Taj Manning

Position:
Forward
Height:
6-7
Weight:
225
Class:
Redshirt Senior
Hometown:
Grandview, Mo.
High School:
La Lumiere School
Prev School:
Kansas State

Awards & Honors
Academic All-Big 12 First Team (26)

2025-26 (at Kansas State)
Appeared in 30 games for the Wildcats, while making 17 starts … averaged 4.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.7 blocked shots per game … scored a season-high 10 points three times, including against No. 3 Houston and No. 13 Texas Tech … grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds against TCU … had a season-high four assists against Cincinnati … blocked three shots at No. 13 Texas Tech.

2024-25 (at Kansas State)
Appeared in eight games off the bench … scored six points against Arkansas Pine Bluff … grabbed two rebounds in a win over Oklahoma State.

2023-24 (at Kansas State)
Appeared in 14 games … scored a season-high four points against Chicago State and No. 23 Oklahoma … had a season-high four rebounds against Central Arkansas.

2022-23 (at Kansas State)
Redshirted.

High School
A consensus three-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals … ranked among the Top 200 nationally, coming in at No. 189 by 247Sports … ranked as a Top 40 Power Forward by 247Sports … played his senior season at the La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind., helping the Lakers to a 21-5 record and a berth at the GEICO National Championships in 2021-22 … averaged 8.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game as a senior … posted a near double-double against IMG Academy at GEICO Nationals with 14 points and a team-leading nine rebounds and three blocks in 21 minutes … spent the 2020-21 season at Bishop Miege High School in suburban Kansas City, where he helped the Stags to a 22-1 record and their sixth Class 4A State Championship … the team dominated their competition, losing just one game (a 68-55 setback to Class 6A Blue Valley Northwest) all season and defeating their other 22 opponents by an average of 30.4 points per game … named to the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association (KBCA) Class 4A First Team All-State Team … averaged 15.1 points on 63 percent (131-of-208) shooting with 7.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.1 steals per game in 2020-21 … played two seasons (2018-20) at Grandview High School in his hometown of Grandview, Mo., where he led the Bulldogs to a combined 50 wins those two seasons, including a 29-win campaign and the Missouri Class 4 State Championship in 2018-19 … paced Grandview in scoring (16.1), rebounding (6.9) and blocks (1.9) in 2019-20 … averaged 10 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 assists per game for Grandview in 2018-19, in which, the Bulldogs posted a 29-2 record and won the Missouri Class 4 State Championship.

Personal
Son of Lorenzo Manning and Jacquelyn Anderson … has a brother, Tre, and two sisters, Nia and Kai … earned a degree from Kansas State in 2026 and is pursuing a graduate degree from Iowa State in entrepreneurship and innovation.