Kansas basketball coach Bill Self has been known to make some big moves late in the spring recruiting cycle. Over the years, he’s landed highly coveted prospects such as Darrell Arthur, Andrew Wiggins, and Svi Mykhailiuk, to name a few.
Self can now add Italian basketball sensation Dame Sarr to that list. Following a visit to Lawrence this week, Sarr committed to play for the Jayhawks this upcoming 2025-26 season.
Sarr is a big addition to this year’s team as he is projected as a potential lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Pairing him alongside incoming freshman Darryn Peterson – one of the favorites to be the first pick in the 2026 draft – and incoming transfer guards Melvin Council Jr. and Jayden Dawson could make for one of the most talented backcourts in the country.
Sarr comes to KU from Oderzo, Italy, with real professional European basketball experience. He most recently played for FC Barcelona Bàsquet in Spain, competing in the Liga ACB and EuroLeague.
Dame Sarr on his official visit to Kansas. #KUbball pic.twitter.com/hKT65U2fgD
— Michael Swain (@MSwain247) May 8, 2025
During the 2024–25 season, Sarr averaged 5.8 points per game, shooting 52.1 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range for FC Barcelona. Playing for the Italian national team at the Under-18 EuroBasket championships in 2024, Sarr averaged 18.3 points, 5.0 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game.
Sarr recently left his FC Barcelona team in order to travel to the United States and compete in this year’s Nike Hoop Summit in Oregon.
His performance at the Nike summit seems to be what really garnered the attention of several college coaching staffs – including KU, Illinois, Kentucky, and Oregon – after scoring 17 points and grabbing four rebounds in his international team’s 124-114 loss to Team USA.
Sarr was long thought to be an Illinois lean, but Self and the KU coaching staff appear to have pulled off a major coup that could greatly bolster their roster this upcoming season.