete, Alexander said, barring any decisions to bring in a walk-on caliber player who can contribute in practices. None of the recruits whom the Wildcats added appeared to be the high-dollar, headline-grabbing players that Kansas State added in previous years under Jerome Tang.
There isn't a Coleman Hawkins or a PJ Haggerty on this roster, or even some of the touted names that Kansas State beat other high-majors out on in the past. Rarely were the Wildcats connected to some of the biggest names in the portal, as they have been in the past, and when they were, they didn't land them. It suggests that Alexander may have had fewer resources to work with than Tang did in his final years.
Instead, there are high-ceiling developmental players whom Alexander and his coaching staff are banking on to get the most out of, rather than making a splash by competing for the sport's biggest names.
"I don't mean this to say that we didn't have the budget or resources that we needed; we definitely did," Alexander said. "You gotta be cautious not to spend too much early; you gotta make sure you have some balance, and then once you can start slotting players into position, it becomes a little bit clearer. It's just making sure there was enough to go around."
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Roster spending has been a national focus since the transfer portal opened after the national championship. Revenue sharing and Name, Image and Likeness rules have sparked a frenzy in recent years, making, more often than not, the most important thing on a player's mind when choosing where to play.
According to The Athletic's reporting in mid-April, the average roster at high-major schools next season could be in the $10 million to $12 million range, and the starting point for top-tier players is $3 million each. Hawkins' then-shocking reported $2 million NIL deal would be well below less than half of some of the top deals reported during this cycle.
For Alexander, going from what he said was a bottom-half budget at Belmont within the Missouri Valley Conference to fighting with some of the highest spenders in the country in the Big 12, he said he's dealing with agents more than ever. He brought over former assistant Sean Rutigliano to be his general manager, something he didn't have at his previous stop, to build relationships with the players' representatives.
"The first thing you have to do is come to some level of agreement on the money range, and if it's not, there's no conversation," Alexander said. "You really handle that part of it first, and then you get to the recruiting part to see if it's going to be a match there. It's new to me, and it was an adjustment, but I don't necessarily think it's new. It's just the way things are going across the board now."
Alexander has exuded confidence since he was named coach, and a financial conversation didn't deter him. He spoke highly of the players who will suit up for the Wildcats next season and what he believes they will be capable of.
Whether the roster was built with fewer resources or not, he believes he'll get the job done.
"There's absolutely zero reason why we can't win, and we can't win quickly," Alexander said. "It's going to take a lot of work; it's a heck of a league, and it doesn't happen easily. We're not settling for the middle of the pack."
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
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Casey Alexander talks Kansas State basketball financial resources
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