MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State sophomore forward Kaosi Ezeagu (Brampton, Ontario/GTA Prep/UTEP) has received a waiver from the NCAA that will allow him to play immediately in 2020-21, head coach Bruce Weber announced on Wednesday (May 27).
A 6-foot-10, 245-pound transfer from UTEP, Ezeagu enrolled at K-State on January 17 for the Spring 2020 semester and was able to practice with the team. He sat out the remainder of the 2019-20 season and was expected to do so for the Fall 2020 semester before earning the waiver. He will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.
“We are excited for Kaosi that he was able to gain this waiver and become immediately eligible,” said Weber. “When we signed him, I thought he filled a big need, giving us an older, experienced big guy that has played Division I basketball. He made big strides on the court and in the weight room this past semester and helped raise the physicality and competitive spirit in practice. He really helped push (departing senior) Mak (Mawien) down the stretch. We are appreciative to Coach (Rodney) Terry, his staff and UTEP for supporting this waiver.”
Prior to enrolling at K-State, the native of Brampton, Ontario played one season at UTEP for head coach Rodney Terry in 2018-19. He played in all 29 games for the Miners as a true freshman, averaging 3.2 points on a team-best 56.9 field goal percentage (37-of-65) with 3.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 12.4 minutes per game. He led the team with 24 blocked shots and registered at least 2 blocks in eight contests with a season-high 3 against Rice on February 23, 2019. Twice he scored in double figures, including 10 in his first game against UTPB on November 16, 2018 and a season-best 12 against Middle Tennessee State on March 6, 2019.