Kansas basketball head coach is having an incredible recruiting year so far. He’s gained verbal commitments from point guard Taylen Kinney, center Davion Adkins, small forward Trent Perry, and shooting guard Luke Barnett. He’s also lassoed Javon Bardwell, a small forward in the class of 2027, who could possibly re-classify into the 2026 class.
A player whom KU has recruited but has not announced his destination is the overall number one prospect, small forward Tyran Stokes. Stokes is the top-ranked prospect in the country, according to 247Sports and others.
Sorry, Kansas, but there is little chance Tylan Stokes will play for the Jayhawks
Stokes has been impressively tight-lipped about his recruitment, but keep in mind this is a different era for college basketball. It’s not always about the best fit, school, or coach. Money influences many decisions now. Name, Image, and Likeness dollars have more influence on young prospects than a school’s history or coach.
A few weeks ago, Stokes signed a huge NIL deal with Nike. It seems highly unlikely that Nike would spend that much money on a player who might wear Adidas shoes. It is equally improbable that Adidas would take kindly to a Kansas player wearing Nikes. Kansas is a Nike school.
Tylan Stokes won’t be coming to Kansas. Period.
In a recent roundtable discussion among college basketball recruiting experts (subscription required), Joe Tipton, from 247Sports and Rivals, indicated he still thought Kansas was in the running. Tipton knows this business as well as anyone, but it makes little to no sense that a player on a Nike NIL deal would sign with an Adidas school.
Joshua Schulman, formerly with Through the Phog and now writing for SI.com, postulated that Stokes is using Kansas as leverage to secure a better deal elsewhere. That makes sense.
On3 and 247Sports still include Kansas as a possible landing spot, along with Louisville, Oregon, USC, and Kentucky. Of these, Kentucky shares a similar blue-blood history with Kansas and has a great coach in Mark Pope.
Kentucky is a Nike school. So is Oregon. Those two schools are way more likely to land Stokes than the Jayhawks. Kentucky is a school that regularly recruits and signs top-level prospects like Stokes. It is a no-brainer that he will land with Kentucky.
If Self could land Stokes, it would be an incredible accomplishment. Because of the conflicting shoe deals, it would be shocking if Stokes ever played for Kansas basketball. Everyone would love to have him, but it will be surprising if he goes anywhere other than Kentucky.
Self still has had a fantastic recruiting season and the probably loss of Stokes won't break the program. Just don't hold your breath Self can pull off this particular miracle.
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