Nae'Qwan Tomlin dismissed from Kansas State basketball team

Nae’Qwan Tomlin is no longer a member of the Kansas State basketball team. This comes after he started the season suspended indefinitely due to an ongoing legal matter.

In a statement released Wednesday night, Kansas State Director of Athletics Gene Taylor explained the reasoning.

Statement from Kansas State AD Gene Taylor

“We have heard the concerns and the questions from K-State fans and friends around Nae’Qwan Tomlin’s indefinite suspension from the men’s basketball team. Situations like these are difficult. We know you want answers, but federal privacy laws largely prohibit the University and K-State Athletics from publicly discussing specific information around circumstances like this. Those laws are in place to protect our student-athletes, and more specifically in this instance, to protect Nae’Qwan as he is working through a process designed to support him and lift him out of a difficult time. Allowing for that space and time is critical, but in today’s digital age, that unfortunately can lead to the spread of rumors and misinformation — and in this case, much of the information on social media is incorrect.”

“I have been monitoring this situation and overseeing Nae’Qwan’s suspension with Coach [Jerome] Tang’s involvement. While we cannot share the specifics that have led to this outcome due to the reasons stated above, K-State Athletics can now share that Nae’Qwan Tomlin will no longer be able to continue with the K-State men’s basketball team. This decision was not made lightly by me, but it is the decision warranted by the circumstances that brought it to bear.”

Tomlin was a junior college transfer, who was a starter on Kansas State’s Elite Eight team in 2023. He averaged 10.4 points per game and was in double figures for all four NCAA Tournament games.

In the last 24 hours, the situation got greater attention after social media pleas from fans and media. In addition, there were “we want Nae’Qwan” chants during Kansas State’s 72-71 victory over Villanova.

Throughout the entire process, head coach Jerome Tang stated that Tomlin was indefinitely suspended. He noted that nothing had changed on that front, despite more public appearances for Tomlin. In recent weeks Tomlin had returned to team activities, such as joining the team on the bench.

Kansas State now has just 12 scholarship players on their roster. The Wildcats hit the road next to face LSU on Saturday. The next game at home will be Sunday, December 17th against Nebraska.