In 2022, Bill Self and Kansas won the final 11 games of the season and waltzed through March Madness to secure the program’s fourth men’s basketball championship. Things have gone awry in the postseason for the Jayhawks since.
They are 2-3 in NCAA Tournament games entering a highly-anticipated 2025-26 campaign, which includes a disappointing first-round loss — its first since the 2005-06 season — and a failure to reach the second weekend for the third consecutive year.
Those shortcomings in large spots have led to a heightened urgency from Self and his staff to upgrade the roster across the board, and the result, at least on paper, is an improved team that is built to contend again within the Big 12 and beyond — led by a top-10 incoming recruiting class and headlined by No. 1 overall recruit Darryn Peterson.
For the last two seasons, the Kansas Jayhawks have been just … there. Not a team vying for a national championship, not even one of the 15 best teams in the sport. Just another team that drifted into the background — and was a letdown. For most schools, this would be understandable. Not in Lawrence. Enter Darryn Peterson and a crew of freshmen and transfer portal talent to revive the standard at Phog Allen. How will the Jayhawks fare this season? Norlander brings on C.J. Moore of The Athletic to get a deeper look at KU, including the latest on Bill Self’s health.
Projected starting lineup
Elmarko Jackson | 6-3 | 195 | R-Soph.
A summer injury last year caused Jackson — seen as a potential starter after making gains coming off a strong freshman season — to miss the entirety of the 2024-25 season. He’s cleared to play following that injury and is in line to be a starter on this year’s remade roster. The former McDonald’s All-American made 17 starts in 34 appearances in 2023-24 and can add size, scoring and playmaking to the table.
Darryn Peterson | 6-5 | 195 | Fr.
At Kansas, Self has coached the likes of Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins, Josh Jackson and a handful of other mega talents who went high in the NBA Draft. But earlier this year he made a bold proclamation, claiming: Peterson is the “best player we’ve recruited.” Self called him a “special” talent. He’s in line to be the go-to scoring presence on this team with an elite combo of size, strength and scoring. There are a lot of do-it-all guards on this KU team who don’t fit neatly into buckets, and Peterson is the most versatile of the bunch with an ability to seamlessly play every guard spot.
Jayden Dawson | 6-4 | 195 | Sr.
Dawson is one of several likely impactful transfers on this team who will compete for a starting spot. He’s The senior from Omaha, Nebaska, scored a career-high 13.9 points per game last season with Loyola Chicago and hit 36.3% of his 3s. He’s a career 36.7% 3-point shooter.
Tre White | 6-7 | 210 | Sr.
Playing on his fourth team in four seasons and in a fourth different conference, White has managed to produce plenty despite short one-year stints at USC, Louisville and Illinois. He averaged 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last season for the Illini and had a team-high offensive rating of 123.5 at KenPom.
Flory Bidunga | 6-9 | 220 | Soph.
As Kansas moves on from big man Hunter Dickinson it ushers in a new era in the frontcourt anchored by promising big man Flory Bidunga. Bidunga averaged 5.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season and made six starts in 34 appearances. He’s not the post presence Dickinson was as a scorer, but KU’s new guard-heavy rotation makes him a more than capable lob threat with his efficient and athletic scoring ability around the basket.
Off the bench
Two years ago, Kansas had one of the thinnest rosters in college basketball. Last year, it had a deep — albeit inconsistent — roster that was thin on talent. This year there’s an improvement across the board bolstered by developmental players in-house and the addition of some established transfers.
Melvin Council Jr. | 6-4 | 180 | Sr.
Coming off consecutive all-conference seasons at Wagner and St. Bonaventure, respectively, Council Jr. heads to Lawrence with a chance to be a star in a new role as a potential off-the-bench weapon. He averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game last season with the Bonnies as a high volume scoring weapon and could be a candidate to be first off the bench.
Bryson Tiller | 6-10 | 240 | Fr.
Tiller enrolled at the mid-year point at KU last season and is primed to make an impact in what will effectively be his freshman season after sitting out the second semester. He’s a former top-50 national recruit who brings needed size and length (6-foot-10 with a reported 7-foot-3 wingspan) to this team’s frontcourt.
Jamari McDowell | 6-4 | 180 | R-Soph.
After appearing in 31 games in 2023-24, McDowell spent last season with Kansas developing while taking a redshirt year. He’s back in the mix as a potential depth piece where he served previously, giving the Jayhawks a combo of shooting and playmaking.
Samis Calderon | 6-8 | 200 | Fr.
Calderon is a top-100 recruit from Overtime Elite who chose KU over a number of major programs including Auburn and Michigan. He’s big, long and strong — all of which could give KU some needed roster flexibility as it plays different styles.
Kohl Rosario | 6-5 | 185 | Fr.
Rosario, the No. 72 overall player in the Class of 2025 per 247Sports after reclassifying, joins a skilled incoming high school class with a chance to be more than just an off-the-bench piece. He’s a skilled perimeter scorer with big bounce who was highly sought after from the likes of Duke, Oregon, Miami and others.
Filling out the roster
There will inevitably be some movement at the end of this KU roster with some potential bench pieces making cases for starting roles and some end-of-roster pieces becoming more. That’s the good news for Kansas. Their roster is so deep it may lead to some tough decisions in the coming weeks and months. As things stand now the following may be roster fillers with a chance to grow into bigger roles:
Mbiya signed with Kansas in June and Ngala in late July, thus making their respective paths to prominent roles a bit tricky. Mbiya’s size and Ngala’s experience, though, could give this roster key pieces to help round out this roster.
Market watch
Kansas odds to win 2026 NCAA Tournament (via Fanduel): +2000
Kansas has tied for the ninth-best odds to win the NCAA Tournament in 2026 at +2000. That number is second-best among Big 12 teams noticeably behind Houston (+1000) and tied with Texas Tech and BYU.
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