Kansas head coach Bill Self just got his biggest win of the offseason yet with No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2026 Tyran Stokes committing to the Jayhawks on Tuesday night. After a long recruiting battle with Kentucky and Oregon, Self landed Stokes in what might have been a major gamble for the longtime Kansas coach.
Self was able to get not just one, but two five-star recruits for the Class of 2026: Stokes and Taylen Kinney. This is a huge win for Self and Kansas, and a big gut punch to Kentucky, as both players are native to the state.
Kentucky head coach Mark Pope has struggled recruiting with the Wildcats, and the loss of Stokes was just another hit in Pope's career at Kentucky. Not being able to bring in players from your own state is a bad look, and Self certainly embarrassed Pope in his own backyard.
Blown away by the fact that two 5-star prospects in the current recruiting class are Kentucky natives (Stokes & Taylen Kinney) and both of them landed at Kansas.
— Matt Tait (@mctait) April 28, 2026
They should be a lot of fun together, too.
Bill Self just proved why he is one of the greatest recruiters in college basketball
Both Stokes and Kinney are from Kentucky. While neither played high school basketball in their home states, it is still crazy that Pope wasn't able to land recruits from Kentucky. Bill Self has always been known as a great recruiter, and it comes from putting together such a legendary program at Kansas, and he just showed Mark Pope why he shouldn't go toe-to-toe with him.
It was pretty clear that when Stokes made his commitment, he wanted to go to Kansas all along. He said Self has been there throughout his entire recruitment, constantly talking with him and giving him advice.
If it wasn't for the Nike NIL drama, Stokes probably would have made his commitment to Kansas a long time ago, and Pope wouldn't have been made to look like as much of a fool.
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