As of publishing this season, the Kansas Jayhawks are set to bring in 11 new players.
A lot of the offseason talk has been around these newcomers as pundits and fans are drawing up their own starting fives, minutes-per-player charts, and projections for the All-Big 12 teams.
So it can be easy to forget that in the midst of all the shuffling in the program, the Jayhawks will be returning two players from last season in shooting guard Kohl Rosario and center Paul Mbiya.
Last season, each player had moments of bright spots; Rosario started his freshman season on fire before slowly fading as the Big 12 wore on. Meanwhile, the inverse for Mbiya, who started off as a non-factor before finding himself as a key contributor in each of Kansas’ last two games of the season.
Earlier this week, host of the “Inside College Basketball Now” podcast Jon Rothstein released his 5 Big 12 breakout players, and Mbiya was included amongst the bunch.
5 Big 12 Breakout Players. pic.twitter.com/hR7vrJ2ETb
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 22, 2026
Across 106 minutes of action last season, Mbiya notched 26 points, 30 rebounds and 5 blocks on a 68.8% field goal rate.
Mbiya’s most impressive action came in Kansas’ NCAA Tournament scare against Cal Baptist, where Mbiya came in for a foul-ridden Flory Bidunga and contributed nicely with 8 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block in the Jayhawks’ narrow 68-60 win.
For a period during the offseason, it looked as if Mbiya was bound to depart KU as he had entered the NCAA Transfer Portal; however, Mbiya never officially declared, so when the deadline for entering came up, he returned to the program.
What will Mbiya’s role be next season?
This has been one of the offseason’s most enticing questions. Bill Self and Co. were able to reel in Christian Reeves, a transfer from the College of Charleston who also spent time at both Duke and Clemson. If Kansas is also able to secure Mihailo Mušikić as well, then that creates a new ripple in the rotation.
What we do know is that Reeves is currently undergoing healing from a should surgery which took place earlier this offseason. When Bill Self last spoke to the press in June, he opened up on Reeves’ availability, saying, “But the reality is, it's not gonna be contact with him until the 1st of October, something like that…But he won’t be able to get hit in this area [points to back of the shoulder] until probably early, mid-October.”
Kansas’ first game of the season is set to tip off on November 2nd, creating a small window for Reeves to get game-fit. This, of course, opens up the opportunity for Mbiya to step up and take the starting center role for himself.
The problem is there is little time for acclimation, as Kansas is set to take on the University of Kentucky inside the historic United Center on November 10th, with the Players Era starting a week later, creating a tight squeeze for next season’s center depth to be ordered.
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