This is a known truth in college basketball: When Kansas coach Bill Self stays involved in a recruitment as long as he’s hung in with Tyran Stokes, it’s rare he doesn’t come away with his target.
That remained true on Tuesday when Stokes committed to Kansas over Kentucky, giving KU the top-ranked high school prospect for the second year in a row. Stokes announced his decision on ESPN’s “Inside the NBA.”
Stokes is now the centerpiece for the Jayhawks, who will likely start the year as a top-15ish team, while Kentucky is left scrambling to find a star wing on a roster that is underwhelming on paper.
That would have been the case for Kansas had it missed out on Stokes, but as a rival coach told The Athletic recently, Self does not miss when a recruitment drags on this long.
Self is banking on Stokes being worth the wait. The 6-foot-7 wing has long been considered the top prospect in the 2026 class. Stokes, who played this past high school season for Rainier Beach High in Seattle, overwhelmed his peers with his strength and athleticism, and there’s an expectation he’ll be able to do the same at the college level. The 2026 class is not as strong as 2025, but as a prospect, Stokes has been discussed with the likes of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer — the projected top three picks in June’s NBA Draft — in recent years.
Stokes is an elite downhill driver with enough vision that he could be labeled a playmaking forward. He’s also a strong rebounder and has a 7-foot wingspan, allowing him to play either forward position and giving KU some lineup versatility. Stokes, who has also shot in the mid-30s over the last year from 3-point range, has a comparable skill set to former KU wing Jalen Wilson, who averaged 20.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists as a first-team All-American in 2023, which was the last time the Jayhawks were a No. 1 seed.
Self was in need of a true star after losing Peterson to the NBA Draft and retaining only two bench players (Kohl Rosario and Paul Mbiya) off last year’s roster. Based on KU’s portal activity, it appeared that Self was confident he’d be able to land Stokes. Kansas added three players in the portal — Utah power forward Keanu Dawes, Toledo guard Leroy Blyden Jr. and College of Charleston center Christian Reeves — and already had four commitments from high school players, including five-star point guard Taylen Kinney.
The Jayhawks now have depth at every position. Stokes and Dawes will be heavy favorites to start at the forward spots, then it’ll likely be some combination of Kinney, Blyden and Rosario on the perimeter with Reeves, Mbiya and incoming four-star Davion Adkins battling for the starting center spot. KU’s freshman class also includes athletic wing Trent Perry and sharpshooting guard Luke Barnett. That core looks a lot stronger on paper with the inclusion of Stokes.
As for Kentucky, coach Mark Pope will likely turn his attention now to figuring out a backup plan. His hope was to get Stokes, a Louisville native, to return to his home state. He’ll likely catch some flak now for not reading the tea leaves, especially if he’s unable to land one of the big fish left in the portal. Four of the top six players in The Athletic’s portal rankings are wings, but all four (Juke Harris, Milan Momcilovic, Tounde Yessoufou and Allen Graves) have declared for the NBA Draft in addition to putting their names in the portal. The deadline to stay in the draft or return to school is not until May 27.
Kentucky was in a similar spot to Kansas heading into Tuesday. Pope had three near-locks in his starting lineup for next season — returning center Malachi Moreno (who also put his name in the draft) plus portal additions Alex Wilkins (Furman) and Zoom Diallo (Washington) in the backcourt — but Pope needed a bucket getter on the wing. In a slight consolation Tuesday, Kentucky did add 6-foot-7 wing Justin McBride, who scored 15.3 points per game for James Madison last season. The Cats also return wing Kam Williams and Trent Noah from last year’s rotation, but both are role players. Now the fact that UK has only six players with much college experience is concerning. Kentucky’s lone high school signing, Mason Williams, ranks 109th in the class, according to 247Sports.
Pope was already under pressure for underperforming with a reported $22 million roster this past season. Now the heat from Kentucky fans will likely turn up after sticking in the Stokes recruitment for so long and losing out. Self would have been in a tricky spot himself if Stokes had landed at Kentucky, but his ability to close made KU’s choice to wait on Stokes a smart, calculated risk.
