18 October 2023
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSNT) – The Wildcats are ready to debut a team that’s been in the making for years.
Serena Sundell and the Glenn twins have two seasons of starting experience, All-conference center Ayoka Lee is back from injury, and the ‘Cats have a transfer who’s staying in Manhattan a little longer.
“I’m just excited for all of them,” head coach Jeff Mittie said. “Ja’Mia Harris, we lost her from injury first game last year, so you’re excited for [her and Lee] individually because you know the road back from injury is hard, but from a coaching standpoint, putting that talent together, particularly with the year Gabby had, is really, really exciting for us.”
Lee is practicing at 85% effort, according to Mittie.
“I think I’m doing everything I need to make sure I’m ready once we start playing,” Lee said. “I think, regardless of whether I play or not, a big thing for me this whole rehab process is being aware of my own timeline and not feeling the pressure of the larger ones.”
Gabby Gregory transferred in from OU for her senior season, but is staying longer as a grad student in order to play with Lee.
“If you ask anybody that’s had to play against her, it’s not very fun,” Gregory said. “She’s just very dominant. I don’t think there’s anybody like her in the country. You want to play with people like that. I think that my play style and her play style, I think that we complement each other very well.”
Point guard Serena Sundell is entering her junior season. She started the first two years of her career, so she has veteran leadership beyond her years.
“I know what to expect,” Sundell said. “I know what Coach Mittie expects. I know what our culture is. I’ve got it down. I’ve started a lot of games.”
Practices have been chaotic trying to manage so much talent, Mittie said. He changed the offense during the summer and has multiple rotations he wants to work with.
K-State starts its season Nov. 7 against Central Arkansas, but has two exhibition games before against Fort Hays State and Newman.