Huge news on the college coaching front: Kansas coach Bill Self will return for at least another season on the job, the Hall of Famer announced Wednesday evening.
Self, 63, has spent the past 23 years as the coach of the Jayhawks and won two national championships (2008, 2022) in addition to 26 regular-season and postseason Big 12 titles. His 648 wins are the most in KU history, outpacing legendary names Phog Allen and Roy Williams.
Self released this statement on Wednesday: “Jayhawk Nation, With renewed clarity and the ongoing support from our administration, I remain focused and committed to Kansas basketball competing for a national championship. I look forward to seeing and hearing the best fans in college basketball next season at Allen Fieldhouse.”
The question of Self’s potential retirement had loomed in recent months. When he appeared on the Eye on College Basketball podcast in early March, he told CBS Sports he would continue to coach so long as his health was on the up and up and he was feeling well enough to keep going.
“As long as I feel good, I don’t know why I wouldn’t keep doing it,” Self said. “I’ve had my personal health issues that I’ve dealt with, and has it been a handicap in me doing my job? I don’t think so. But has it been a pain to get through some things? Yeah, it has been. … I still love it. I still love the kids. I want to keep doing it. But I’m only going to keep doing it as long as I feel well. And right now I feel well, so I don’t see any reason to stop.”
With Kansas now occupied by Self for at least another season, it adds all the more intrigue to the vacant North Carolina position. UNC would have theoretically and potentially had to vie with Kansas for some of the same potential candidates if both jobs had come open at the same time. Instead, UNC’s search and wait will continue, with Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, Michigan’s Dusty May and Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan still at the top of Carolina’s board of targets, sources said.
Self and Kansas are coming off an up-and-down season that ended in the second round of the East Region to St. John’s. The Jayhawks finished 24-11 with a 4-seed but failed to make the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive season.
Self has coached 31 players who’ve been drafted into the NBA, and it’s a lock to be 32 with the outbound Darryn Peterson, who might be the No. 1 pick in the draft but was also unavailable in stretches this past season due to a variety of injury concerns.
As for his career numbers, Self has 855 wins, which ranks fourth among active coaches, trailing only Rick Pitino, John Calipari and Rick Barnes. He has never missed the NCAA Tournament at Kansas and doesn’t figure to end that streak next season either. One factor that could be contributing to Self’s decision to stick around at least one more season: Kansas remains heavily in the mix for 2026’s No. 1 high school prospect, Tyran Stokes. The Jayhawks also figure to be a prominent player in this year’s portal cycle with an NIL budget easily north of $10 million, per sources.
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