It didn't take long for Kansas to secure a new deal with Tre White. Just two days after the well-traveled guard was one of nearly 90 college athletes to be granted a preliminary injunction in the state of Indiana to play a fifth year of college basketball, White recommitted to the Jayhawks and bolstered a roster that now includes last season's second-leading scorer (White) and the sport's top-rated incoming freshman (Tyran Stokes). Is it the best KU roster ever?
But after the Jayhawks were hit hard by early departures to both the NBA Draft and transfer portal, Bill Self and his staff had real work to do to position the program for the type of success they've enjoyed for most of the previous 23 years -- and I think they've done it. To be clear, Kansas probably won't be the preseason favorite in the Big 12. But with Stokes in the fold, Taylen Kinney providing another heralded piece on the perimeter, and White now eligible again, I'm compelled to move KU up to No. 18 in Version 28 of the 2026-27 CBS Sports preseason Top 25 And 1 college basketball rankings, where Florida remains No. 1 based on a projection that has the Gators returning six of the top seven scorers from a team that won the SEC by three games and secured a No. 1 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Kansas' addition to the Top 25 And 1 pushed North Carolina out, meaning the Tar Heels are now my defacto No. 27 team. The Jayhawks are one of five Big 12 schools in Version 28 of the Top 25 And 1. The others are No. 6 Arizona, No. 11 Iowa State, No. 14 Houston and No. 24 BYU.
Additionally, with Stokes at Kansas, the Big 12 is positioned to maybe have the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft for the second consecutive year and for the third time in a seven-year span after BYU's AJ Dybantsa went No. 1 in 2026 following Oklahoma State's Cade Cunningham being selected first five years earlier in 2021. Stokes is currently projected by most to go No. 1 in 2027. If he does, the 6-foot-8 multi-positional player would become the third Jayhawk to go first in the NBA Draft.
The others are Danny Manning (1985) and Andrew Wiggins (2014).
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