MANHATTAN, Kan. – Six Kansas State football players picked up postseason accolades from Phil Steele, including an All-America honor by senior kick returner Morgan Burns, as the publication announced its All-America and All-Big 12 teams.

 

Burns, who now has seven All-America awards this postseason, was named to the third team by Phil Steele and was a First Team All-Big 12 performer. He was joined on the first team all-conference squad by fellow senior and offensive lineman Cody Whitehair. Senior defensive tackle Travis Britz, sophomore linebacker Elijah Lee and senior place kicker Jack Cantele were each named to the second team, while redshirt freshman fullbackWinston Dimel was a third-team honoree.

 

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Burns has been named a First Team All-American kick returner by USA TODAY Sports, CBS Sports and FOX Sports, a second-team pick by Sporting News and the Associated Press, and an honorable mention pick by Sports Illustrated prior to the third-team honor by Phil Steele.

 

Burns returned four kickoffs for touchdowns this season to tie the K-State and Big 12 records, while he had three return scores over the final four weeks of the season. Named the 2015 Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year last week by the league’s coaches, Burns enters the bowl season ranked second nationally with a 33.8-yard kickoff return average, while he has 1,047 total kickoff-return yards this year to sit just 81 yards shy of breaking the single-season mark.

 

Whitehair, who was a First Team All-Big 12 pick by the league’s coaches and a second-team selection by the Associated Press, has played in all 51 games over the last four years with 50 starts. Regarded as one of the most versatile offensive linemen in the league, the Abilene, Kansas, native has started at both guard and tackle, including the last two years at left tackle.

 

Britz picked up his second all-conference designation after carding 36 tackles, including 11 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks during his final campaign. Lee, who has started his first 12 career games this season, has led the Wildcats with 75 tackles in addition to 7.5 TFLs and five sacks. Cantele connected on 12-of-14 field goals and all 29 extra points during his senior season.

 

Dimel recorded five rushing touchdowns in addition to hauling in seven receptions for 213 yards (30.4-yard average) and another score.

 

Riding a three-game winning streak to become bowl eligible for the 19^th time in school history and 17^th under Hall of Fame head coach Bill Snyder, Kansas State faces Arkansas in the 2016 AutoZone Liberty Bowl on January 2, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The game kicks off at 2:20 p.m., will be shown to a national audience on ESPN, while it can also be heard across the K-State Sports Network and on ESPN Radio (SiriusXM Channel 80).

 

Public tickets for K-State fans are still available at the K-State Online Ticket Office and through the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum or via phone at 1-800-221-CATS. Fans are strongly encouraged to order through K-State’s official allotment to ensure that all Wildcat fans are seated in the official K-State sections of the stadium.

 

Kansas State’s Honors from Phil Steele

Third Team All-American: Morgan Burns (KR).

First Team All-Big 12: Morgan Burns (KR), Cody Whitehair (OL).

Second Team All-Big 12: Travis Britz (DL), Elijah Lee (LB), Jack Cantele (PK).

Third Team All-Big 12: Winston Dimel (FB).

 

– k-statesports.com –

 

 

————
RYAN LACKEY
Assistant Director | Athletics Communications

COLORADO STATE (6-4, 0-0 MWC)

AT KANSAS STATE (7-2, 0-0 Big 12)

Saturday, December 19, 2015 3:10 pm CT

INTRUST Bank Arena (15,004)  Wichita, Kan.

 

COACHES

Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)

Overall: 382-195/18^th season

At K-State: 69-40/4^th season

1. Colorado State: 1-1

 

Colorado State: Larry Eustachy (Long Beach State ’79)

Overall: 477-294/25^th season

At Colorado State: 75-36/4^th season

1. Kansas State: 6-5

 

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (7-2)

G: #3 Kamau Stokes (9.2 ppg., 3.1 rpg.)

G: #14 Justin Edwards (14.0 ppg., 5.9 rpg.)

G: #25 Wesley Iwundu (13.8 ppg., 3.9 rpg.)

F: #32 Dean Wade (11.3 ppg., 5.6 rpg.)

F: #41 Stephen Hurt (8.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg.)

 

Colorado State (6-4)

G: #3 Gian Clavell (20.8 ppg., 6.9 rpg.)

G: #4 John Gillon (15.3 ppg., 2.9 rpg.)

G: #10 Joe De Ciman (9.3 ppg., 5.9 rpg.)

F: #2 Emmanuel Omogbo (11.8 ppg., 7.7 rpg.)

F: #15 Tiel Daniels (7.1 ppg., 6.3 rpg.)

 

INSIDE THE SERIES

Overall: K-State leads 7-5

1. Mountain West: K-State leads 33-18 (21-2 at home venues)

In Wichita: First Meeting

Current Streak: Colorado State, 1

Last Meeting: CSU, 84-83, in Fort Collins, Colo., on 12/2/2006

Weber vs. Colorado State: Tied 1-1 (1-0 at home venues)

Weber vs. Eustachy: Weber leads 1-0 (0-0 at home venues)

 

QUICK HITTERS

• Kansas State (7-2) makes the short trip south to host the third Wichita Wildcat Classic against Colorado State (6-4) at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday at INTRUST Bank Arena. The matchup is the first of a two-game series that will continue at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo. in 2016.
• Saturday’s contest will mark the third time K-State has played in the Wichita Wildcat Classic, as the Wildcats lost in double-overtime to West Virginia, 85-80, on Dec. 8, 2011 before defeating Gonzaga, 72-62, on Dec. 21, 2013. Overall, K-State is 8-12 all-time in games played in Wichita.
• The game will be the 21st played in Wichita by K-State which dates back to a meeting with Wichita State on Dec. 17, 1932. Most of the 20 previous contests have been with the Shockers (15), however, the Wildcats played two games each in the city during the 1964 and 1968 NCAA Tournaments.
• K-State has played at least one defacto home game in Kansas City or Wichita every year since 2007 with the Wildcats posting a 6-2 record in those contests, including a 1-1 mark at INTRUST Bank Arena. This will be the first true home game as the first two Wichita Wildcat Classic games were considered neutral since they were organized by outside promoters.
• This will be the 13th meeting between K-State and Colorado State with the Wildcats holding a 7-5 edge. This will be just the 3rd meeting in a half century as the schools played 10 times between 1937-60 before a home-and-home series was played in 2005 and 2006. The home team is 12-0 in the series, including a 7-0 mark by the Wildcats, but this will be the first game played outside of Manhattan and Fort Collins.
• K-State has a 53-12 record in the month of December since 2006-07, including a 19-5 mark under head coach Bruce Weber. The Wildcats are 34-3 at home in December, including 15-2 under Weber.
• Despite the loss at No. 25 Texas A&M on Dec. 12, K-State is still off to its best start since 2012-13 when the Wildcats also went 7-2 to open to the Bruce Weber era. The other loss came to No. 9/8 North Carolina Dec. 12.
• The key to K-State’s successful start has been its balanced scoring, as 5 different players have led the team in scoring and 6 players have at least two double-figure scoring games. It marks the first time the Wildcats have started a season with five different leading scorers since 1998-99.
• K-State has used the same lineup in all 9 games and those starters are responsible for 75 percent (508) of the team’s scoring, 62 percent (216) of rebounding, 80 percent (106) of assists and 67 percent (43) of steals.
• Senior Justin Edwards is one of only 9 players nationally (only Big 12) to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and minutes.

 

–www.kstatesports.com–

————
TOM GILBERT
Associate Director for Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Paced by sophomore defensive tackle Will Geary on the first team, Kansas State had four football players named to the Associated Press All-Big 12 teams, the organization announced Wednesday.

 

Geary was named a first team defensive tackle by the AP after earning honorable mention accolades from the league’s coaches. Junior fullback Glenn Gronkowski (listed as a tight end), senior offensive lineman Cody Whitehair and senior kick returner Morgan Burns (listed as an all-purpose player) were each named to the second team. It was Gronkowski’s first All-Big 12 honor this postseason, while Whitehair and Burns were each on the coaches’ first team.

 

A former walk-on from Topeka, Kansas, Geary registered 45 tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He started every game for the Wildcats, including the Oklahoma game when he recorded a career-best eight tackles, three TFLs and two sacks.

 

He also forced and recovered a fumble at Texas Tech, but his biggest contribution this season may have been a strip against Iowa State. With the Wildcats trailing by seven with less than two minutes remaining, Geary stripped a Cyclone running back and K-State tied the game on the ensuing drive. K-State went on to win the game, the first of three-straight victories to close out the season and obtain bowl eligibility for a sixth-straight season.

 

Gronkowski started all 12 games, recording five catches for 76 yards and a touchdown while rushing 11 times for 45 yards and another score. He recorded a 31-yard reception and scored his first-career rushing touchdown at Kansas a week after throwing a touchdown pass to fellow fullback Winston Dimel in K-State’s win over Iowa State.

 

A native of Abilene, Kansas, Whitehair played in all 51 games over the last four years with 50 starts. Regarded as one of the most versatile offensive linemen in the league, Whitehair has started at both guard and tackle, including the last two years at left tackle.

 

Burns tied the school and Big 12 single-season records for kickoff-return touchdowns with four, including three over the final four weeks of the regular season. The 2015 Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year, Burns enters the bowl season ranked second nationally with a 33.8-yard kickoff return average, while he has 1,047 total kickoff-return yards this season to sit just 81 yards shy of breaking the single-season mark.

 

A product of Wichita, Kansas, Burns has been named a First Team All-American kick returner by USA TODAY Sports, CBS Sports and FOX Sports, while he was a second-team pick by Sporting Newsand the Associated Press in addition to earning honorable mention accolades by Sports Illustrated.

 

Kansas State will ride a three-game winning streak into the 2016 AutoZone Liberty Bowl against Arkansas on January 2, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. It is the 19th bowl game in school history and 17th time under Hall of Fame head coach Bill Snyder. The game kicks off at 2:20 p.m., will be shown to a national audience on ESPN and can be heard across the K-State Sports Network and on ESPN Radio.

 

Public tickets for K-State fans are still available at the K-State Online Ticket Office and through the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum or via phone at 1-800-221-CATS. Fans are strongly encouraged to order through K-State’s official allotment to ensure that all Wildcat fans are seated in the official K-State sections of the stadium.

 

Associated Press All-Big 12 Teams (Kansas State)

First Team All-Big 12: Will Geary (DT).

Second Team All-Big 12: Glenn Gronkowski (TE), Cody Whitehair (OT), Morgan Burns (All-Purpose).

 

– k-statesports.com –

 

————
RYAN LACKEY
Assistant Director | Athletics Communications

SAN FRANSCISO (AP) — Pitcher Johnny Cueto and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a six-year contract, pending a physical.

The Giants said Monday the deal contains a team option for 2022. Under the agreement, Cueto can opt out after the 2017 season and become a free agent again.

A 29-year-old right-hander, Cueto was 11-13 with a 3.44 ERA in 32 starts for Cincinnati and Kansas City, which acquired him in a trade July 26. He was 4-7 for the Royals in the regular season and 2-1 in the postseason, including a two-hitter that gave Kansas City a 2-0 World Series lead over the New York Mets.

The Tuesday night boys and girls high school basketball schedule finds:

—Hays visiting Junction City

–Highland Park at Topeka High

–Olathe South at Washburn Rural in boys play only

–Emporia at Topeka West

–Clay Center at Riley County

–Rural Vista at Wakefield

–St. Marys at Rock Creek

–Blue Valley Randolph at Hanover

–Chapman at Wamego

–McPherson is visitng Abilene

–Marysville at Concordia

–Chase County at Council Grove

–Osage City at Herington

Michigan State and Kansas remain the top two teams in The Associated Press college basketball poll.

The Spartans (11-0) are a runaway No. 1, receiving all but one first-place vote from the 65-member national media panel on Monday. Kansas (8-1) was on top of the other ballot.

Oklahoma, after its impressive win over Villanova, jumps from seventh to third and is followed by Kentucky, Iowa State, Maryland, Duke, Virginia, Purdue and Xavier.

George Washington and UCLA join the poll for the first time this season at 21st and 22nd. No. 24 Texas A&M and No. 25 Connecticut both rejoin the Top 25 after having been ranked earlier in the season.

Vanderbilt, Oregon, Utah and Gonzaga dropped out from last week. It is the first time out of the poll for Gonzaga since late in the 2013-14 season.