The road to Manhattan looks different for every member of the K-State women’s golf team. Some traveled thousands of miles from home, while others grew up much closer to Kansas. But at Colbert Hills, those different paths meet over a shared love of golf.

Golf is often viewed as an individual sport, with players responsible for their own scores. For the Wildcats, however, the experience extends beyond the course. A roster made up of players from different countries and cultures has found ways to build a team that feels like home.

“We are a big melting pot of individuals,” sophomore Stalee Fields, a Fort Worth, Texas native, said. “As the only American, it can feel like I’m the outsider.”

For junior Kelsey Chen, who came to K-State from China, the path to Manhattan was not always part of the plan. Chen competed with the Chinese national team and considered turning professional before conversations with college golfers at an invitational in Asia encouraged her to explore playing in the United States. In her first year in collegiate golf, she helped lead Georgia Southern to a 2025 NCAA Championship appearance. 

Senior Julia Ballester Barrio came to K-State from Spain after establishing herself as a successful amateur golfer. She reached No. 276 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and won five ranking events, including consecutive titles at the Campeonato de Castellon in 2022 and 2023.

Junior Nanami Nakashima arrived from Japan as one of the country’s top junior golfers. She won the 2023 IMG Junior World Championship at Torrey Pines in California, finishing 6-under-par at 210, and claimed medalist honors at the 2022 IMG Junior World Florida Challenge with a 206.

Fields also built an impressive resume before arriving in Manhattan. She ranked No. 71 nationally in the American Junior Golf Association rankings when she signed with K-State and earned two victories in the summer of 2024, including the Patrick Reed AJGA Junior at The Woodlands Country Club in Texas, where she finished at 9-under-par 207.

Each arrived with a different background, but the team has given them a common place to belong.

Head coach Stew Burke said building that connection begins before players arrive in Manhattan. The coaching staff spends time getting to know recruits, their families and their coaches to determine whether they will fit the program’s culture.

“The ladies are close,” Burke said. “We speak to our recruits 10, 15, 20 times. We get to know their families, we get to know them, we get to speak to some of their coaches prior to bringing them here.”

That closeness continues once the players reach campus. With a young roster and competition for lineup spots, Burke encourages players to communicate openly and hold one another accountable, even when those conversations are difficult.

“Everyone likes to be held accountable until they’re held accountable,” Burke said.

For Nakashima, the relationships she has built with teammates and coaches have helped make the transition from Japan feel natural.

“The people make K-State special to me,” Nakashima said. “My teammates and coaches make me feel welcome, and Manhattan feels like a second home.”

Fields has found her own sense of belonging through the team. Growing up playing golf with her dad and sisters has helped shape her relationship with the sport, but being part of a group with different backgrounds has given her a new perspective on what connects them.

“We are all wearing the Powercat, and that’s what matters,” Fields said.

Burke first joined K-State as an assistant coach in 2014 before leaving for USC in 2017 and later becoming Tulane’s head coach. Even after moving on to other programs, Manhattan remained a place he felt connected to.

“Manhattan really felt like home to me,” Burke said. “When you get an opportunity to go to a top team, and you leave, you’ve got to go for the professional development, but at the same time, I was there for about three months, and I missed Manhattan terribly.”

Now, he sees that same connection in players who have come from across the United States and around the world.

“They just love the town,” Burke said. “They’re really happy here because they’re coming from all over the world and all over the U.S. I think that’s something that would surprise people, how much this place feels like home to those ladies.”

For Chen, that connection became especially clear during the NCAA regional tournament. K-State earned its first NCAA National Championship bid in 2025 after tying for second place at the 2025 NCAA Lexington Regional, its first berth since 2017. However, after a disappointing finish, teammates came together to comfort one another.

“We were hugging each other, some of us were crying and everyone was comforting and supporting one another,” Chen said. “Even though it was a disappointing moment, it made me realize how much we all cared about each other.”

That same support carried into happier moments, including Chen’s victory at the 2026 Powercat Classic, when her teammates celebrated by pouring water on her.

“In that moment, I could really feel how close we were as a team, like one big family,” Chen said.

Nakashima has also seen how much the team’s work matters beyond the final score. After finishing second in the 2024 Powercat Classic, she won in 2025 with her first collegiate victory, then finished runner-up in this year’s tournament, but she hopes people recognize the effort behind every tournament.

“I hope people understand that golf is not just about scores,” Nakashima said. “There is a lot of hard work and teamwork behind every tournament.”

Ballester shares that perspective, emphasizing the work the team puts in through both the highs and lows of competition.

“Golf is a tricky sport … but something this team never stops doing is working hard every day,” Ballester said. “Being better players and better teammates.”

The friendships extend beyond golf, too. Burke hosted a team gathering at his house to start the year, where the players competed in games of Jenga and Uno. Ballester brought her competitive side to the games, Burke said, though she knows not to take herself too seriously.

From the Japanese hot pot Nakashima hopes to share to the traditional Spanish dishes Ballester misses, the Wildcats are finding ways to make Manhattan feel more like home. Though they come from different countries and cultures, they are building a family of their own in purple.