MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State women’s basketball head coach Jeff Mittie has bolstered the frontcourt for the 2025–26 season with the addition of Jenessa Cotton to the roster.
Cotton, a 6-foot-2 forward from Orange, California, joins the Wildcats after spending her freshman year at Duke during the 2024–25 season. She appeared in eight games for the Blue Devils, logging 44 total minutes. Over that span, she scored eight points (1.0 points per game) on 4-of-14 shooting (28.6%), grabbed six rebounds (0.8 per game), handed out two assists, and recorded two blocks.
Her college debut came against Kansas State on November 25 in Henderson, Nevada. In the next game against Oklahoma, she posted her best stats of the season with 13 minutes played, four points scored, and three rebounds collected—all season highs.
Cotton had a standout high school career at Mater Dei High School. She was ranked No. 80 nationally in the espnW Top 100 for the class of 2024, earned a four-star rating, and was recognized as an Elite 150 player by Prospects Nation.
Her senior year saw her named the 2024 Orange County Register Player of the Year and the 2024 Trinity League MVP after averaging 17.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game. She led Mater Dei to a 25–8 record and a spot in the CIF Southern Section semifinals. She was also a two-time First Team All-Trinity League selection (2023, 2024).
As a junior, Cotton averaged 12.4 points and 6.1 rebounds, helping Mater Dei reach the CIF-SS Open Division playoffs. She earned 2023 Cal-Hi Sports All-State Second Team honors and was named to the All-CIF SS Open Division First Team as well as the Orange County Register First Team. As a sophomore, she was named to the CIF All-Trinity League Second Team in 2022.
Kansas State wrapped up the 2024–25 season ranked No. 13 in the AP Poll and No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, appearing in the rankings throughout the entire season. The Wildcats earned their 19th NCAA Tournament appearance and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in school history. With 28 wins, they recorded the second-most victories in a single season and tied the program record for most wins over a two-year span (54).
Statistically, the Wildcats set new school records for points scored (2,842), assists (763), and blocked shots (206) in a season. They led the Big 12 in multiple categories, including scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, three-point shooting, field goal percentage defense, assists per game, and assist-to-turnover ratio.
