This is still by far the greatest exodus from the program in the portal’s brief history, which may force the Wildcats to replenish the roster with more portal additions. K-State coach Chris Klieman has used the portal sparingly, but to good advantage in recent years, bringing in key players to fill positions of need while preferring to develop the roster from within when possible.

K-State’s biggest transfer hits so far were senior quarterback Will Howard and senior safety Kobe Savage, both two-year starters and team captains.

Here is a list of players from this season who have entered the portal. Check back for more comings and goings.

Kansas State portal additions

Safety Jordan Riley-Scott (Ball State)

Riley-Scott was a third-team All-MAC selection as a sophomore in 2022, recording 97 tackles, including three for loss with 12 passes defended. Those numbers slipped somewhat this year to 61 tackles, three for loss, with eight passes defended, as Ball State suffered through a 4-8 season.

Riley, who has one year of eligibility left plus a redshirt option, chose K-State over offers from Cincinnati and Houston.

Defensive end Travis Bates (Austin Peay)

Bates had an impressive redshirt freshman year for a 9-3 Austin Peay team, recording 32 tackles with three sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss in 10 games. He has three years of eligibility left.

Bates, who was named a fourth-team freshman All-American by Phil Steele, also had offers from Boston College, Houston and Wisconsin.

Offensive tackle Easton Kilty (North Dakota)

K-State’s first portal commitment was a good one. Kilty, a three-year starter at North Dakota, was one of the top-rated transfers available and will add a veteran presence to a Wildcat offensive line that loses at least four starters.

The 6-foot-5, 305-pound Kilty, who has two years of eligibility left, started every game at left tackle this season for North Dakota, and also has been a starter at both right and left guard.

Kansas State portal departures

Safety Kobe Savage (Oregon)

Savage, a senior team captain, started at safety from the moment he arrived at K-State from Tyler (Texas) Junior College, recording 115 tackles and six interceptions in two seasons. He enters the portal with one year of eligibility remaining.

Savage started the first 10 games at strong safety last year before suffering a season-ending injury, and came back this season to receive second-team All-Big 12 honors from the league coaches.

Wide receiver RJ Garcia (Bowling Green)

Garcia began his sophomore season as a starter after showing promise last year in a backup role, but eventually lost the job to true freshman Jayce Brown. He appeared in all 12 games and caught 14 passes for 184 yards with one touchdown.

He scored his first career touchdown last year against TCU in the Big 12 championship game and leaves K-State with 22 career receptions for 260 yards and two scores.

Wide receiver Xavier Loyd (Illinois State)

Loyd, a sophomore former walk-on from Blue Springs, Missouri, saw action in eight games and recorded his only career reception, for 16 yards, in the season opener against Southeast Missouri State.

Defensive end Nate Matlack (Pittsburgh)

Matlack was a key member of the Wildcats’ four-man defensive end as a junior behind starters Brendan Mott and Khalid Duke. He finished the regular season with 15 tackles, including 7.5 for loss, plus four sacks and a blocked kick. He has two years of eligibility left at Pitt.

Running back Anthony Frias

Frias joined the Wildcats as a sophomore last year from Modesto Junior College in California and redshirted. This year he was the third-string back behind 1,000-yard rusher DJ Giddens and Florida State transfer Treshaun Ward, who also has entered the portal.

Frias appeared in 10 games, rushing for 42 yards and catching two passes for 5 yards.

Quarterback Will Howard

Howard is the most coveted K-State player to enter the portal so far, receiving personal visits from Southern California’s Lincoln Riley and Mississippi’s Lane Kiffin, among others.

Howard, who helped lead the Wildcats to a Big 12 championship and a Sugar Bowl bid last year, started all 12 games this season and completed 61.3% of his passes for 2,643 yards and 24 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. He also ran for 351 yards and nine scores.

Howard’s 24 TD passes equaled the school single-season record and he leaves as the career leader with 44. With freshman Avery Johnson considered the Wildcats’ quarterback of the future, Howard now has an opportunity to go somewhere where he will be the unquestioned QB1.

Running back Treshaun Ward (Boston College)

Ward arrived in Manhattan last spring with plenty of hype and was even tagged Big 12 preseason offensive newcomer of the year in a media poll.

He proved his worth, rushing for 643 yards and five touchdowns and catching 17 passes for 129 yards and two more scores. Ward served as an effective complement to Giddens, who ran for 1,075 yards and nine touchdowns and had 28 receptions for 286 yards.

Cornerback Will Lee (Texas A&M)

As a freshman All-American at Iowa Western in 2022, Lee helped lead the Reivers to a national junior college championship. After arriving at K-State late in the spring, he still claimed a starting cornerback job opposite Parrish and had a solid sophomore year.

Lee was sixth on the team with 42 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and six pass breakups. But he saw his playing time diminish with the emergence of Keenan Garber, who had only switched to cornerback toward the end of last season.

Quarterback Jake Rubley (Illinois State)

Rubley enrolled at K-State with lofty expectations as a four-star recruit out of Colorado, but things never really worked out. After redshirting in 2021, he was relegated to third-string status behind Martinez and Howard last year, and then saw Johnson leapfrog him as the primary backup this year.

With Johnson the clear choice to succeed Howard next season, it only made sense for Rubley to try his luck elsewhere.

Quarterback Adryan Lara

Lara arrived last year with less fanfare than Rubley had, and while he was praised by Wildcat coaches for his arm strength, there never seemed to be a clear path forward for him.

Like Rubley, he stuck it out through last year, but the writing was on the wall.

Defensive back Jordan Wright (Connecticut)

Wright arrived last year from Fullerton College in California and redshirted. He moved from cornerback to safety during the offseason but was pressed into duty as a backup cornerback when Parrish and Lee were sidelined for a time midway through the year.

Wright did appear in 11 games, recording seven tackles with two pass breakups, but was never a regular part of the rotation in the secondary.

Fullback Christian Moore (UNLV)

Moore appeared in all 12 games this season as a junior for the Wildcats and caught two passes, including a 2-yarder for his first career touchdown against Baylor. But he was an old-school fullback in an offense that prefers to use longer, leaner tight end types in that role.

Wide receiver Shane Porter

Porter, a sophomore special teams standout and younger brother of special teams captain Shane Porter, presumably will look for a new home that will afford him playing time at wide receiver as well.

Wide receiver Wesley Watson (Texas A&M)

Watson, a true freshman from College Station, never saw the field this year. With most of the receiving corps returning, he would be a longshot to crack the rotation next year as well.

Linebacker Collin Dunn

Dunn, another true freshman, would face a steep climb to break into the lineup, especially if starter Austin Moore returns as a super-senior. The Wildcats’ linebacker depth was tested this year, but with true freshman Asa Newsom and versatile Jake Clifton returning from season-ending injuries, it should be a position of strength in 2024.

Safety Jordan Perry

Perry, a redshirt freshman, did not see action in the secondary this year and was not on the radar as a future contributor.