The 2026 Kansas basketball season already has the feel of a year packed with pressure points, fresh faces and a schedule that won’t offer many easy nights. For the Jayhawks, the storylines are lined up early.
Roster management sits at the center of it all. Last season’s late slide came as two issues started to overlap: a thin front line and a ball-stopping offense once Darryn Peterson returned to full fitness.
Kansas had trouble against teams with multiple big men, and while Flory Bidunga was one of the best big men in the nation last season, he couldn’t cover everything on his own. Bryson Tiller was only a freshman, so the expectations were never going to be sky-high, but the defense became less stable when Kansas had to lean too hard on one interior presence.
Peterson’s return created a different kind of problem. Before he was fully back, Kansas was moving well in transition and playing at a faster pace.
Once he rejoined the mix, the ball stuck in his hands more often. Even then, he still wasn’t all the way there physically.
Those watching closely could see that his jumps weren’t as high and the spectacular plays weren’t showing up the way they had before.
That’s why the 2026 version of Kansas will be watched closely for how it builds around Tyran Stokes. The key is not simply getting the ball to its star, but avoiding a setup where everything runs through him every trip down the floor. The addition of Leory Blyden Jr. points to a more balanced approach, one where Blyden and incoming freshman Taylen Kinney can share on-ball duties with Stokes and keep defenses from loading up on him possession after possession.
The schedule should keep things interesting too. Kansas won’t have many games that look automatic before conference play, with Kentucky, Villanova, Missouri, UConn and Ohio State all on the slate.
There’s also the first exhibition, which will bring an awkward reunion as Bidunga suits up for the Louisville Cardinals. The matchup with Missouri will also put Bryson Tiller against his former team.
And now there’s another exhibition to circle: Duke will visit Allen Fieldhouse on Oct. 25.
Then there’s the Bill Self question, which hangs over the program every year and only gets louder with time. There was plenty of talk after last season that 2025 might be his final campaign, but on April 1st he announced he was coming back. The bigger question now is whether he can still get a team all the way to the top.
The answer, at least based on what Kansas showed in 2025-26, is still yes. That season didn’t go the way anyone wanted, but the Jayhawks still put together an eight-game winning streak and beat the No.
1, No. 2 and No. 13 teams twice. They also picked up a win over No.
5 Houston later in the year.
This may not be a roster anyone is picking as a national title favorite, but Kansas still looks capable of beating just about anybody.
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Kansas State still stands out as the one trip that can define the whole thing. Lance Leipold has yet to solve that rivalry, and Kansas has not won it since 2009, which gives the matchup its own weight before anyone even starts talking about personnel. With Collin Klein now in the picture on the other sideline, the game already carries the feel of the biggest one on the calendar, even if the final shape of both teams is still months from being clear. [Read more 🡒]