The 2025–26 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, the Jayhawks' 128th basketball season. The Jayhawks, members of the Big 12 Conference, played their home games at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. They were led by 23rd year Hall of Fame head coach Bill Self. Jacque Vaughn served as acting head coach for Kansas' January 20, 2026 game against the Colorado Buffaloes as Self recovered from a health-related incident.

Offseason Coaching staff changes Norm Roberts announced his retirement on May 5, 2025, after 14 seasons with Kansas. Former Kansas guard and NBA player Jacque Vaughn was announced as the replacement. He previously served as head coach in the NBA with the Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets.

On August 16, 2025, it was announced that Chase Buford had accepted an assistant coaching post with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets. On August 20, 2025, it was announced that Tony Bland had been hired to fill the vacancy.

Graduating players Players listed below were seniors from the previous season who either have run out of eligibility or seniors with an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic who have not announced a return to the team. Players with an asterisk next to their name still have remaining eligibility and could decide to return to the program but have not declared for their remaining year.

Name Position Dajuan Harris Jr. G K. J. Adams Jr. F Hunter Dickinson G Zeke Mayo* G Patrick Cassidy G David Coit* G Shakeel Moore G

Returning fifth-year seniors Players below were seniors returning for a fifth year.

Name Position Justin Cross G

Transfers

Incoming Source: Name Position Class Old school Tre White SG Senior Illinois Jayden Dawson G Senior Loyola Melvin Council Jr. SG Senior St. Bonaventure

Outgoing

Name Position Class New school AJ Storr SF Senior Ole Miss Rylan Griffen SF Senior Texas A&M Zach Clemence G RS−Junior Texas A&M Rakease Passmore SG Sophomore Maryland David Coit Jr. PG RS−Senior Maryland

Walk-ons Name Position

2025 recruiting class

| colspan="7" style="padding-left:10px;" | Overall recruiting rankings:     247 Sports: 9     Rivals: 9      ESPN: 18 

Preseason The Big 12 preseason coaches poll was released on October 16, 2025. All awards were voted on by the league's 16 head coaches, who could not vote for their own team or players. The Big 12 preseason media poll was released on October 30, 2025.

Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll Big 12 CoachesPoints 1.Houston224 (12) 2.BYU204 (1) 3.Texas Tech200 4.Arizona179 (1) 5.Iowa State170 6.Kansas163 7.Baylor137 8.Cincinnati120 9.Kansas State117 10.TCU90 11.West Virginia79 12.Oklahoma State77 13.Utah50 14.UCF39 15.Colorado37 16.Arizona State34Reference: (#) first-place votes

Big 12 Preseason Media Poll Big 12 Media 1.Houston 2.Texas Tech 3.BYU 4.Arizona 5.Iowa State 6.Kansas 7.Baylor 8.Kansas State 9.Cincinnati 10.TCU 11.West Virginia 12.Oklahoma State 13.Utah 14.UCF 15.Colorado 16.Arizona StateReference:

All-Big 12 Preseason First team

Player School Pos. Yr. Ht., wt. Hometown (last school)AJ Dybantsa†BYUFFr.6'9", 195Brockton, MA (Utah Prep)Richie SaundersGSr.6'5", 200Riverton, UT (Wasatch Academy)Emanuel SharpHoustonGR-Sr.6'3", 205Tampa, FL (Bishop McLaughlin School)Joseph TuglerFJr.6'8", 230Monroe, LA (Cypress Falls)Milos UzanGSr.6'4", 195Las Vegas, NV (Oklahoma)Tamin LipseyIowa StateGSr.6'1", 200Ames, IA (Ames)Darryn Peterson†KansasGFr.6'5", 205Canton, OH (Napa Christian)P.J. HaggertyKansas StateGJr.6'4", 195Crosby, TX (Memphis)Christian Anderson Jr.Texas TechGSo.6'9", 195Atlanta, GA (Oak Hill Academy)JT Toppin†FJr.6'9", 230Dallas, TX (New Mexico)† denotes unanimous selectionReference:

Player of the Year: JT Toppin, Texas Tech Co-Newcomer of the Year: LeJuan Watts, Texas Tech Freshman of the Year: Darryn Peterson, Kansas

Roster

Schedule Source:

!colspan=12 style=""| Exhibition

!colspan=12 style=""| Non-conference regular season

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Rankings

References