Another Encouraging Sign Shows Top Recruit Tyran Stokes Could be a Jayhawk

Tyran Stokes, the nation’s top high school recruit, is continuing to narrow down where he will play at the collegiate level next year. Over the past couple of months, the Kansas Jayhawks have become the clear frontrunner and were even placed a crystal ball to land him on 247Sports.

One of the biggest factors that could affect the Jayhawks’ chance of landing Stokes would be the fact that they are an Adidas school.

Earlier this year, Stokes signed an NIL deal with Nike, and every other school finalist is a Nike school. However, Kansas fans received a sign of relief earlier this week when Stokes announced his deal with Nike would not impact his college decision.

NEW: No. 1 recruit Tyran Stokes on if his NIL deal with Nike will impact his college decision, via @JoeTipton⬇️

“No. Look at Coop, he signed with New Balance and he went to Duke. I didn’t hear anything about that.”

Story: https://t.co/LojMY3eoqO https://t.co/eysIwI4gF0 pic.twitter.com/iJNO01iBCJ
— On3 NIL (@On3NIL) January 19, 2026

“No. Look at Coop, he signed with New Balance, and he went to Duke. I didn’t hear anything about that,” Stokes said.

This is a great sign for Bill Self and his staff, as Stokes could cap off what is already an excellent 2026 recruitment class. The talented small forward has high praise for the staff and Kansas altogether. In fact, he is eying a second visit, which could potentially take place on Jan. 31 when the Jayhawks take on BYU.

Stokes would be the second five-star recruit in Kansas’ 2026 recruitment class, joining fellow Kentucky native Taylen Kinney.

Ironically, Kinney noted that after his commitment, he was trying to get Stokes to join him in Lawrence. Both of the highly touted prospects had their home state in their final list of schools, but it appears Kentucky might lose out on both.

Stokes is having quite the senior campaign, as he joined another Jayhawk recruit at Rainier Beach in Seattle, Washington. In their most recent games at the Hoophall Classic, Stokes stuffed the stat sheet, putting up 37 points, 11 assists, five assists, five steals, and three blocks. The following day, he would go off again for 27 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, and eight steals.

Although the No. 1 recruit in the country is a small forward, he truly finds himself playing multiple positions. If he were to pledge to the Jayhawks, he would be the second straight top recruit to make their way to Lawrence, with Darryn Peterson doing it this year.

There is no indication as to when Stokes will announce where he will be taking his talents. Nonetheless, if Self and the staff can get him to KU for another visit, we could very well see Stokes in a Jayhawks uniform next fall.

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