The Coach K Era officially kicks off Monday morning as Kayla Karius and the Green Bay Phoenix will travel to Manhattan, Kansas to take on the 13th ranked Kansas State Wildcats.
While there is a new head coach at the helm of the Phoenix, some things don’t change. Green Bay is no stranger to playing ranked opponents, perennially playing a tough nonconference schedule. As the season opens, Green Bay is slated to play two Associated Press Top 25 ranked teams, as well as Northern Iowa and Norfolk State who come into the season ranked in the CollegeInsider Mid Major Top 25 poll. Not to mention Horizon League foe Cleveland State who also is ranked in the Mid Major Top 25 poll, in the 8 spot, just above Green Bay who start the season ranked 10th in the same poll.
Scouting Report
Last season Kansas State went 26-8 under longtime head coach Jeff Mittie, including a return to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats made the Round of 32 before being eliminated by Colorado last season. Looking to ride that momentum, Kansas State was the preseason Big 12 coaches poll favorite to win the conference this season. Like the Phoenix, Kansas State returns a high majority of the team, with 8 of its 9 top scorers returning for the 2024-25 season, including 6’6” center Ayoka Lee, who holds the NCAA Division 1 single game scoring record with 61 points, and averages 19.2 points per game. Another returning player is Serena Sundell, who like Lee, is on the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Women’s Player of the Year watchlist. Sundell averaged 12.1 points per game, and dished out 5.5 assists per game from the guard spot.
Green Bay also returns much of its scoring from the squad that won the Horizon League Conference Tournament and made another NCAA Tournament appearance. The Phoenix will be led by Natalie McNeal who averaged 13.2 points per game and had 32 points in the Horizon League Tournament Championship game against Cleveland State.
Tipoff is set for 11 AM CT from Bramlage Coliseum on the campus of Kansas State University.
