Kansas State seniors Sam Hecht and VJ Payne have been invited to play in the 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl. The game will be held January 27 at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas.

It marks the third straight year and fourth in five seasons that K-State will have players in the nation’s longest-running college all-star game. Recent Wildcats to appear include Marques Sigle, Khalid Duke, KT Leveston, Skylar Thompson, and Russ Yeast.

Hecht, from Shawnee, Kansas, has started 22 straight games on the offensive line and was an All-Big 12 Second Team pick last season. Payne, a safety from Buford, Georgia, leads the team with 39 consecutive starts and has 191 career tackles.