Across the nation, the popularity of women’s basketball is soaring to new heights. Here in the Little Apple, the stock of Kansas State women’s basketball is no different. 

For the first time in school history, the Wildcats were selected as No. 1 in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll last week. K-State earned seven first-place votes, slotting just in front of Iowa State with six.

Star center Ayoka Lee was named the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, while senior guard Serena Sundell joined Lee on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.

Lee became the third player in the program to earn Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year honors, joining Nicole Ohlde (2002-03 and 2003-04) and Kendra Wecker (2004-05).

The outlook of head coach Jeff Mittie’s program reaches far beyond this upcoming season. Mittie and his staff hit the ground running in the transfer portal and high school recruiting.

Just under a month ago, K-State landed a five-star commitment from Jordan Speiser, a Top 20 player in the Class of 2025. Speiser committed to K-State over the likes of Iowa, UConn and other top schools.

Speiser is one of three commitments the Wildcats have landed so far in her class, joining four-star Aniya Foy and Gina Garcia of the Spanish national team. Their presumed additions in 2025 come after the Wildcats’ transfer success with star forward Temira Poindexter from Tulsa and center Kennedy Taylor from Missouri State. 

Mittie said one of the keys to landing Poindexter was the potential in Manhattan.

“She wanted to be at a place like Kansas State that was going to compete for championships and play at the highest level, and she saw that opportunity.”

But how did the Wildcats, a team that hasn’t won the conference since 2008, get to a championship expectation?

K-State placing its stake atop the conference poll was aided by the departure of last year’s regular season conference title holder, Oklahoma, and last year’s conference tournament winner, Texas. 

While the conference looks weaker on paper, Mittie is quick to point out the additions of Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah, alongside the outlook of the returning conference members.

“I think the league’s in good hands with a lot of depth this year of quality teams,” Mitte said. “… You look at the teams that finished at the top of the league: [K-State], Iowa State, West Virginia, Baylor, we all return our top players, and we were able to add some good additions in the portal.”

ESPN and FOX platforms believe the conference is worth broadcasting to the nation as well. K-State will host Iowa State on ESPN in January, followed by airing on FOX at West Virginia in February and two more contests on ESPN2. 

Playing on national television is key for the program, as it puts eyeballs on the team. Mittie said this is another reason his program has reached new heights. 

“I think we got a good bounce off the Caitlin Clark effect,” he said. “I mean, we got [two] big wins against Iowa and certainly got a lot of attention from that. We ran all the way to No. 2 in the country. When you do those kinds of things, you open up recruits’ eyes to take a look at you more.”

Mittie added that Lee’s NCAA record 61-point game and the overall success of K-State’s athletic department have bolstered their status. 

“These are national stories,” he said. “If you just keep doing things the right way, having success, people will look at you.”