Tuesday night saw some of the nation’s most exciting prospects from the class of 2026 take part in the historic McDonald’s All-American Game.
Kansas commit and five-star guard Taylen Kinney notched a decent five points, two rebounds, and two assists. But the future of Kinney is already (thankfully) tied up in KU Blue. For the No. 1 player in the nation, Tyran Stokes, his future is nowhere near as certain.
Stokes supposedly adds two new schools to the mix
In an article written by James Madden of ZagsBlog, he broke down that Stokes has added two new schools to the already packed list of Kansas, Kentucky, and Oregon.
“Gonzaga and Washington have both made late charges in the recruitment of the Rainier Beach (WA) senior.”
As of publishing, 247Sports still lists Kansas as their prediction for Stokes, but with each passing day, it feels as if something on the topic changes, with Gonzaga and Washington being the two latest pieces of evidence.
When may Stokes make his decision?
During ESPN’s broadcast, national recruiting director Paul Biancardi pointed towards Stokes' commitment after the Nike Hoops Summit, which is finished by April 12th.
How special a talent is Stokes?
The Seattle native is currently valued as the nation’s No. 1 prospect and handed a perfect 1.0000 grade from the 247Sports composite, and a 99 grade from 247Sports themselves.
If Kansas landed Stokes, he would be the Jayhawks’ fourth all-time No. 1 recruit in the 247Sports era.
Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports labels Stokes as having “more sheer talent than anyone” in his class.
Of course, there is a pretty big elephant in the room over the future of head coach Bill Self. Whether having or not having Self is not a shoo-in for getting Stokes. It can never be a bad thing to know exactly who you are playing under. And with a Kansas team in dire need of a new small forward, thanks to the departure of stand-in Tre White, Stokes could fit into that role perfectly.
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