Kansas’ defensive front took a major hit Tuesday, and the timing couldn’t be worse.
Head coach Lance Leipold said Tulane transfer Tre’Von McAlpine will miss the entire 2026 season after suffering a torn ACL in the spring. Kansas has already filed paperwork in hopes of getting him back for an extra year, since he was set to be a redshirt senior and could qualify for a medical waiver.
“Lance Leipold said Tulane transfer Tre'Von McAlpine had season-ending ACL surgery in the spring. KU filed paperwork so he can be eligible for next season. Big blow for KU.”
McAlpine was lined up to start at nose tackle and anchor the middle of the Jayhawks’ defense. That role carried real weight after Kansas struggled to stop the run last season and lost DJ Withers, Tommy Dunn Jr., and Kenean Caldwell to graduation.
The injury strips away what looked like an ideal fit for KU. McAlpine brought Big 12 experience from his start at Texas Tech, then turned in a productive year at Tulane on a College Football Playoff team, finishing with 35 tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack. Before that, he played 19 games at Texas Tech and posted three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks over two seasons.
He committed to Kansas in January and was expected to be the best run defender on a unit that already had little margin for error. With McAlpine out, the Jayhawks will have to turn to Grand Valley State transfer Jibriel Conde or Eamon Smalls to handle the opening at nose tackle.
In Other News...
Former Jayhawk Brett Ballard Seriously Hurt In Crash
Brett Ballard, a former Kansas guard who now leads the Washburn mens basketball program, was seriously injured in a car accident Monday on Interstate 470 near Topeka. According to the report, Ballard was driving a Ford F-150 when the vehicle left the roadway and struck several objects before coming to a stop, a frightening scene for a coach who has remained a familiar name in Kansas basketball circles.
Washburn University president JuliAnn Mazachek said the school is concerned about Ballard and asked for privacy as he recovers. The university said it will provide more information when appropriate, leaving the focus for now on Ballards recovery and on a basketball community that will be watching closely for any update. [Read more 🡒]
KU Camp Roster Offers An Early Hint At Rising Young Talent
Kansas wrapped up its summer conditioning program at the end of July, and the first camp roster update offered a quick look at how much some of the younger Jayhawks have changed in a short time. The numbers attached to the high school newcomers and early enrollees point to a group that spent the offseason reshaping their bodies, with several players arriving on campus noticeably bigger or leaner than they were in the spring or back in high school.
For a program trying to build depth, those shifts matter because they hint at who is adapting fastest to the college game before the real competition ramps up in camp. Roster changes can be routine from year to year, but this kind of early physical progress is often the first sign that a few rising young talents are ready to make themselves part of the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Just Took A Painful Hit At Linebacker Ahead Of 2026
Kansas was already mapping out its linebacker picture for the upcoming season, and Landyn Watson had looked like a veteran piece worth counting on after transferring in from Kentucky. Instead, the Jayhawks now have to adjust without him after his bid for one more season of eligibility ran into trouble, a setback that lands especially hard for a position group that leans on experience and continuity.
Lance Leipold said he was disappointed by the ruling and pointed to missing documentation as a complication that made the process difficult to get through. With Watson sidelined from the mix, Kansas will turn more heavily to redshirt senior Trey Lathan to anchor the linebackers, a reminder that even before the season begins, depth charts can change in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]