K-State basketball to play in 2024 Paradise Jam

The Kansas State Wildcats are headed to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the non-conference MTE this coming basketball season.

It was announced Wednesday that K-State will play in the 2024 Paradise Jam event in St. Thomas. Wildcats assistant coach Jareem Dowling had previously mentioned that K-State could play in this year’s Paradise Jam.

The tournament will take place from Nov. 26-Dec. 1, 2024, and six of the eight teams involved have been revealed. Along with K-State, the only high-major program included thus far, this season’s Paradise Jam will also include the UAB Blazers, George Washington Revolutionaries, Illinois State Redbirds, Liberty Flames and McNeese Cowboys.

Times and matchups haven’t been announced yet, and there isn’t currently a publicly announced timeline for revealing the other two participating teams.

This will be the third year in a row the program plays games overseas. Last season, the K-State went overseas twice. That included a summer trip to the Middle East and the Baha Mar Hoops Championship in Nassau, Bahamas. The year prior, coach Jerome Tang and the Wildcats won the Cayman Islands Classic in George Town, Cayman Islands.

Prior to Tang’s arrival, Kansas State hadn’t played outside the contiguous United States since winning the 2018-19 Paradise Jam.

The Paradise Jam is the first set of games revealed for the Wildcats’ 2024-25 schedule. Last year, the full nonconference schedule was released on Sept. 11.

Wednesday’s scheduling news continued a big week for the Kansas State program. Earlier this week, Tang and the Wildcats picked up a commitment from transfer guard C.J. Jones, a rising junior who previously played for the UIC Flames. He was the second transfer addition for K-State this spring, joining former Michigan Wolverines guard Dug McDaniel, who committed earlier in the month.

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