Lance Leipold continues to climb the recruiting ladder, adding more blue-chip talent to the Jayhawks' roster (seemingly) on a weekly basis. This week, Leipold picked up three-star defensive lineman Lucas Smalls-Allen, a young prospect who has flown under the radar.
So far, Smalls-Allen has received just 22 offers from Division I programs, and only three of those have been from Power Conference teams. The Kansas Jayhawks, UCF Knights, and Wake Forest Demon Deacons all vied for his attention.
However, on Friday, June 27, Small-Allen committed to Kansas, joining an already impressive recruiting class for Leipold.
BREAKING: Kansas has landed Lucas Smalls-Allen. The three-star DT picked #KUfball over finalist Wake Forest.
— Michael Swain (@MSwain247) June 27, 2025
More: https://t.co/aN3FN9QVCu pic.twitter.com/b6CihWmotN
Smalls-Allen played two years of varsity football before committing to the Jayhawks ahead of his senior season, splitting snaps between defensive end and defensive tackle. His versatility on the line should lend well to him finding success at the collegiate level.
Lucas Smalls-Allen high school stats
- 21 games
- 90 total tackles (43 solo)
- 19 tackles for loss
- 13 sacks
- 2 forced fumbles
With his senior season still ahead of him, Smalls-Allen has improved drastically over the last two years, more than quadrupling his total tackles and earning more than five times the number of sacks in his junior season than in his sophomore campaign.
Smalls-Allen is one of a handful of defensive line prospects set to join the Jayhawks next year. He joins three-star EDGE Hunter Higgins, three-star linebacker Joshua Galbreath, three-star EDGE Draeden Punt, and three-starJoseph Credit.
Four-star safety James Dunnigan Jr. is the highlight of Leipold's recruiting class thus far, as the only Kansas commit to earn that rating.
As of now, Leipold's class of 2026 prospects ranks No. 27 in the nation and No. 1 in the Big 12, a vast improvement from his recruiting class of 2025, which ranked No. 71 and No. 16, respectively.