Final team recruiting rankings for 2026 have been unveiled recently on ESPN and 247Sports, and the Kansas Jayhawks find themselves with one of the highest rated classes in the country.
With the addition of No. 1 recruit Tyran Stokes, the 2026 Kansas class rose to No. 3 on ESPN’s final team rankings and No. 2 on 247Sports. Arkansas and Duke were the only schools ranked higher than KU, with Arkansas finishing No. 1 on ESPN and No. 2 on 247Sports and Duke finishing No. 2 on ESPN and No. 1 on 247Sports.
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The top three ranking is the highest a KU recruiting class has finished since 2013 when the Jayhawks signed the No. 2 class overall and one of the best in program history.
That class was headlined by the No. 1 player overall in Andrew Wiggins, who would go on to become the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Also in that recruiting class was future NBA All-Star Joel Embiid, five-star guard Wayne Selden Jr., four-star guards Brannen Greene and Conner Frankamp, and an under-the-radar point guard by the name of Frank Mason III who would go on to win National Player of the Year honors in 2017 and become one of the greatest players to ever wear a Jayhawks uniform.
Meet the 2026 Class
The Jayhawks’ 2026 class is comprised of six high school prospects from across the country. In addition to Stokes, head coach Bill Self has signed five-star point guard Taylen Kinney, four-star power forward Davion Adkins, four-star small forward Trent Perry, four-star shooting guard Luke Barnett, and unranked center Grant Mordini.
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On both ESPN and 247Sports, every player except for Barnett and Mordini are ranked in the top 100 player rankings. Barnett is unranked on ESPN’s list of the top 100 players and No. 141 overall on 247Sports’ list of the top 150.
Here’s what ESPN’s National Recruiting Director Paul Biancardi had to say about KU’s 2026 class.
“One year after landing potential No. 1 NBA draft pickDarryn Peterson, Bill Self again has a superstar headed to Lawrence inStokes, the best player in the class,” said Biancardi. “He’s too strong for most wings and too skilled for most big men, and he’s capable of doing a little bit of everything on the floor.”
“He joins another top-20 recruit in immediate-impact point guardKinney, who has the size and playmaking ability to cause matchup problems against smaller backcourts, is a terrific scorer with a variety of finishing moves and is developing as a playmaker,” Biancardi continued. “Self secured a string of pledges in the wake of Kinney’s commitment, starting withPerrythree days later, thenAdkinsa week after that. The latter’s physical tools portend an incredibly high ceiling. The former, meanwhile, is long and should give help at both ends of the floor.”
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The 2026 class will be counted on to produce early – particularly Stokes and Kinney – if the Jayhawks hope to reach their ceiling next season. If they can do so alongside KU’s solid transfer additions, KU may be able to make a deep run in March for the first time since 2022.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/kansas as 2026 Kansas Basketball Recruiting Class Finishes Top 3 in Final Rankings.
