1. Christian Braun (2019-2022)
Coming in at No. 1 is none other than “CB.” Braun is as animated as they come. If you watched any of his performances with Kansas, he is the definition of a player that teams love to hate. His fiery demeanor and constant bursts of expletives made him a delight to watch for nobody except Jayhawk fans.
He played with a certain moxie that most guys do not have anymore. If his team was winning by 15, he would play the same way as he would if his team was losing by 15. His never-give-up, scrappy playstyle made opposing fans despise him. Braun was arguably the sport’s most hated player a year ago.
If Braun was not as good as he was, others would not have cared about his celebrations. However, he was an incredible player, and getting put on the grand stage in the national championship game further highlighted how emotionally he played.
K-State fans might have loved to hate Braun, but they certainly did not love when he played against them. He seemingly terrorized the Wildcats whenever Kansas matched up with them. After they beat K-State in Bramlage Coliseum in 2022, he threw the ball into the stands after listening to heckles for hours. Braun played the perfect villain role that not many Jayhawks can handle, and there is nobody that rivals loved to hate more than him.