Former Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang is returning to Baylor as the associate head coach, ESPN reported on Tuesday.

Tang reportedly was working with the university to finalize a multi-year contract to rejoin longtime coach Scott Drew’s staff.

Tang, 59, spent nearly two decades on the Bears’ coaching staff, including when Baylor won the national championship in 2021. He was an assistant coach from 2003-17 and associate head coach from 2017-22.

Tang replaced Bruce Weber as head coach at Kansas State in 2022, forging a 71-57 record in three-plus years at the helm. Tang directed the Wildcats to a No. 3 seed and an Elite Eight appearance in his first season, but he followed that with three straight sub-.500 records in Big 12 play.

He was fired with cause by Kansas State on Feb. 16, four days after going on a postgame rant after the Wildcats suffered a 91-62 loss to Cincinnati in front of a home crowd listed at 7,274 at the 13,500-seat Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan., that included several students wearing paper bags over their heads.

“This was embarrassing. These dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform. There will be very few of them in it next year,” Tang said after the game in which the Wildcats never led. “Like, I am embarrassed for the university. I am embarrassed for our fans, our student section. You know, it is just ridiculous.”

In announcing the firing days later, Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor said, “Recent public comments and conduct, in addition to the program’s overall direction, have not aligned with K-State’s standards for supporting student-athletes and representing the university. … Basically, his comments about the student-athletes and the negative reaction to those comments from sources, both nationally and locally, is where it kind of felt like I needed to make the decision.”

Tang issued a statement at the time disagreeing with how the university characterized his firing.

“I am deeply disappointed with the university’s decision and strongly disagree with the characterization of my termination,” Tang said in a statement. “I have always acted with integrity and faithfully fulfilled my responsibilities as head coach. … I remain proud of what we built together and confident that I have always acted in the best interests of the university and our student-athletes.”

Drew and Baylor experienced their own struggles last season, finishing 6-12 in the Big 12 and missing the NCAA Tournament despite having at least two players expected to be picked in June’s NBA Draft.

The longest-tenured coach in the conference, Drew expressed empathy for Tang after his firing when Baylor lost 90-74 to Kansas State on Feb. 17.

“Nineteen years together, he’s family,” Drew said. “We won championships together. It’s been emotional for me, our staff and our program, because everyone can relate. If you’ve got a brother or a friend and they go through hardship, you feel it.”

–Field Level Media

Alex Fitzpatrick is still adjusting to a major life change that “doesn’t feel real” after the Englishman officially joined the PGA Tour coming off an emotional victory alongside his brother, Matt, in last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

“I sat down with my caddie on Monday morning, we had breakfast together, and we looked at some of the events and it was like, wow, this is crazy, this doesn’t feel real,” Fitzpatrick told reporters at Tuesday’s press conference for this week’s 2026 Cadillac Championship. “And even walking on to the range yesterday morning was, yesterday afternoon, was like, it feels weird to be here. This is something I’m not used to.”

Fitzpatrick turned professional in 2022 after his collegiate career at Wake Forest, he secured his first major individual professional victory at the 2023 British Challenge.

Currently ranked 140th in the Official World Golf Ranking, the 27-year-old won his maiden DP World Tour title at the Hero Indian Open in March.

His win at Zurich in the two-man team event with his brother earned him full status as a PGA Tour member through the 2028 season, including entry into the remaining 2026 Signature Events, the 2026 PGA Championship and the 2027 The Players Championship, bringing a sense of security Fitzpatrick acknowledged Tuesday.

“There’s a lot of stress with this game, it can really bring you down to earth at any time,” he said. “So being able to kind of plan my schedule and figure out where I’m going to be is amazing and, yeah, it definitely takes a lot off your plate, that’s for sure.”

Despite the stability his PGA Tour membership offers, Fitzpatrick said he’s still awed by some of the changes it involves.

“I don’t have a clue what’s going on, I’m not going to lie to you,” he said, “… playing against the best players of the world all of a sudden and even like the purses are obviously much bigger.”

But Fitzpatrick expressed confidence that his game is ready even if his mindset is still adjusting.

“I feel like my game is in a good shape. I feel like I played really nicely last week and over the past couple months my game’s improved a lot. So hopefully I can kind of continue the form and see where that takes me this week,” Fitzpatrick said.

“But, yeah, I have no expectations. Especially this week I think it’s going to be a whirlwind and my head’s going to be everywhere, but hopefully that calms down after this week and I kind of settle in, hopefully settle in nicely.”

The 2026 Cadillac Championship, the fifth of eight Signature Events this season, kicks off Thursday at the Trump National Doral (Blue Monster) in Miami, Fla.

–Field Level Media

The PGA Tour returns to Trump National Doral following a 10-year hiatus for a signature event, the LPGA Tour is in Mexico and the Champions hit their second major of the year.

PGA TOUR

THIS WEEK: Cadillac Championship, Miami, April 30-May 3

Course: Trump National Doral, Blue Monster (Par 72, 7,739 Yards)

Purse: $20M (Winner: $3.6M)

Defending Champion: Inaugural Event

FedEx Cup Leader: Matt Fitzpatrick

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: Noon-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS, Paramount+)

Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

X: @Cadillac_Champ

NOTES: The PGA Tour returns to Miami for the first time in 10 years, with LIV Golf having held events at the Donald Trump-owned Doral from 2022-25. While the tour held an event at the Blue Monster from 1962-2016, the Cadillac Championship is a new tournament and will not carry the years of previous tour events. … This is the fifth of eight signature events this season. However, world No. 2 Rory McIlroy, No. 3 Matt Fitzpatrick and No. 9 Xander Schauffele are not playing this week. The 72-player field does include 37 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. … Five players are in the field via the Aon Swing 5: Ricky Castillo, David Lipsky, Matt Wallace, Alex Smalley and Chandler Blanchet. … The most recent PGA Tour event at Doral in 2016 was won by Adam Scott, who is in this week’s field. … Alex Fitzpatrick will make his first start as a PGA Tour member following last week’s win in New Orleans. … Joel Dahmen will make his second signature event start of the season. Other sponsor exemptions include Max Greyserman, Max Homa and Keith Mitchell.

BEST BETS: Scottie Scheffler (+320 at DraftKings) is coming off a runner-up at the RBC Heritage and has 29 consecutive top-25 finishes on tour. … Cameron Young (+1300) has a win at The Players among his three top-three finishes in his past four starts. … Collin Morikawa (+2000) has five consecutive top-10 finishes. … Tommy Fleetwood (+2400) is looking to rebound from a T33 at the Masters followed by a T52 at the RBC Heritage. … Justin Rose (+3900) won the 2012 WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral and is coming off a T3 at the Masters. … Jacob Bridgeman (+4300) won the Genesis earlier this year and posted a T5 at The Players while reaching as high as No. 17 in the world rankings.

Last Tournament: Zurich Classic of New Orleans (Alex Fitzpatrick, Matt Fitzpatrick)

Next Tournament: Truist Championship, Charlotte, May 7-10

LPGA TOUR

THIS WEEK: Mexico Riviera Maya Open, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, April 30-May 3

Course: El Camaleon Golf Course at Mayakoba (Par 72, 6,583 Yards)

Purse: $2.5M (Winner: $375,000)

Defending Champion: Chizzy Iwai

Race to CME Globe Leader: Nelly Korda

HOW TO FOLLOW:

TV: Thursday-Friday: 10-12 p.m. ET; Saturday: 5:30-7:30 p.m.; Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel)

Streaming: Thursday-Friday: 12-1 p.m. ET; Saturday: 4:30-5:30; Sunday: 12-1 p.m. (GolfChannel.com)

X: @LPGA

NOTES: Iwai won by six strokes in last year’s inaugural event for her first LPGA Tour victory. … Korda has two wins and three runner-ups while playing in the final group of all five of her events so far this season. She is the only player in the top-10 of the world rankings in this week’s field.

Last Tournament: The Chevron Championship (Korda)

Next Tournament: Mizuho Americas Open, West Caldwell, N.J., May 7-10

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

THIS WEEK: Regions Traditions, Birmingham, Ala., April 30-May 3

Course: Greystone G&CC (Par 72, 7,249 Yards)

Purse: $2.6M (Winner: $390,000)

Defending Champion: Angel Cabrera

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Stewart Cink

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 12-2:30 p.m. ET; Saturday: 2:30-3 p.m.; Sunday: 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel)

X: @ChampionsTour

NOTES: This is the second major of the Champions season and has been held in Alabama since 2011. … Three-time event champion Steve Stricker and Mark Hensby withdrew and were replaced by Billy Andrade and Shane Bertsch. … Former LIV Golf member Pat Perez is not eligible for the event since it is run by the PGA Tour. Perez is serving a one-year suspension from PGA Tour events.

Last Tournament: Mitsubishi Electric Classic (Retief Goosen)

Next Tournament: Insperity Invitational, The Woodlands, Texas, May 8-10

DP WORLD TOUR

THIS WEEK: Turkish Airlines Open, Belek, Antalya, April 30-May 3

Course: National GC (Par 72, 7,287 Yards)

Purse: $2.75M (Winner: $458,333)

Defending Champion: Martin Couvra

Race to Dubai Leader: Patrick Reed

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 6-10 a.m. ET; Saturday: 6:30-11 a.m.; Sunday: 6-11 a.m. (Golf Channel)

X: @DPWorldTour

NOTES: Turkey’s national open is the final event of the four-tournament 2026 Asian Swing. The player with the most points at the end of each Swing earns a $200,000 bonus, while the top three points finishers will earn spots in next month’s PGA Championship. Jordan Gumberg currently leads the Asian Swing Rankings, followed by Alex Fitzpatrick, who earned his PGA Tour card last week, and Bernd Wiesberger … The first player who breaks Bernd Ritthammer’s course record of 6-under 66 set in 2014 will earn a $40,000 bonus. … The 156-player field includes players from 32 different countries.

Last Tournament: China Open (Wiesberger)

Next Tournament: Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship, Barcelona, May 7-10

LIV GOLF LEAGUE

THIS WEEK: OFF.

2026 Season Leaders: Individual: Jon Rahm; Team: Ripper GC

Last Event: LIV Golf Mexico City (Individual: Rahm; Team: Legion XIII)

Next Event: Trump National DC, May 7-10

–Field Level Media