Top 2027 recruit Maddie Vickery commits to Kansas State

Top 2027 recruit Maddie Vickery committed to the Kansas State Wildcats, she announced on Saturday. Vickery chose Kansas State over programs including Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. 

“More than anything, it just felt like home,” Vickery told On3. “They just checked all the boxes…No other team fit the category of checking every box. Being on campus, meeting the staff and the team, it’s just the culture and community of Manhattan.” 

A few factors that played a role for the Kansas native were location and the ability to win. 

“Geography was a big thing for me,” Vickery said. “I want my parents to be at every single game…Another factor for me is that they win and they’ve got a winning culture. I like to win. I mean, who doesn’t? They’re top 15 now, and it just all lined up.”

It’s rare to see a player commit more than two years before they graduate high school, but Vickery knew Kansas State was the place for her. 

“I decided around Thanksgiving that this is what I want to do,” Vickery said. “Once I got my mind wrapped around that and I knew this was 100% what I was wanting to do with my college career, it was starting to get hard to be genuine with other coaches. I felt bad wasting their time talking to them and having them recruit me, because I didn’t want to waste their time when I already knew.”

The 6-foot-1 wing is a versatile player with plenty of time to develop, but she prides herself on her shooting improvements. 

“I think shooting is obviously a strength of mine,” Vickery said. “Coach [Jeff] Mittie actually told me today that he really likes my stepback 3, and that he can see how much it’s progressed…I can post up when I want to and I can be in the midrange. I’m really versatile, so I think that helps with where K-State is heading with the direction of their offense and defense too.” 

While there’s still plenty of time before Vickery gets on campus, she’s ecstatic to be a Wildcat.

“Getting to play basketball in my home state is really cool to me,” Vickery said. “Everybody can come watch if they want to and I think it’s just cool – all the support I’ve already gotten…People from Manhattan that are following me are replying saying, ‘We’re so happy to have you’, and ‘We can’t wait to see you in purple’, and it just shows me that that’s truly where I should be.”