K-State hires Baylor assistant Jerome Tang as hoops coach

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas State hired Jerome Tang to be its next basketball coach Monday, entrusting a program that's had plenty of recent success but fallen on hard times to one of the architects of Baylor's rise to national prominence.

The Wildcats hired Tang to replace Bruce Weber two days after the top-seeded Bears were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by North Carolina in overtime. Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor flew to Texas to meet with Tang on Sunday and the two sides finalized a six-year contract that will pay more than $14 million the next morning.

“I am beyond excited to be the next head basketball coach at Kansas State,” Tang said. “Having the opportunity to build on a program with a rich basketball history at a prestigious university is truly a blessing. We look forward to bringing an exciting style of basketball to K-State while helping our student-athletes succeed on the court and in life.”

Tang will be paid $2.1 million in his first season with a $100,000 increase in base salary each of the next five years, making his compensation $2.6 million for the 2027-28 season. His contract is expected to include several incentives, too.

“As we conducted a national search to find our next head coach, we wanted to identify an individual who can lead our program to consistently high levels while maintaining the integrity that our program is known for," Taylor said. "When we first met with Jerome, he was very impressive, and that continued throughout the duration of our search.”

Tang was part of Scott Drew's initial staff at Baylor in 2003, when the program was reeling from crippling NCAA penalties that included an inability to play a nonconference schedule. Together the two built a juggernaut in Waco, an unprecedented rise that culminated last...