List of Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball head coaches

Last updated November 11, 2024

The following is a list of Kansas Wildcats men's basketball head coaches. The Wildcats have had 24 head coaches. A number of notable and successful coaches have led the Wildcats through the years. Following are all the coaches that have been at Kansas State.^[1]

Coach	Years at KSU	W	L	Win%	Conf. W	Conf. L	Conf. Win %	Awards and Achievements During Tenure
Charles W. Melick	1905–1906	7	9	.438	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mike Ahearn	1906–1911	26	24	.520	N/A	N/A	N/A
Guy Lowman	1911–1914	30	16	.652	0	10	.000
Carl J. Merner	1914–1916	19	15	.559	13	13	.500
Zora G. Clevenger	1916–1920	54	17	.761	38	16	.704	• 2 Conference Regular Season Championships (1917, 1919)
E.A. Knoth	1920–1921	14	6	.700	11	4	.733
E.C. Curtiss	1921–1923	5	28	.152	5	27	.156
Charles Corsaut	1923–1933	89	81	.524	61	63	.492
Frank Root	1933–1939	38	72	.345	19	47	.287
Jack Gardner ^†^	1939–1942; 1946–1953	147	81	.645	66	46	.589	• 1 NCAA Championship Game (1951) • 2 Final Fours (1948, 1951) • 1 Sweet Sixteen (1951) • 2 Tournament Appearances (1948, 1951) • 3 Conference Regular Season Championships (1948, 1950, 1951) • 3 Conference Holiday Tournament Championships (1947, 1950, 1952) • 2 times ranked in top 6 of final AP and UPI polls (1951, 1952)
Chili Cochrane	1942–1943	6	14	.300	1	9	.100
Cliff Rock	1943–1944	7	15	.318	1	9	.100
Fritz Knorr	1944–1946	14	33	.298	6	14	.300
Tex Winter ^†^	1953–1968	261	118	.689	154	57	.730	• 2 Final Fours (1958, 1964) • 4 Elite Eights (1958, 1959, 1961,1964) • 6 Sweet Sixteens (1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1968) • 6 Tournament Appearances (1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1968) • 8 Conference Regular Season Championships (1956, 1958–1961, 1963, 1964, 1968) • 4 Conference Holiday Tournament Championships (1958, 1960, 1961, 1963) • Ranked No. 1 in final AP and UPI polls (1959) • 4 times ranked in top 6 of final AP and UPI polls (1958, 1959, 1961, 1962) • UPI National Coach of the Year (1958) • Big 7 Coach of the Year (1958) • 2-time Big 8 Coach of the Year (1959, 1960) • Undefeated conference season (14–0) (1959) • Developed the Triangle offense
Cotton Fitzsimmons	1968–1970	34	20	.630	19	9	.679	• 1 Sweet Sixteen (1970) • 1 Tournament Appearances (1970) • 1 Conference Regular Season Championship (1970) • Big 8 Coach of the Year (1970) • NABC District Coach of the Year (1970)
Jack Hartman	1970–1986	295	169	.636	133	91	.594	• 4 Elite Eights (1972, 1973, 1975, 1981) • 6 Sweet Sixteens (1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1982) • 7 Tournament Appearances (1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1980–1982) • 3 Conference Regular Season Championships (1972, 1973, 1977) • 2 Conference Tournament Championships (1977, 1980) • NABC Coach of the Year (1980) • 2-time Big 8 Coach of the Year (1975, 1977) • NABC District Coach of the Year (1977) • Most wins in program history
Lon Kruger	1986–1990	81	46	.638	34	22	.607	• 1 Elite Eight (1988) • 1 Sweet Sixteen (1988) • 4 Tournament Appearances (1987–1990) • NABC District Coach of the Year (1988) • Only KSU coach to take squads to NCAA Tournament in four consecutive seasons
Dana Altman	1990–1994	68	54	.557	19	37	.339	• 1 Tournament Appearance (1993) • Big 8 Coach of the Year (1993)
Tom Asbury	1994–2000	85	88	.491	29	63	.315	• 1 Tournament Appearance (1996)
Jim Wooldridge	2000–2006	83	90	.480	32	64	.333
Bob Huggins	2006–2007	23	12	.657	10	6	.625
Frank Martin	2007–2012	117	54	.684	50	32	.610	• 1 Elite Eight (2010) • 1 Sweet Sixteen (2010) • 4 Tournament Appearances (2008, 2010–2012) • Big 12 Coach of the Year (AP and coaches) (2010) • Highest NCAA seed (2) in program history (2010) • Most wins (29) in one season in program history (2010) • CollegeInsider.com Big 12 Coach of the Year (2008) • Jim Phelan Award as mid-season National Coach of the Year (2009–10) • USBWA District VI Coach of the Year (2010) • NABC District 8 Coach of the Year (2010) • Only KSU coach to win 20 or more games in first 5 seasons
Bruce Weber	2012–2022	143	85	.627	63	55	.534	• 1 Elite Eight (2018) • 1 Sweet Sixteen (2018) • 5 NCAA Tournament Appearances (2013, 2014, 2017-2019) • 2 Conference regular season Championships (2013, 2019) • Big 12 Coach of the Year (AP and coaches) (2013) • USBWA District VI Coach of the Year (2013) • Most wins (27) by a first-year coach in program history (2013) • Most wins (47) in the first 2 years. • Most conference wins (14) by a first-year coach in program history (2013) • Most conference wins (24) in the first 2 years. • Most conference wins (32) in the first 3 years. • Most all-time Top 25 victories (27) • Only KSU coach to win 25 or more games in back to back seasons
Jerome Tang	2022–Present	45	25	.643	19	17	.528	• Best start in program history by a first year coach • Naismith College Coach of the Year (2023) • Big 12 Coach of the Year (2023) • AP Big 12 Coach of the Year (2023) • USBWA District VI Coach of the Year (2023) • NABC District 8 Coach of the Year (2023)

†Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
^Inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

Related Research Articles

William Wallace Guthridge was an American college basketball coach. Guthridge initially gained recognition after serving for thirty years as Dean Smith's assistant at the University of North Carolina and summing many wins as a result. Following Smith's retirement in 1997, Guthridge was head coach of the Tar Heels for three seasons. He took the team to the NCAA Final Four twice and was named national coach of the year in 1998, before retiring in 2000.

Bruce Brett Weber is a former men's basketball head coach at Kansas State University. Prior to his tenure at Kansas State, Weber was the head coach at Southern Illinois University and the University of Illinois.

The Kansas State Wildcats are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kansas State University. The official color of the teams is Royal Purple; white and silver are generally used as complementary colors.

The Sunflower Showdown is the series of athletic contests between Kansas State University and the University of Kansas athletic programs, most notably football and men's basketball. The name is derived from a nickname for the state of Kansas as well as the state flower, the Sunflower State.

Francisco José Martin is an American basketball coach serving as the head coach for the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team. Martin was previously the head coach of the University of South Carolina men's basketball team for ten seasons. Prior to that, he was the head coach of Kansas State University for five seasons.

The Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. They compete in the Big 12 of NCAA Division I and is coached by Tommy Lloyd. Arizona previously spent the past 50 seasons in the Pac-10/12.

The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball program is the men's college basketball team of the University of Kentucky. It has eight NCAA championships, the best all-time winning percentage, and the most all-time victories. The Wildcats compete in the Southeastern Conference and are coached by Mark Pope.

The Davidson Wildcats are the NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics teams representing Davidson College of Davidson, North Carolina, United States. A member of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10), Davidson College sponsors teams in ten men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The Wildcats previously competed in the Southern Conference, and the wrestling team retains associate membership in that league since the sport is not sponsored by the A-10. The football team is a member of the Pioneer Football League, a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) conference of schools that do not offer athletic scholarships for football.

The Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represents Kansas State University in college basketball competition. The program is classified in the NCAA Division I, and is a member of the Big 12 Conference. The head coach is Jerome Tang.

The 2009–10 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Kansas State University in the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Frank Martin, who served his 3rd year at the helm of the Wildcats. The team played its home games in Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas. Kansas State is a member of the Big 12 Conference. The Wildcats began conference play with a trip to Columbia, Missouri and faced the Missouri Tigers and finished the year with a home game against the Iowa State Cyclones. They finished the season 29–8 and ranked #7 in the AP Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll. They lost to the rival Kansas Jayhawks in the finals of the Big 12 tournament, 72–64.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year</span>

The Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year is a basketball award given to the most outstanding men's basketball head coach in the Big 12 Conference, as chosen by a panel of sports writers and broadcasters. The award was first given following the 1996–97 season, the first year of the conference's existence, to Kansas Jayhawks head coach Roy Williams.

The 2010–11 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Kansas State University in the 2010-11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Frank Martin, who was serving his 4th year at the helm of the Wildcats. The team played its home games in Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas. Kansas State is a member of the Big 12 Conference. The Wildcats began conference play with a trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma, facing the Oklahoma State Cowboys and finished conference play at home against Iowa State Cyclones. The team finished with a 10–6 record, placing 4th. They lost in Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals to Colorado Buffaloes, 87–75, and participated in the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. In NCAA tournament, they beat Utah State, 73–68 in second round, and lost to Wisconsin, 70–65 in third round.

The Baker Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Baker University, located in Baldwin City, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing as a founding member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) since its inception in the 1971–72 academic year. The Wildcats previously competed in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) from 1902–03 to 1970–71.

The 2011–12 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Kansas State University in the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Frank Martin, who served in his 5th year at the helm of the Wildcats. The team played its home games in Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas, as they have done so since 1988. Kansas State is a member of the Big 12 Conference. The team set a school record for fewest points allowed in the shot clock era. The team concluded the conference season with 10–8 to finish in 5th place in the Big 12. They were defeated by Baylor in the quarterfinals in the 2012 Big 12 men's basketball tournament. The team made to the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament for the third straight year, where they beat Southern Miss in the second round, and lost to Syracuse in the third round to close the season with a 22–11 record.

The 2006–07 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Kansas State University in the 2006–07 college basketball season. The team was led by first-year head coach Bob Huggins. It was Huggins' only season at K-State, as he left the following season to coach at his alma mater, West Virginia Mountaineers.

The 1989–90 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Kansas State University as a member of the Big 8 Conference during the 1989–90 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Lon Kruger who was in his fourth season at the helm of his alma mater. The team played its home games at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas. The Wildcats finished with a record of 17–15, and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 11 seed in the Midwest region. Kansas State lost to Xavier in the opening round of the tournament.

The 2021–22 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Kansas State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, their 119th basketball season. The Wildcats were led by 10th-year head coach Bruce Weber and played their home games in Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas as members of the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 14–17, 6–12 in Big 12 play to finish ninth place. They lost to West Virginia in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.

The 1992–93 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Kansas State University as a member of the Big 8 Conference during the 1992–93 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Dana Altman who was in his third season at the helm. The team played its home games at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas. The Wildcats finished with a record of 19–11, and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 6 seed in the Southeast region. Kansas State was upset by No. 11 seed Tulane in the opening round of the tournament.

Jerome Tang is a Trinidadian-American college basketball coach who is the head coach for the Wildcats of Kansas State University. He had previously been an assistant coach under Scott Drew from 2003 to 2022 at Baylor, where the Bears won the 2021 NCAA Championship.

The 2022–23 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Kansas State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, their 120th basketball season. The Wildcats were led by first-year head coach Jerome Tang and played their home games in Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas as members of the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 26–10, 11–7 in Big 12 play to finish in a tie for third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament to TCU. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed in the East region. They defeated Montana State, Kentucky, and Michigan State to advance to the Elite Eight. There they lost to Florida Atlantic.

References

↑ Kansas State Athletics, K-State Men's Basketball Media Guide, archived from the original on 2011-02-15, retrieved 2014-11-11

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[MediaGuide-1] Kansas State Athletics, K-State Men's Basketball Media Guide, archived from the original on 2011-02-15, retrieved 2014-11-11

[1]

v t e Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball
Venues	Manhattan YMCA (1902–1911) Nichols Hall (1911–1950) Ahearn Field House (1950–1988) Bramlage Coliseum (1988–present)
Rivalries	Kansas
Culture & lore	Willie the Wildcat "Kansas Wildcats" "Wabash Cannonball" Wildcat Victory The Pride of Wildcat Land
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics