Jeff Mittie recaps crazy summer and the tense wait for K-State's international commits
· Yahoo Sports
MANHATTAN — If Kansas State women's basketball wasn't able to land its two most recent commits, the only thing coach Jeff Mittie knows is that he wouldn't have held a press conference to talk about his roster.
Visit sportnewz.click for more information.
Mittie laughed, acknowledging the Wildcats put a lot of stock in a pair of international recruits who have him feeling a lot more comfortable now than he was during an offseason when he had to retool his roster.
"We got physicality across the front line that we didn't have," Mittie said. "I like the size and the efficiency of both of them."
Mittie signed both Cristina Osazuwa (Italy) and Tzoana Tampakou (Greece) in August, bringing the Wildcats' 2026-27 roster to 12 players. They give the Wildcats needed size: Osazuwa at power forward at 6-foot-2 and Tampakou at 6-foot-5, matching Ramiya White as the two tallest on the team.
Both listed as freshmen, they join a roster that was considered young during a 19-18 season that saw the Wildcats make a four-game run to the Big 12 Conference Tournament semifinals before a two-game stay in the WNIT. They lost emerging star Jordan Speiser to Oklahoma in the transfer portal, but retained standouts like Taryn Sides, Gina Garcia and Nastja Claessens, hoping the roster will take a step forward.
Building the roster didn't go without Mittie and his staff having to hold their breath at times.
Mittie joked that the NCAA was consistent and that not much had changed in college sports in recent months. It was only just a year ago when the Wildcats tried working with the association to secure a waiver for Kennedy Taylor, which was denied and left them with a hole in their roster that was never properly filled.
Navigating that, along with making sure his targets were committed, wasn't easy.
In fact, when K-State was trying to land Osazuwa, she wasn't 100% sold on moving to the United States to play. Part of the recruiting process ran into the minutes before a dead period began. When the clock struck midnight, the coaching staff had to cut communication, leaving them to hope she would send her financial aid agreement to the school or not sign elsewhere.
Mittie checked periodically throughout the multi-day shutdown with Kansas State's compliance office to see if anything came through. It didn't.
Once the dead period was over, Mittie was allowed to talk to Osazuwa again. Her camp wanted to talk about one more thing before she decided to commit to playing in Manhattan.
"It was a wonderful four days of wondering," Mittie said. "It was a very interesting summer. It was probably unlike any other that I've experienced before."
That patience paid off, and Mittie is comfortable with the 12 he has rostered. He is open to exploring fifth-year players, though the different court cases and rulings that are deciding eligibility continue to get more unclear by the day. Constant discussions are underway with compliance, and K-State is paying attention in case it wants to try to upgrade its roster again.
Mittie, at least, has breathed a sigh of relief, landing the two he put a lot of stock in. If that didn't come to fruition, the Wildcats would still be scrambling to add to the roster and be more aggressive than he currently feels the need to be.
He can now focus on the players on the roster, who have been in the gym putting in work at all hours of the day. Heading into the Nov. 2 opener at Bramlage Coliseum against Wichita State, Mittie can feel good about where the Wildcats stand.
"We have everything in the rear-view mirror, so there's not anything hanging out there," Mittie said. "It surprises me a little bit, but it's all in the rearview mirror. That is a real positive."
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Jeff Mittie recaps crazy summer and the tense wait for K-State's international commits