MANHATTAN, Kan. – Senior Tylor Perry was named to the preseason Watch List on Monday (Nov. 6) for the 2024 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Men’s Player of the Year Award, which is presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
Perry was among 50 players named to the Watch List, which includes six other players from the Big 12, including Texas’ Max Abmas, Houston’s L.J. Cryer and Jamal Shead and Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris Jr., and Kevin McCullar Jr.
It is the first watch list for Perry this season and the second by a K-State player this season after junior wing Arthur Kaluma was selected to the preseason Watch list for the 2024 Julius Erving Award, which recognizes the top small forward. Both Perry and Kaluma were honorable mention selections to the 2023 Preseason All-Big 12 Team.
Although they were not named to the preseason team, former Wildcats Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell were both among 28 players selected to the 2022-23 Naismith Player of the Year Midseason Team, while Johnson was one of 10 semi-finalists for the award.
Perry and his Wildcat teammates open the 2023-24 season tonight against No. 21/22 USC (0-0) in the Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas at 9 p.m., CT on TNT. They will face off against a pair of Naismith Watch List members in USC’s Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis.
A 5-foot-11, 182-pound guard, Perry transferred to K-State for his final season of eligibility in May after a decorated 2-year career (2021-23) at North Texas, where he led the Mean Green to 56 total wins, including a school-record 31 in 2022-23, the 2023 NIT Championship and 2022 Conference USA regular-season title. In addition to being the 2023 C-USA Player of the Year and NIT Most Outstanding Player, he was twice named to the C-USA First Team (2022, 2023) while was the league’s Sixth Man of the Year as a junior in 2022.
Perry is approaching 2,000 career points in his college career, including stints at both Coffeyville Community College (2019-21) and North Texas. He finished his Mean Green career with 1,043 points on 43.1 percent (299-of-694) shooting from the field, including 41.3 percent (184-of-445) from 3-point range, and 85.9 percent (261-of-304) from the free throw line. He was the Mean Green’s leading scorer (17.3 ppg.) in 2022-23 while leading the Conference USA in 3-point field goal percentage (41.3), free throw percentage (87.2) and minutes (34.2).
Following tonight’s game with the Trojans, the Wildcats return home for two games in a 3-day span, first in the home opener against Bellarmine (0-0) on Friday, Nov. 10, followed by matchup with South Dakota State (0-0) on Monday, Nov. 13.
Tickets continue to go fast with six games already sold out for the 2023-24 season. November home games (minus Bellarmine) start at only $15, while the Bellarmine and Big 12 midweek games start at $30.
Tickets can be purchased through the Athletics Ticket Office by calling toll free at (800) 221.CATS (2287), by logging in online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets, and in-person at the main southwest Bramlage Coliseum ticket office.
A limited number of season tickets for the 2023-24 season are still available for purchase and are the best way to secure your seat in Bramlage all season.
How to follow the ‘Cats: For complete information on K-State men’s basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team’s social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Threads, Instagram and Facebook.
