Chris Klieman and the Kansas State Wildcats made an incredible addition through the transfer portal on Monday afternoon with the commitment of an in-conference transfer.
That player is Arizona safety Gunner Maldonado, who joins the third team of his collegiate career, all of whose mascots happen to be the Wildcats.
Maldonado suffered a season-ending injury in 2024 after entering the year as one of the league’s best defensive backs. During his five-year career, Maldonado has posted 173 total tackles, five pass breakups, six forced fumbles, and four interceptions.
Coming out of Chandler High School in the Class of 2020, Maldonado was listed as a three-star prospect by the 247Sports index and the nation’s 647th-ranked player. He also checked in as the 46th-ranked player at his position and the 16th-ranked player in the state of Arizona.
With the addition, Kansas State has now added a total of seven prospects, giving them the 14th-best class in the Big 12 Conference.
The transfer portal officially opened on Monday, December 9, 2024, and will remain open until Saturday, December 28, with an exception for players on teams who play bowl games after the window closes. According to NCAA data, 2,273 FBS football players entered the transfer portal in 2023-24 school year, with 1,558 (68.5%) undergraduates and 715 (31.5%) graduate transfers. Of the entrants, 57% reported that they enrolled in another school, 8% withdrew their names from the portal, and 35% are still active, transferred to a non-NCAA school, or left their sport.
The Heartland College Sports Twitter account is an excellent resource for keeping up with the latest Big 12 news and announcements. Make sure you check out our HCS member forum to connect with other Big 12 sports fans.
