Kansas is Having Alarming Mass Exodus in Transfer Portal

The Jayhawks could be left with a barren roster for Bill Self to fill this spring

Mar 22, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks forward Flory Bidunga (40) and guard Darryn Peterson (22) and guard Melvin Council Jr. (14) look on in the first half against the St. John's Red Storm during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

After Bill Self announced his return to Kansas last week amid retirement rumors, it felt like the Jayhawks would keep rolling along until Flory Bidunga announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Since Bidunga’s announcement, Bryson Tiller, Paul Mbiya, Elmarko Jackson, and Jamari McDowell have all entered the portal. It’s a mass exodus from Lawerence, one that has never been seen before under the Hall of Fame head coach.

It also coincides with the departure of Darryn Peterson for the NBA Draft and graduations of Tre White and Melvin Council.

It means the Jayhawks will lose its top six scorers from this season and at least seven of its top eight leading scorers from a team that made the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament and was ousted by St. John’s on a buzzer beater in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

Bill Self is looking to get the Jayhawks back to the top of college basketball after failing to make the second weekend of March Madness each of the last four years. Since the 2019, Kansas has only been to the second weekend once – winning the National Championship in 2022.

The Jayhawks do have a highly thought of recruiting class coming to Lawerence next season, ranked No. 4 in the country by 247Sports, only trailing Duke, Arkansas, and Michigan, with its sights still set on Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 player in the Class of 2026 who remains uncommitted.

Kansas is in an uncomfortable position to begin its offseason but Self knows the type of roster that it will take to get his program back to the top of the Big 12 Conference after failing to win the regular season or tournament championship in each of the last three seasons.