Is the long wait about to be over when it comes to Kansas' pursuit of Tyran Stokes?
The 5-star playmaker is yet to shut down his recruitment, with Kansas, Kentucky and Oregon still doing everything possible to sign him. This feels like a bit of a coin flip, as our gut tells us this will come down to either the Jayhawks or Wildcats.
The Tyran Stokes recruiting drama may officially be coming to a close
According to Jeff Goodman, a decision from Stokes could be coming as soon as Monday. With that, it's time for us to make a pick one way or the other. So, will Stokes give the Jayhawks the news they're hoping for? We think so, which is why we're predicting Kansas to win this massive recruiting battle. Here's why.
I was told by one source close to the situation that Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 player in the country, could announce his decision on Monday.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 25, 2026
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Stokes choosing between Kansas and Kentucky.
5-star SF Tyran Stokes is expected to make his decision soon and Kansas has a great shot
Again, we think this will ultimately be between Kentucky and Kansas. On one side, the Wildcats and Mark Pope have been making headlines of late, but for all the wrong reasons. Pope has been striking out left and right with top portal targets and things aren't looking overly great for next season.
Meanwhile for Kansas, Self has been able to reel in Keanu Dawes, Leroy Blyden Jr. and Christian Reeves. Keep in mind too that Kansas has a LOADED high school class on the way for the 2026 class, highlighted of course by 5-star point guard Taylen Kinney.
Kinney and Stokes are good friends and the future Kansas PG has been putting in work in trying to help Self get him on board. Kentucky has 4-star PG Mason Williams in the mix at the high school level, while transfers Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins are Lexington-bound. That's not making Kentucky fans too excited for next campaign.
Oregon is the wildcard, but we just don't see that happening. So, does this mean Self is in the driver's seat? Maybe, but Pope's desperate move at trying to add Jamal Crawford to his staff is something to monitor too. However, that might not be enough to get Stokes to pick the SEC side. Nope, we're sticking to our guns and picking Kansas to eventually sign him. We could find out by Monday if that goes down or not.
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