Where Did Kansas Land in ESPN's Joe Lunardi's First Edition of 2026 Bracketology?

The Jayhawks were listed in Lunardi's earliest bracketology - but where they fell may come as a surprise

Mar 20, 2025; Providence, RI, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self reacts during the first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The NCAA Tournament ended less than a month ago, but for diehard fans and college basketball gurus, there is no offseason – and that includes ESPN’s resident bracketologist Joe Lunardi. 

On Tuesday, Lunardi officially released the first edition of 2026 bracketology – and Kansas made the cut.

For a program that’s made the Big Dance for over 35 straight years, it's hardly a surprise to find the Jayhawks in the field, but with their yearly success the seedline is unexpected to say the least.

Lunardi currently has Kansas as a seven seed in the West region, drawing a matchup with tenth-seeded Miami. While it’s the earliest edition of bracketology, and much can change before the regular season even tips off, it’s still quite a shock to see the Jayhawks listed so low. 

With an uber-talented incoming freshman class that is headlined by top-ranked prospect Darryn Peterson, and a transfer class that consists of a trio of experienced veterans in Jayden Dawson, Tre White, and Melvin Council Jr., the expectations for Kansas are fairly high.

Darryn Peterson looked like the best prospect in high school basketball at the McDonald's All-American game, dropping 18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 24 minutes. The Kansas-bound combo is a two-way guard with tremendous shot-creation and shot-making prowess. pic.twitter.com/TGsbdafPCD

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 2, 2025

In ESPN’s latest release of its offseason rankings, Jeff Borzello slots the Jayhawks at 18th in the country, which would theoretically translate to a five seed.

Nonetheless, preseason projections are oftentimes nothing more than an educated guess – even from the experts. And with coach Bill Self and his staff yet to fill out their entire roster, Kansas has the potential to leapfrog numerous teams in both Lunardi’s projections and preseason rankings.