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Kansas fans should not feel bad about their latest power ranking ahead of next season

The Kansas Jayhawks are set to rebuild ahead of Bill Self's 24th season, but if things work out, this could be one of the most impressive Kansas sides seen in a while
ByConnor Mardian|
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Mar 19, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self speaks at a press conference ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Mar 19, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self speaks at a press conference ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

While it still feels an eon away, college basketball is coming much sooner than you think. 

And for a team like Kansas, which didn’t get to experience its desired highs of last season, it makes the offseason drag on even longer. 

Now, by no means were the Jayhawks bad last season; KU had wins over several top-ranked teams, and while they were without Darryn Peterson for such a long time, they had looked to be clicking into their best basketball towards the end of the season. However, Peterson’s full return to the team shifted nearly every offensive possession towards him, creating unfair matchups that eventually stifled Kansas’ offense, leading to a blowout loss to Houston in the Big 12 semifinals and following it up with a second-round exit to St.John’s 

This, of course, led to a mass exodus of changes that started with Bill Self’s future being thrown in the air, before all but Kohl Rosario and Paul Mbiya were left from last year’s roster.

Through the NCAA Transfer Portal, the Jayhawks have been able to reel in four-star center Christian Reeves, four-star power forward Keanu Dawes, four-star guard Leroy Blyden Jr, and four-star shooting guard Dennis Parker Jr. 

While the Jayhawks did enlist some heavily underrated pieces through the portal, the excitement really comes from Kansas’ high school class. 

As of publishing the Jayhawks currently hold the nation’s No. 3 recruiting class which holds the No. 1 player, small forward Tyran Stokes, the nation’s No. 19 player, point guard Taylen Kinney, along with four-star Davion Adkins (power forward/center), Trent Perry (small forward) and Luke Barnett (shooting guard). KU also added depth pieces in center Grant Mordini and small forward Atticus Richmond. 

Kansas adds plenty of answers but can’t answer the biggest question

While from a roster build standpoint, the Jayhawks have clearly improved their lack of depth, playmaking and scoring options from last season, no one will know how this truly pans out. 

Of course, that is a blanket statement you could throw over every team, but the truth of the matter is, only Dawes, Rosario and Mbiya have played in the Big 12, and Dawes is the only one who has done it consistently. Everyone else is either a freshman or coming from the non-power conference ranks. 

All of this makes sense in Andy Katz’s most recent “Power 44” rankings, where he labeled the Jayhawks as the country’s No. 14 team post the NBA draft withdrawal date. 

This has consistently been the biggest question thrown around this iteration of Kansas. No one is denying the talent, but haven’t we seen this before? 

Last season (while less backfill work was done through the portal), Kansas reeled in the nation’s No. 1 player in Peterson, along with two promising transfers  (Tre White and Melvin Council Jr.) who were expected to level up a team pushing to compete for a national title. 

If Self and Co. have been able to find a formula to make such a transfer-laden team work around a top prospect like Stokes, then Kansas is in great shape to compete, but until the nation sees that, you can’t push the Jayhawks much higher.

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