Last week, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School alum Keaton Wagler was selected fifth overall in the 2026 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. Wagler played one year of college ball for Illinois before becoming a top-five draft pick.
The surprising thing is that Wagler only received scholarship offers from two Power Four conference schools. Minnesota was the only other beside the Fighting Illini. He did receive plenty of offers from schools like Wichita State, Tulsa, St. Louis, Colorado State, DePaul, and others, according to 247Sports.
Where was Kansas basketball? Wagler played in their backyard and was the Kansas Gatorade Kansas Player of the Year his senior year, and he was the Kansas 6A State Player of the Year twice. There is no way Bill Self and his staff weren't aware of him.
Someone had to have watched Wagler play and decide he wasn't Kansas material. How could this happen?
Should Kansas head coach Bill Self be blamed for whiffing so badly on Keeaton Wagler?
When Wagler started high school, he wasn't on any radars. He was 5-foot-8 as a freshman. Growth spurts pushed him to his current listed six-for-five. That's not unusual.
He also did not play on a shoe-sponsored AAU team. That might have kept him out of the brighter spotlight. He also did not attend any big prep school or hyper-competitive prep league. That probably suppressed his exposure even more.
Still, with him playing just 30 minutes away, the Kansas staff had to be aware of him. Someone had to have watched him play at some point. Wagler was the best 6A player in Kansas as a junior.
According to the 247Sports timeline, Wagler received his first offer in January 2024 from UMKC. He didn't get another until July, but several schools made him an offer throughout July and August. Then Illinois and Minnesota made offers on August 22, 2024. He visited both schools in September and committed to the Fighting Illini, offically signing in November.
The thing is, when Wagler committed to Illinois, Kansas had no public commitments. Darryn Peterson was the Jayhawks' first commitment that recruiting season, and that didn't happen until November.
Talked to Keaton Wagler about being from KC and how #kubball was his dream school growing up to play for. pic.twitter.com/WPRrwTTg3r
— Shreyas Laddha (@shre98) June 22, 2026
In all fairness to Self and his staff, Kansas does target players who are highly ranked. Wagler did not fall into that category. While 247Sports had him ranked 143rd, the composite rankings that include 247Sports, ESPN, and On3 slotted him at 261st.
Brad Underwood's staff saw something, however, in Wagler when they saw him play. They saw a smart player who did all the little things correctly. They made him an offer and locked him down pretty quickly, and it worked out for both parties wonderfully.
Self has famously taken players who weren't highly recruited and made them stars. Frank Mason III, Devonte Graham, Ochai Agbaji, and Christian Braun are players who fall into the category. He's also taken some top-100 prospects and buried them on his bench, then watched them leave to have great success elsewhere.
If Kansas had offered Wagler a scholarship and he accepted, there is no guarantee he would have duplicated the success he enjoyed at Illinois. It is very frustrating for Kansas fans to see a player from the Kansas City area being ignored by the Jayhawks, who is obviously so good.
The recruiting process has plenty of moving parts, and often, top players fail to meet expectations, and sometimes others exceed their rankings. That is the danger of ranking teenagers. While you can understand how KU didn't recruit Wagler, it is difficult to stomach that fact in hindsight.
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