Kansas State is parting ways with coach Jerome Tang, and it’s expected to be for cause, a university source briefed on the matter told The Athletic.
The university announced the separation Sunday night and was working with attorneys to finalize the move. Tang was meeting with his team on Sunday, and the plan was to name an interim head coach in the near future, the university announced.
“This was a decision that was made in the best interest of our university and men’s basketball program,” KSU athletic director Gene Taylor said in a release. “Recent public comments and conduct, in addition to the program’s overall direction, have not aligned with K-State’s standards for supporting student-athletes and representing the university. We wish Coach Tang and his family all the best moving forward.”
Tang was in the middle of his fourth season, which had been his worst. The Wildcats are 10-15 overall and tied for last place in the Big 12 at 1-11. Tang has come under scrutiny recently for his messaging after losses, including him saying after a blowout loss to Cincinnati on Wednesday that his players did not “deserve to wear this uniform.”
“There will be very few of them in it next year,” Tang said. “I’m embarrassed for the university and I’m embarrassed for our fans, our student section. It is just ridiculous. We’ve got practice at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning, and we will get this thing right. I have no answer and no words. … Right now, I’m like pissed.”
The Athletic reported on Thursday that Taylor had told Tang he would get another year as head coach. In Tang’s favor was a $18.7 million buyout that he’d be owed if fired without cause before April 30.
Tang’s tenure got off to a promising start when he went 26-10 and made the Elite Eight in his first year. Tang had quickly built through the portal and won with two outside-the-box additions in year one: Keyontae Johnson, who had missed most of the previous two seasons with a heart condition, and junior college transfer Nae’Qwan Tomlin. Tang was also smart to retain point guard Markquis Nowell, who turned into a star in final season in Manhattan.
The next season, optimism was high, but the Wildcats suffered a big preseason loss. Tomlin, who is now with the Cleveland Cavaliers, was involved in a bar fight in the preseason and dismissed from the team after a disorderly conduct arrest. Tomlin transferred to Memphis and played the second semester for the Tigers, while K-State failed to make the NCAA Tournament and went to the NIT.
The last two years, however, with a healthy NIL budget, Tang has made some questionable moves in the transfer portal. The 2024-25 team was heavily invested in three players — Coleman Hawkins, Achor Achor and Ugonna Onyenso — who played center for their previous teams. The latter two were not part of the rotation, and K-State went 15-16 and 9-11 in the Big 12.
Tang had two starters transfer and graduated his other three starters and had to rebuild again this year. Tang hired former North Florida coach Matthew Driscoll, who worked with him at Baylor, to run the offense. Driscoll’s teams at North Florida played fast and shot a lot of 3s. So K-State targeted shooters and perimeter scorers, most notably P.J. Haggerty, who was a second-team All-American last year at Memphis.
Haggerty is averaging 23.3 points and K-State has shot the 3 well — 36.4 percent — but the defense and rebounding has not been good. Tang’s first three teams all ranked in the top 40 in adjusted defense; this team ranks 137.
On Saturday at Houston, the Wildcats had one of their better performances considering the opponent. Without their names on the back of their jerseys, the Cats jumped out to a 15-6 lead early and went on to lose 78-64.
But now the Cats will be finishing their season without their head coach and K-State’s search for its next coach begins.