When the Kansas basketball team added two more recruits in the last week of June, they added depth to both their interior and perimeter. Paul Mbiya is a great candidate to tag team with the incumbent center, Flory Bidunga, to man the paint for the Jayhawks, and Kohl Rosario is going to add athleticism and shooting to the backcourt.
Since Rosario was such a late addition to the roster, and given that he was initially part of the 2026 recruiting class, not as much is known about his talent level.
The Kansas men’s basketball account posted this video of Rosario coming away with a steal and a powerful two-handed slam dunk.
Getting right to it.#RockChalk x @kohl_rosario pic.twitter.com/EkqruoFfLA
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) July 7, 2025
Kohl Rosario is adding more athleticism to the Kansas basketball roster
In the video, Rosario appears to make a steal, sprints by a watching head coach, Bill Self, who is standing in the middle of the floor at midcourt, and finishes with a thunderous dunk.
While he does take a few seconds to corral the loose ball, he doesn’t waste much time with dribbling, and he gets to the rim quickly and with authority. Now, he is in the open court and is undefended, but at least one teammate was enthusiastic about the effort.
Fans are getting an early preview of what Rosario might bring to the team. It looks promising.
Rosario is just one of several players in a crowded backcourt. He’ll be competing with senior transfers Melvin Council, Jr., Tre White, and Jayden Dawson, as well as redshirt sophomores Elmarko Jackson and Jamari McDowell, plus fellow freshmen Darryn Peterson and Corbin Allen.
Unless something unforeseen happens, Peterson will take up the bulk of the minutes for one guard spot. That leaves several players competing for the other three perimeter spots, one of which will likely see minutes allocated to big forwards Samis Calderon and Bryson Tiller, depending on the matchups.
Based on the initial impression, Rosario appears to be good enough to compete for minutes, most likely as a rotational bench player. Self will have plenty of options and look to extend his rotation from his preferred eight players to nine or even ten.
If Rosario is good defensively, it will increase his opportunities for playing time. He clearly has the athleticism to compete against the other teams on Kansas ' brutal schedule.