Soon enough, everyone is going to find out where the No. 1 player in the country is going to be playing his college ball. For a while now, the assumption has been that Tyran Stokes is either going to end up signing with Kansas or Kentucky.
Latest Flory Bidunga Duke update proves no one knows where he'll end up
The buzz of late has been that Bill Self and the Jayhawks have been in the driver's seat to eventually get things done, but let's not jump the gun there. Mark Pope and the Wildcats aren't ready to go down without a fight, which includes Stokes taking a last-minute trip to Lexington. He just revealed that he'll be making his way to UK for another visit in the coming days:
Tyran Stokes is visiting Kentucky on Monday, he tells me. "It's a different coaching staff since the last time I was on campus so just being able to go out there and talk to them and see what their plan is for me." Full interview and decision timeframe: https://t.co/0hdutTmdZK pic.twitter.com/7eYBzKo5D8
— Krysten Peek (@krystenpeek) April 11, 2026
Tyran Stokes taking another visit to Kentucky feels concerning for Kansas
"It's a different kind of a coaching staff since the last time I was on campus, so just being able to go out there talk to them, get to see what they're for, see what their plan is for me and just go out there and see what they're talking about," Stokes told reporter Krysten Peek on this new visit.
Among the staff changes for Kentucky includes Pope hiring former NBA All-Star Mo Williams to his staff. This came after former Kentucky assistant Jason Hart left the Wildcats to join the SMU staff. It's important to note here that Hart was the lead recruiter for Kentucky's push to land the 5-star small forward.
At that point, it felt like Kansas was in the lead of this recruiting race, but again, Pope doesn't want to throw in the towel. With Self announcing his return for next season, it also felt like Kansas would be able to get things over the line with Stokes, who just helped Rainier Beach in Seattle win a state title.
With this upcoming visit to SEC country, though, things might be a total toss-up once again. It's hard to tell at this point, but the Wildcats are giving Stokes something to think about. The same can be said for Kansas. Self wants Stokes and the Jayhawks have made him feel like a priority. This one really could come down to how his upcoming Kentucky visit goes, which feels quite concerning for KU.