The cat’s out of the bag — Kansas State’s 2023 soccer campaign did not live up to expectations. 

Carrying the momentum of the program’s first appearance in the Big 12 Championships in 2022, the team ultimately fell short of a return to the conference tournament, finishing last with a 1-8-1 mark in league play. 

The bright side? The Wildcats compiled a series of lessons from their hardships last fall, fueling their drive to return to postseason play. 

“It wasn’t a good feeling for us at the end of the season, being in last place and knowing that the year before we got to the tournament,” head coach Mike Dibbini said. “It was a humbling season for a lot of us, including myself.” 

Another positive is the Wildcats have a surplus of returners who played substantial minutes last year. 

Defender Jazmin Brown enters her junior year after recording the most playing time of any Wildcat last year, logging 1,616 minutes. Brown, a 2022 Big 12 All-Freshman Team member, shares Dibbini’s mindset. 

“Last year, it was not a good feeling,” Brown said. “I think it’s all ingrained in all of us returners, our goal is not to let that happen again.”

Joining Brown as returners with over 1,000 minutes last year are keeper Murphy Sheaff and fellow defender Kenzi Gillispie. 

Sheaff, who set a school record for consecutive shutout minutes in goal last year, enters her junior year with Olympic experience. After spending the summer as the 2024 New Zealand Olympic team reserve keeper, Sheaff is prepared to compete at a high level.

“The high pressure and high standard was really helpful for me,” Sheaff said. “… Especially as a goalkeeper, I think experience is quite important. So I’m glad that’s something I can bring to the team and hopefully, it helps us get where we want to go this season.”

On the offensive side, K-State returns a group of three key sophomores — forwards Jo Sees, Morgan Struttmann and Rilyn Rintoul — who all displayed poised promise during their freshman seasons.

Sees, whose 7 points led the team last fall, believes its experience will show this year. 

“Having a really young core, obviously, it takes a while to build that core for the team,” Sees said. “But having had last year under our belt and then going forward. I think it’ll definitely be a strong growth going forward.”

On the field, Dibbini said his squad will showcase a more possession-oriented style of play this year. 

“We have all the players that we’ve been waiting for to compete and to play this style of play — a fun, entertaining, possession-style team,” Dibbini said. “You won’t see as much of a direct team that we have been in the past, trying to survive. More of a team that’s going to control the game … We’re finally at a point where I feel comfortable to say we’re going to be competitive.”

K-State’s conference foes, now standing at 15 other teams, are not giving the Wildcats much of a chance in 2024, ranking them last in the preseason poll voted by the conference’s head coaches. 

For the Wildcats to return to the Big 12 Championships, they’ll have to place in the top 12 of the conference, earning a bid to play at ​​CPKC Stadium, home of the NWSL’s Kansas City Current. 

“That’s our goal — number one goal,” Dibbini said. “We’re going to get back because of who we are and what we’re trying to do. We do have a chip on our shoulder. … I can confidently say we have the players, we have the depth. I just feel like as long as our key contributors stay healthy, I think the sky’s the limit with this team.”