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It appears that if Frank Martin and his staff have their way on the recruiting trail his team next year and beyond will never be undersized when going up against Big 12 competition.
After missing out on Olathe Northwest prospect Willie Cauley who signed with Kentucky, the Wildcats have secured a commitment from forward Laimonus Chatkevicius who is either 6'10" or seven foot depending on where you check.
Chatkevicius is attending South Kent Prep in Connecticut this year but is previously from the Kansas City area as he played on the MoKan Elite AAU team. He appears to be a project though as he averaged only 1 point and 1.7 rebounds per game while competing on the Lithuanian under 17 world championship squad.
In addition to Chatkevicius the Wildcats are also a finalist for another seven footer in Robert Upshaw from Fresno, CA. According to Rivals, Upshaw is the #43 ranked prospect in the 2012 class and the number eight center prospect. K-State is among his final four choices as he is deciding between the Wildcats along with Louisville, Georgetown & his hometown Fresno State Bulldogs.
A potential commitment from Upshaw would give the Wildcats four legitimate seven footers on their roster in 2012-2013 with Chatkevicius & Upshaw teaming up with 7'0" Adrian Diaz and 7'0" Jordan Henriquez-Roberts.
Assuming a commitment from Upshaw comes there appears to be a roster shuffling of some kind that would eventually need to be done. Currently the K-State roster consists of only one scholarship senior in Jamar Samuels as fellow senior Victor Ojeleye is a walk-on. That would presumably place the Wildcats with 12 players returning on scholarship with at least two commitments in place.
This past offseason we saw three players transfer out of the program in Nick Russell, Juevol Myles & Wally Judge. Depending on how the recruiting efforts continue to progress we could see more movement once again in Manhattan following the season.