MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State tied for league-high honors by having five of its football players land on the 2023 Preseason All-Big 12 team as voted on by media representatives who cover the league, the conference office announced Wednesday.
Offensive lineman Cooper Beebe, kickoff/punt returner Phillip Brooks, safety Kobe Savage and tight end Ben Sinnott were named to the team, while running back Treshaun Ward was named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year.
It is the second-straight year K-State had at least five players on the Preseason All-Big 12 team as it led the league with six in 2022. The Wildcats tied for the most this season with Texas.
Beebe, a Preseason All-American by numerous publications, has started 35 career games and has not surrendered a sack in his last 803 pass blocking plays dating back to the 2020 Iowa State contest. He earned First Team All-America honors a season ago in addition to being named the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year by the league’s coaches. A product of Kansas City, Kansas, Beebe helped lead an offensive unit that ranked 15th nationally with 208.3 rushing yards per game, the Wildcats’ best national ranking since 2003 (9th) and best mark since 2016 (231.8).
A native of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Brooks enters the 2023 season ranked second in school history and tied for sixth in Big 12 history with four punt return touchdowns. He also ranks fifth in K-State history in both punt return average (14.6) and punt return yards (641), and eighth in punt return attempts (44). He ranked second in the Big 12 with 168 punt-return yards a year ago as he earned All-Big 12 Second Team accolades, his second time earning postseason All-Big 12 honors.
Savage, a transfer from Tyler JC prior to the 2022 season, made a splash in his first 10 games last year before an injury ended his campaign. Despite missing the final four games of the 2022 season, Savage still tied for fourth on the team with 58 tackles as he earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors from the league’s coaches in addition to earning votes for the Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year award. A native of Paris, Texas, Savage tied for sixth in the Big 12 with three interceptions.
Sinnott exploded onto the scene last season as he earned All-Big 12 First Team honors after leading all Big 12 tight ends/fullbacks and ranked fourth nationally by averaging 14.4 yards per catch. Additionally, he ranked sixth in K-State history by a tight end with 447 receiving yards and eighth with 31 catches. The Waterloo, Iowa, product had four touchdown catches on the year, including a two-score effort at Baylor to become the first Wildcat tight end with a multi-touchdown game since 1996.
Ward arrives at K-State after spending the previous four seasons at Florida State, totaling 1,241 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in his career. Last season, the Plant City, Florida, native led the Seminoles with 649 yards and seven touchdowns en route to All-ACC Honorable Mention accolades.
K-State takes part in the 2023 Big 12 Media Days Presented by Old Trapper next Thursday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Representing the Wildcats along with head coach Chris Klieman is Beebe, Savage, quarterback Will Howard and linebacker Daniel Green. Fans can watch Big 12 Media Day on both ESPNU and Big 12 Now on ESPN+, while coverage throughout the day will be available on K-State’s social channels.
Kansas State opens the 2023 season by hosting SEMO inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday, September 2 in a 6 p.m., contest that will be shown on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Tickets to the seven-game home slate can be purchased online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets or by phone at 1-800-221-CATS.
