“Just the beginning”: College hoops fans react as 6’11 Stephen Osei commits to Kansas State

College basketball fans reacted to the news about junior college standout Stephen Osei committing to play for Kansas State. On3 Sports' Joe Tipton confirmed the development in an Instagram post that saw the 6-11 forward wearing the Big 12 team's jersey.

Fans expressed excitement on Osei's transfer to the Wildcats, with one user seeing the development as a stepping stone for the Canadian big man.

"just the beginning♟️," the fan wrote on Instagram.

Stephen Osei's commitment reaction (Image Source: @tiptonedits/Instagram)

Others gave him inspiring and encouraging messages to boost his confidence as he moves to the next phase of his young career.

Other reactions on Stephen Osei's transfer to Kansas State (Image Source: @tiptonedits/Instagram)

Stephen Osei played 26 games for Casper College and averaged 11.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He shot 63.8% from the field and 68.6% from the free-throw line in his only season for the Thunderbirds.

Osei, who had offers from Eastern Illinois, FDU, Incarnate Word, and UTSA, had a season-high 23 points last year. He is expected to provide a boost in the paint for Jerome Tang's men.

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Kansas State plans to redshirt Stephen Osei

Kansas State is serious about developing Stephen Osei as a dependable big man for the 2026-27 season. Due to this, Jerome Tang announced that the program is planning to redshirt him this season.

Redshirting Osei allows the Wildcats to exhaust the four years of eligibility and use the 2025-26 season to develop his skills and conditioning. Tang hopes to be successful with his plan to redshirt the young Canadian star after experiencing failed experiments in the past.

For the coming season, the Wildcats are relying on returnees Mobi Ikegwuruka, Taj Manning, and David Castillo to lead them to the goal of making the 2026 NCAA Tournament. They also recruited quality players from the transfer portal in Abdi Bashir (Monmouth), Khamari McGriff (UNCW), and Nate Johnson (Akron).

Three-star recruit Exavier Wilson and Serbian Andrej Kostic are their freshmen recruits, which leaves Kansas State with four scholarship vacancies. The Wildcats are still awaiting the decision on Tyreek Smith and Max Jones, who are asking the NCAA to grant them a waiver to gain extra eligibility.

Kansas State finished the 2024-25 season at 16-17 (9-11 in the Big 12). They failed to make the 2025 NCAA Tournament after losing to Baylor in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament.