Travis Bates holds the DT · Starter spot in Kansas State Wildcats’s defensive tackle room. Where he sits among the room’s front-line roles:

Travis Bates, a 6'3", 278-pound defensive tackle, transferred to Kansas State from Austin Peay prior to the 2024 season. At Austin Peay, the Tomball, Texas native appeared in 10 games with nine starts in 2023, recording 32 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 3.0 sacks en route to Freshman All-America honors from Phil Steele. In his first season with the Wildcats, Bates played in all 13 games and logged 13 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 2.0 sacks. During 2025, he appeared in the playing rotation over 390 defensive snaps, finishing with 20 tackles, 2.0 sacks, and one pass breakup. He earned 2025 Academic All-Big 12 honors.

Austin Peaythrough 2023

Kansas State2024 — present