About me

Hi, I’m Toby Hammes, a sports journalist covering Kansas State and local high school sports. I’m currently Assistant Sports Editor at the Manhattan Mercury and a senior at Kansas State University.

Welcome to my work.

Toby Hammes' headshot wearing a lavender polo shirt with 'Wildcats' embroidered on it and a Nike logo, standing in front of a background of newspaper pages.
Chris Klieman points and celebrates with Austin Moore and Dylan Edwards on a stage after the 2024 Rate Bowl, with a large scoreboard in the background showing Rutgers 41, Kansas State 44.

K-State head coach Chris Klieman addresses fans at the 2024 Rate Bowl in Phoenix, Ariz. This photo earned Honorable Mention for Feature Photography at the 2025 Kansas Collegiate Media Awards.

A young man in a white sports tank top and shorts, and a young man in a purple polo shirt with 'Wildcats' logo, are having a conversation in a gymnasium with bleachers in the background. The young man in the polo shirt is holding a clipboard and a pen, and appears to be interviewing or talking to the other person.

Interviewing K-State Ring of Honor member Jacob Pullen after the first annual Wheat State Summer Showdown at Johnson County Community College.

Award-winning writing (2025 KCM Awards)

Page Design - Collegian Vol. 130 | Issue 23

With Kansas State women’s basketball reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time in two decades, we restructured the paper’s layout to lead with sports.

I designed the front-page spread (left) and the remaining A-section pages (below), reversing the traditional A & B section order to highlight the moment.

Video story for K-State’s Channel 8 News on the NCAA’s proposed 105-player roster limit for college football.

Includes stand-up reporting from Bill Snyder Family Stadium and interviews with head coach Chris Klieman and assistant head coach Van Malone on the potential impact to Kansas State’s depth and development.

Multimedia

Selected social media reporting from covering K-State athletics, posted to X.

These highlights are some of my most engagement-driven content across reporting from major school events such as football, men’s and women’s basketball, and bowl games. My reporting earned First Place and Honorable Mention in Social Media Promotion/Marketing at the 2025 KCM Awards.

Social Media reporting