The Kansas State Wildcats women’s basketball will extend its postseason streak after receiving an invitation to the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), marking the program’s 10th postseason appearance in the past 12 seasons. The Wildcats will host Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women’s basketball in the opening round on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas. Kansas State earned an at-large bid and enters the bracket as a No. 2 seed in its quadrant.
Tickets for the matchup are available through the K-State ticket office, with chairback seats priced at $18, adult general admission at $15, and youth or K-State student tickets at $10. Advance parking costs $10, while parking purchased at the gate will be $12.
This will be Kansas State’s first appearance in the WBIT. The Wildcats are also one of 11 Big 12 Conference teams to qualify for women’s basketball postseason play in the 2025–26 season, with seven teams heading to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament and four competing in the WBIT.
Other seeded teams in Kansas State’s portion of the bracket include North Dakota State Bison women’s basketball as the No. 1 seed, California Golden Bears women’s basketball as the No. 3 seed, and Columbia Lions women’s basketball as the No. 4 seed.
Kansas State (18–17, 8–10 Big 12) will face Georgia Tech (14–18, 8–10 Atlantic Coast Conference) for the third time in program history and the first time since November 2002. It will also be the schools’ first postseason meeting.
Georgia Tech is led by first-year head coach Karen Blair. The Yellow Jackets’ key players include sophomore guard Talayah Walker, who earned All-ACC First Team honors from the media and second-team recognition from coaches after averaging 17.0 points per game and ranking third in ACC play with 19.3 points per contest. Senior guard Brianna Turnage anchors the defense and rebounding effort, leading the conference in rebounds (12.5 per game) and defensive rebounds (10.7) in ACC play while earning All-Defensive Team recognition.
Kansas State’s 2025–26 campaign has been driven by several standout contributors. Tess Heal, an All-Big 12 Third Team selection, led the Wildcats in scoring during conference games with 15.5 points per contest while shooting efficiently from the field, three-point range, and the free-throw line. Her 87.5 percent free-throw shooting in league play ranked among the best in the conference.
Taryn Sides, an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, has been the team’s leading scorer overall at 12.4 points per game. She has also contributed 3.7 assists per game and leads the team in three-pointers, averaging more than two per contest while setting career highs in points and assists this season.
Junior forward Nastja Claessens has added 12.0 points per game while shooting a team-best 51.7 percent from the field. She also averages 5.0 rebounds and has been strong defensively with 48 steals and 14 blocks. Claessens delivered a standout performance in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament, averaging 15.3 points and 6.3 rebounds while reaching double figures in all four games.
Freshman guard Jordan Speiser has also made a major impact, averaging 10.1 points per game and knocking down 69 three-pointers this season—one of the top freshman marks in program history. She excelled during the Big 12 Tournament as well, averaging 15.8 points while shooting 50 percent from the field and nearly 49 percent from beyond the arc.
The winner of the Kansas State–Georgia Tech game will advance to face the winner of the California Golden Bears women’s basketball vs. Santa Clara Broncos women’s basketball matchup on Sunday, March 22, with the location and tip-off time to be announced.
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