MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman announced three more names to his inaugural coaching staff on Friday as Ted Monachino, Brian Anderson and Van Malone have been hired for the 2019 season.

 

Monachino (pronounced mah-nah-KEY-no) will serve as the defensive coordinator and coach the linebackers, while Anderson will tutor the Wildcat running backs and Malone will coach the cornerbacks.

 

“I am pleased to have Ted, Brian and Van join our staff as all three have significant experience at the Power Five level in addition to Ted’s world championship as a member of the Ravens’ staff,” Klieman said. “The nine total coaches that we have assembled to this point provide a great blend of familiarity with my philosophies as well as the K-State program, Power Five experience and background in recruiting territories that we feel are important to our continued success.”

 

A native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and former linebacker at Missouri, Monachino comes to Manhattan after serving the 2018 season as a senior defensive analyst at his alma mater. Monachino spent the previous 12 years in the NFL, most recently serving as the defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts in 2016 and 2017, while he earned a Super Bowl ring while coaching the linebackers for the Baltimore Ravens in 2012.

 

Monachino has tutored some of the most prolific defenders in NFL history, headlined by Robert Mathis (Colts) and Terrell Suggs (Ravens). He coached Mathis during the final season of his career, while Suggs was a multi-year pro bowler under Monachino’s watch.

 

Prior to his time in the NFL, Monachino coached 10 years in the college ranks, last serving as the defensive line coach for Arizona State from 2001 to 2005. While in Tempe, Monachino was pivotal in the development of Suggs, who was drafted by the Ravens in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft.

 

Under Monachino’s tutelage, Suggs set the NCAA single-season record for sacks (24.0) and tackles for loss (31.5) in 2002 en route to winning the Bronko Nagurski Award as the best defensive player in the nation, the Rotary Lombardi Award for the nation’s top lineman and the Morris Trophy for the Pac-10’s top lineman.

 

Monachino began his coaching career in the high school ranks in Missouri before becoming a graduate assistant at TCU (1996-97). He then coached at James Madison (1998), Missouri State (1999) and Boise State (2000) before his move to Arizona State.

 

Anderson comes to K-State after coaching the wide receivers at Illinois State during the 2018 season. The Redbird receivers combined for 133 receptions for 1,913 yards and 15 touchdowns during his one season in Normal, with most of that production coming from First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference performer Spencer Schnell.

 

A native of Rockford, Illinois, Anderson coached the running backs at Minnesota from 2011 to 2013 before moving to the wide receivers for the next three seasons. During his final season coaching the Gopher running backs, Anderson helped produce Minnesota’s first 1,000-yard rusher in eight years when David Cobb totaled 1,202 yards.

 

A bulk of Anderson’s career has been with under head coach Jerry Kill, who served as an Associate Athletics Director at K-State in 2016. Anderson was on Kill’s staff at Southern Illinois from 2001-07 and Northern Illinois from 2008-10 before joining him in Minnesota.

 

Anderson began his coaching career at Western Illinois for the 1994 through 1996 seasons, while he also coached at Highland Community College (1996-97) and Coffeyville Community College (1997-2000)

 

Malone spent the 2018 season as a defensive quality control coach at Mississippi State, and prior to that was the defensive coordinator at SMU for three seasons. A former NFL defensive back for the Detroit Lions and product of the University of Texas, Malone was named the 2017 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) National FBS Assistant Coach of the Year. The season prior, Malone’s 2016 defense was statistically one of the 10 most improved in college football as the Mustangs ranked seventh nationally in interceptions per game and forced 26 turnovers overall. In fact, two of Malone’s three defenses finished in the top 20 in defensive turnovers.

 

Malone went to SMU after a three-year stint at Oklahoma State where he coached the Cowboys’ safeties in 2012 before switching to cornerbacks for the next two seasons. Under Malone’s direct guidance, Justin Gilbert became Oklahoma State’s first finalist for the Thorpe Award in 2013, a year he ranked fifth nationally with six interceptions and had two pick-sixes.

 

A native of Houston, Texas, Malone began coaching in the high school ranks in Texas before starting his collegiate coaching career at North Dakota State in 2003. He then tutored the cornerbacks at Western Michigan in 2004 and the defensive backs at North Texas in 2005. Malone’s first stint in the Big 12 came at Texas A&M where he tutored the defensive backs from 2006 to 2009, and he also coached the secondary at Tulsa in 2010 and 2011.

 

The final position on Klieman’s coaching staff will be announced as it becomes official.

 

2019 K-State Football Coaching Staff (Through Dec. 28)

Chris Klieman (Head Coach)

Courtney Messingham (Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends)

Ted Monachino (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers)

Brian Anderson (Running Backs)

Joe Klanderman (Safeties)
Collin Klein (Quarterbacks)

Van Malone (Cornerbacks)

Jason Ray (Wide Receivers)

Conor Riley (Offensive Line)

Blake Seiler (Defensive Line)

 

– k-statesports.com –

RYAN LACKEY
Director of Football and Golf Communications | K-State Athletics

 

 

Duke moved to No. 1 after blowing out Kentucky in its season opener, only to lose the top spot two weeks later with a loss to Gonzaga in Maui.

Well, the Blue Devils are back at No. 1.

Buoyed by a win over No. 12 Texas Tech and Kansas’ loss at No. 18 Arizona State, Duke moved atop The Associated Press Top 25released on Monday, receiving 35 of 64 first-place votes.

No. 2 Michigan received nine first-place votes, No. 3 Tennessee got 12, and No. 4 Virginia and No. 5 Kansas received four each.

No. 6 Nevada, Gonzaga, Michigan State, Florida State and Virginia Tech rounded out the top 10.

Duke (11-1) started the season No. 4 in the preseason poll, but moved to No. 1 for a record-tying 135th week in the first regular-season poll after turning its opener against then-No. 2 Kentucky into a laugher.

The Blue Devils stayed in the top spot until a rally against Gonzaga in the Maui Invitational title game came up short. Duke worked its way up to No. 2 and slid into the top spot after routing Princeton and holding off No. 12 Texas Tech last week.

The 69-58 win over the previously-unbeaten Red Raiders had a March-like feel at Madison Square Garden as two Elite Eight teams from a year ago played for the first time.

“This is a great night for college basketball,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

SEATTLE (AP) — Doubted before the season began, questioned even more after a 0-2 start, the Seattle Seahawks are back where they’ve spent most seasons since Pete Carroll arrived.

The Seahawks are in the playoffs and perhaps as the type of opponent no one would like to see in the postseason.

“You hear it. You hear the noise. You hear the 4-12 predictions, the 5-11 and that stuff motivates you,” Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright said. “We kept believing.”

Seattle clinched its spot in the NFC playoffs after toppling Kansas City 38-31 on Sunday night, thanks to three touchdown passes from Russell Wilson and a pair of TD runs by Chris Carson.

Wilson got the better of Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and helped lead Seattle back to the postseason after missing the playoffs a year ago. Seattle has now made the playoffs in seven of the nine seasons with Carroll in charge, and six of seven with Wilson at quarterback.

It was an unexpected accomplishment after Seattle overhauled its roster in the offseason. But the discovery of the best run game in the NFL, coupled with vets like Wilson, Bobby Wagner and Doug Baldwin was enough for Seattle to navigate its way into the postseason.

“There’s an emotion to it that’s deep and it’s because there wasn’t very many people that thought we could do this,” Carroll said. “Most everybody thought we didn’t have a chance and to hang together, hang through it, we got it done before the season is even over.”

The Seahawks (9-6) can wrap up the No. 5 seed and a matchup with Dallas by beating Arizona in Week 17.

Wilson was 18 of 29 for 271 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown pass to Ed Dickson with 7:31 left for his third TD. But it was Seattle’s next drive that stood out as the best run team in the NFL put the game on the arm of its quarterback and receivers in the fourth quarter.

Leading 31-28, Wilson hit David Moore for 7 yards to convert a key third-down and after Kansas City used its first timeout with 3:04 left. He followed with a 45-yard strike to Tyler Lockett, and Baldwin added a one-handed catch for 29 yards to the Chiefs 1. Carson capped the decisive drive with his second TD run with 2:29 left gave Seattle a 38-28 lead.

Carson rushed for 116 yards, while Baldwin had seven catches for 126 yards and an acrobatic 27-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter.

“When it’s our time to make plays and we’re given opportunities to make plays, we are going to make them. We have shown that,” Baldwin said.

Mahomes had a few of his own magical moments that will enhance his MVP candidacy. But for the second straight week the Chiefs (11-4) were unable to come through with a victory that would have wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the AFC and will go into Week 17 with the chance of being division champs for find themselves on the road for the opening weekend of the postseason.

“I know if you take care of business, you don’t have to talk about anything,” Kansas City coach Andy Reid said. “When we play the way we can play, and we are going to play, we are a tough team.”

Mahomes was 23 of 40 for 273 and three TDs. Mahomes had only 83 yards passing in the first half. He had 76 and was 6 of 6 on Kansas City’s first possession of the second half, finishing the drive with a scrambling, sidearm fling to Charcandrick West for a 25-yard touchdown that pulled the Chiefs even at 17-all midway through the third quarter.

That was the last time the teams were tied.

Harrison Butker’s 32-yard field goal with 1:20 left pulled the Chiefs within seven, but the onside kick went out of bounds and Seattle ran out the clock.

“It’s frustrating knowing that we’ve had it so close both times,” Mahomes said. “Luckily we are still in the position where we will have the opportunity to go out there and win it next week.”

Damien Williams rushed for 103 yards and caught a 2-yard touchdown pass in the first half. But Seattle managed to keep Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce from taking over and the Seahawks pass rush did enough to disrupt the Chiefs passing attack. Mahomes was sacked only once, but was hit 11 times. Kelce had five catches; Hill had four. Neither scored.

“We knew (Hill) and (Kelce) were the go-to guys and if you eliminate those two guys you have a good chance of winning,” Wright said.

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Zylan Cheatham bounded down the hallway inside Wells Fargo Arena, half skipping, half jumping as he high-fived family, friends, anyone he could reach.

“Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s gooooo!” the Arizona State forward shouted.

Let it be heard: the Sun Devils have arrived.

Poised down the stretch after trailing most of the night, No. 18 Arizona State pulled off one of the biggest victories in school history by knocking off No. 1 Kansas 80-76 on Saturday.

“This was a huge moment for our basketball program,” Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said.

It wasn’t easy.

Arizona State (9-2) had a hard time stopping Kansas preseason All-American Dedric Lawson inside, blew numerous shots at the rim and had a rough night at the free throw line.

Trialing by up to nine points, the Sun Devils rallied by double-teaming Lawson, digging in on defense and making the biggest plays down the stretch to beat a No. 1 team for the second time as a program.

As it did in beating Kansas a year ago in Lawrence, Arizona State rallied late, using a 10-0 run to go up 76-74 with 90 seconds left.

Kansas (10-1) turned it over twice in its final three possessions and Rob Edwards, who scored 15 points, and hit two free throws with 6.1 seconds left to start the celebration. Students poured out of the stands to join the players a center court, leaving security no chance of stopping the party.

“Those are the moments we live for,” said Arizona State’s Remy Martin, who had 10 points and a big pull-up jumper with 58 seconds left.

Kansas led nearly the entire game and had plenty of chances down the stretch to win its first true road game of the season, even with big man Udoka Azubuike missing his fourth straight game due to an ankle injury.

The Jayhawks were unable to come up with the defensive stops during Arizona State’s run and couldn’t get off a tying shot down two in the closing seconds, finding themselves at the center of a Sun Devil celebration — and likely out of the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25.

“It’s very tough one because we had the game and we let it slip right through our hands,” said Lawson, who led Kansas with 30 points and 14 rebounds.

Arizona State pulled off the upset on the road last season, knocking off the No. 2 Jayhawks 95-85 on its way to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014.

Even with Azubuike out in the rematch, the Jayhawks dominated Arizona State inside early, opening up the perimeter.

Lawson was the focal point, repeatedly getting good position down low and throwing in a layup on a nifty spin move. The Memphis transfer had 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting by halftime.

Arizona State struggled offensively, but held Kansas scoreless over the final 3:42 to stay within 39-31 at halftime.

The Sun Devils tried to make runs in the second half, but kept missing shots at the rim and the Jayhawks kept answering with baskets.

Arizona State started double teaming Lawson in the second half and pulled to 67-65 on Edwards’ second straight 3-pointer to start its comeback.

“They were feeling it, hitting their shots,” said Kansas guard Devon Dotson, who had 14 points. “It just came down to mental mishaps we got caught up in.”

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The 2019 Kansas State football coaching staff grew by four on Saturday as head coach Chris Klieman announced the names of assistant coaches who will be coming to Manhattan from North Dakota State following the Bison’s bid for a seventh national championship in the last eight seasons.

 

The additions to the K-State staff include offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Courtney Messingham, offensive line coach Conor Riley, wide receivers coach Jason Ray and safeties coach Joe Klanderman.

 

“I am thrilled that Courtney, Conor, Jason and Joe will be joining our staff at K-State,” Klieman said. “Our offensive philosophy at NDSU is similar in schematics to what K-State has been so successful at doing under Coach Snyder, which is a balanced attack built around a power run game and getting our playmakers the ball. Courtney and Jason bring Big 12 experience to the staff, while Conor is one of the top offensive line coaches in the country.

“On defense, I have worked alongside Joe for a long time and have so much respect for him as a coach – he is one of the best secondary coaches in our profession. These guys are all winners and I am excited for them to be Wildcats.”

 

Messingham is a 29-year coaching veteran who has served as a coordinator at multiple stops in addition to coaching virtually every offensive position. Leading the charge of NDSU’s offense the last two seasons, Messingham’s offenses have ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense both years, helping the Bison go 28-1 with a national championship and a chance for another on January 5.

 

Messingham, a native of Waterloo, Iowa, and teammate of Klieman’s at Northern Iowa, has spent a majority of his coaching career in the Midwest, working at Truman State (1995-98), Missouri State (1999-2002, 2008) and Iowa State (2009-13). He was the Cyclones’ offensive coordinator in 2012 and 2013, leading ISU to a school record in touchdown passes the first year, a season that also saw the Cyclones set top-five single-season marks in school history in five different categories.

 

A majority of North Dakota State’s offensive yards the past two seasons under Messingham have come on the ground thanks to the superior coaching of Riley, who is finishing his sixth season with the Bison in 2018. The Bison have averaged at least 235 yards per game in each of Riley’s six years, including a current highwater mark of 285.9 yards per game in 2018. Riley’s lines have also finished highly in fewest sacks allowed, ranking 10^th nationally in 2016 and eighth thus far in 2018.

 

A product of Omaha, Nebraska, Riley began his full-time coaching career at Concordia University (Minnesota) in 2006 before moving back to his alma mater, Nebraska Omaha, for the 2007 through 2010 seasons. He also coached the offensive line at Sacramento State in 2011 and 2012 prior to his stint at NDSU.

 

Ray is no stranger to the Big 12 as he played wide receiver at Missouri (2003-07) and coached receivers and kick returners at Oklahoma State in 2013 and 2014. The 2018 season was his lone campaign at North Dakota State, helping the Bison rank sixth in the nation in scoring offense (41.7 points per game), 10^th in passing yards per completion (15.48) and second in passing efficiency (169.72).

 

Ray began his coaching career at Wyoming, tutoring the Cowboys’ running backs from 2009 and 2012. Following his stint in Stillwater and prior to joining the NDSU staff, Ray spent three seasons tutoring wide receivers at Missouri Valley Football Conference foes Northern Iowa (2015) and Missouri State (2016-17).

 

A five-year member of Klieman’s staff at North Dakota State, Klanderman’s defensive backs have helped the Bison rank in the top five in interceptions four times, including a No. 3 ranking last season and a No. 2 mark in this season. He has coached a trio of All-America safeties in addition to multiple all-conference performers.

 

Klanderman went to NDSU after spending 12 years on staff at his alma mater, Minnesota State. He began coaching in 2002 by working with the defensive line and coached the defensive backs beginning in 2005. Klanderman took over as defensive coordinator and worked with the linebackers from 2007 to 2013 prior to heading to Fargo. He helped tutor 26 first team all-conference honorees and 10 All-Americans during his time at MSU.

 

The rest of Klieman’s coaching staff will be announced as it becomes official.

 

2019 K-State Football Coaching Staff (Through Dec. 22)

Chris Klieman (Head Coach)

Courtney Messingham (Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends)

Joe Klanderman (Safeties)
Collin Klein (Quarterbacks)

Jason Ray (Wide Receivers)

Conor Riley (Offensive Line)

Blake Seiler (Defensive Line)

 

– k-statesports.com –

 

RYAN LACKEY
Director of Football and Golf Communications | K-State Athletics

 

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — It was only fitting that Barry Brown would surpass Jacob Pullen for the most steals in Kansas State history on the same night the Wildcats used their stingy defense to shut down Vanderbilt.

Brown finished with three steals to give him 211 for his career, and the senior guard added 12 points to join three other Wildcats in double-figures scoring, leading Kansas State to a wire-to-wire 69-58 victory over the high-scoring Commodores on Saturday night.

“I wanted to come here and leave a legacy somehow, some way, definitely with wins but then with individual accomplishments,” said Brown, who eclipsed by one the steals total Pullen piled up during his standout career from 2007-11. “This means a lot.”

Makol Mawien added 15 points, Kamau Stokes had 12 and Cartier Diarra 10 for the Wildcats (9-2), who forced 15 turnovers while holding the Commodores (7-3) to a lackluster 32-percent shooting from the field and 7 of 25 from beyond the 3-point arc.

“At shoot-around we were really, really good,” Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew said. “You know, when the game started, we just did not play with the same intensity, the same energy, the same vigor.”

Kansas State struggled to adjust to life without injured star Dean Wade earlier in the week against Southern Miss. But the Wildcats looked much more comfortable without their top scorer against a tougher opponent from the SEC, improving to 8-1 in Wildcat Classic games in Kansas City.

“We talked about a special defensive effort, and frustrating them, and we did that,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “It was great lock-in defense by our guys.”

Matt Ryan hit four 3s and scored 14 points to lead the Commodores. Joe Toye had 11 points and Simisola Shittu added 10, though he was just 3 of 9 from the field.

“That was the best half-court defense we’ve faced this year,” Ryan said. “It was definitely a challenge for us. We’re used to getting into transition. We just played a more mature team. They knew what they were doing defensively.”

Vanderbilt rolled into the Sprint Center, where the Wildcats are accustomed to playing the Big 12 Tournament, averaging more than 83 points and fresh off an upset of No. 18 Arizona State.

Kansas State’s brutal defense and some inept offense put the Commodores in an early hole.

They came up empty on 11 of their first 13 possessions, and had as many turnovers as points (four) midway through the half. It wasn’t until Shittu’s basket with 6:01 left that Vanderbilt reached double-digits in scoring, and the Commodores still faced a 30-20 halftime deficit.

Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew didn’t come up with any solutions in the locker room, either. His team didn’t hit its first field goal of the second half until there was 9:41 to play.

By that point, Kansas State had extended its lead to 49-30.

Vanderbilt finally went on a run, scoring 11 straight to nip into its deficit. And after Mike McGuirl’s basket for Kansas State, the Commodores scored five more to get within 51-43 with 6:14 left.

It was at that point Diarra checked back into the game for the Wildcats, and the sophomore guard got them back on track. He sliced through the lane to pick up a foul and made both free throws, then he drilled a 3-pointer from the wing to restore a 58-45 cushion with four minutes left.

Kansas State buckled back down defensively to put the game away.

“We knew this was a hungry team, a very good defensive team, an NCAA Tournament team,” Drew said, “and they were very good tonight.”

BOYS PREP BASKETBALL=

Berean Academy 46, Wichita Classical 31

Inman 82, Burrton 29

Junction City 54, Garden City 39

Rockhurst, Mo. 55, Bishop Miege 52

Spring Hill 59, Paola 50

Topeka Seaman 61, Topeka West 53

^POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS=

Valley Heights vs. Troy, ppd.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman announced Friday that current Wildcat assistant coaches Collin Klein and Blake Seiler will return for the 2019 football season. Klein will serve as the quarterbacks coach, while Seiler will tutor the Wildcat defensive line.

 

“I am pleased that Blake and Collin will remain a part of our staff here at Kansas State,” Klieman said. “They both are tremendous young football coaches who I have had the chance to get to know over the last several weeks while recruiting, and they provide our program with some continuity and familiarity. As former Wildcat players, they bleed purple, and I am excited for what they will bring to our staff.”

 

The 2018 season marked the second for Klein as a full-time assistant coach tutoring the quarterbacks at K-State, and for the second-straight year he was forced to play multiple quarterbacks due to injury. A majority of the starts this past season went to sophomore Skylar Thompson, who threw for 1,391 yards and nine touchdowns in 10 starts. Thompson enters his junior campaign ranked fifth in career completion percentage (59.45) and ninth in career passing efficiency (130.56).

 

A Heisman Trophy finalist in 2012, Klein began his coaching career in 2014 when he was an assistant director of recruiting at K-State, while he was an offensive graduate assistant in 2015. Klein then went to Northern Iowa to be the quarterbacks coach in 2016 and returned to Manhattan for the same position in 2017.

 

Seiler, who served as the defensive coordinator for the first time in 2018, was also in his second year coaching the Wildcat linebackers last season. He will now return to the to the front line of defense after serving as the K-State defensive ends coach from 2013-16. In his inaugural season as coordinator, Seiler’s defensive unit ranked third in the Big 12 in scoring defense (25.4 points per game) and fourth in total defense (403.4 yards per game) at the end of the regular season.

 

A native of Goddard, Kansas, Seiler was a defensive lineman for the Wildcats from 2003 to 2006. After working as an engineer for two years, Seiler returned to football as a quality control coach at K-State in 2009 and 2010, and a defensive graduate assistant in 2011 and 2012 before becoming a full-time coach.

 

The rest of Klieman’s coaching staff will be announced as it becomes official.

 

2019 K-State Football Coaching Staff (Through Dec. 21)

Chris Klieman (Head Coach)
Collin Klein (Quarterbacks)

Blake Seiler (Defensive Line)

 

– k-statesports.com –

 

RYAN LACKEY
Director of Football and Golf Communications | K-State Athletics

 

 

ELLSWORTH, Kan. (AP) — Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore has been making holiday visits to Kansas inmates.

The Kansas City Star reports that Moore stopped Wednesday at the Ellsworth Correctional Facility. Moore talked about his Christian faith, his family and took questions from an audience of about 200 for more than an hour. During his visit, Moore put his hand on one inmate’s shoulder and prayed with him.

Moore said God “is not impressed with the general manager of a baseball team.” He says, “It’s our job, it’s our responsibility, to use that gift as a platform to help others.”

He also made a stop Tuesday at the prison in Larned with Matt Fulks, director of Moore’s “C” You In The Major Leagues Foundation, which seeks to promote character and community.

___