The Kansas Jayhawks are already well-prepared for the onslaught of the 2027 recruiting class.
It is easy to forget that in October of 2025, the Jayhawks had reeled in five-star small forward Javon Bardwell, who is currently ranked as the nation’s No. 15 player in the class of 2025 according to 247Sports.
And now, they could be on track to land another elite forward in five-star Demarcus Henry. As of publishing, Henry is rated as the nation’s No. 5 overall player in the class of 2026 according to both 247Sports and On3.
Henry recently named the Jayhawks to his final eight schools alongside Arkansas, BYU, UConn, Louisville, Ohio State, Kentucky and North Carolina.
Henry would be another game-changer to the class of 2027
Henry currently plays for Compass Prep, which is located in Chandler, Arizona. Compass Prep has developed the likes of Jeremiah Fears, TyTy Washington, Maxwell Lewis, Javon Small and Jabari Walker. All would turn into future NBA Draft picks.
Thanks to scouting done by On3’s Jamie Shaw, here is some insight on the player Henry is.
“Demarcus Henry has such good feel for simply going to get the ball. The lefty seems to consistently make plays using his length, pop, and instincts. Henry brings consistent defensive presence, scaling up and down a lineup. Offensively, he is still growing but finishes plays around the basket.”
However, there are a few hiccups that are pretty easy to diagnose when you measure out the chances of Henry coming to KU.
For one, On3 tabs Ohio State (more on them in a second) and BYU as the two teams who are most likely to land Henry with a 23.9% and 20.9% chance of landing the 6-foot-7 forward.
Henry also has several connections with the Buckeyes in that his brother Chris Henry Jr. is an incoming five-star to Ohio State and his sister Seini is a current player for the Buckeyes’ women’s basketball team.
Of course, there is the other elephant in the room in that Kansas already is ringing in a player of similar stature in Bardwell.
While all these things are worth keeping in mind, it is important to remember that this is only July and there are still plenty of twists that can be made before then, as we are still long before Henry’s eventual commitment.
If fans wanted a thread to hang on to, remember that for both the battles of Tyran Stokes and Taylen Kinney, the Jayhawks were underdogs until the final months, slowly chipping away and eventually becoming favorites.
If both of them go on to have successful seasons with the Jayhawks as well, then there is even further proof that head coach Bill Self can still develop NBA-ready talent with the best of them, even if Kansas has been slightly knocked off its pedestal over recent seasons.
Despite only reeling in one player so far, the Jayhawks currently hold what On3 considers the nation’s No. 3 overall class. As of publishing, of the top 30 recruits in the class of 2027 on On3, only nine of them are committed to their respective institutions.
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