Kansas Freshman Tyran Stokes Named Preseason First Team All-American

The 2026-27 Kansas basketball season is nearly underway and already there are big expectations this year for star freshman Tyran Stokes.

Ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the country in the 2026 class by every major recruiting service, Stokes committed to KU after a tumultuous recruiting saga that involved Kansas, Kentucky, and others earlier this spring.

All that hype and hysteria doesn’t appear to be unwarranted as Stokes is projected to be one of the favorites to go No. 1 in the 2027 NBA Draft and college basketball experts are predicting Stokes to be one of the best players in college basketball this season.

Stokes was one of five players named a Preseason First Team All-American by CBS Sports earlier this week, joining Michigan State point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., Florida small forward Thomas Haugh, Vanderbilt point guard Tyler Tanner, and Illinois power forward David Mirkovic.

READ MORE: Kansas Basketball 2026-27 TV Schedule and Tipoff Times Announced

The Preseason All-America Teams were voted on by college basketball reporters at CBS Sports, 247Sports and analysts and on-air talent from CBS and CBS Sports Network.

Here’s what CBS Sports writer Isaac Trotter had to say about Stokes.

“College basketball's most naturally gifted player will lace 'em up for the Jayhawks,” said Trotter. “Stokes is on the inside track to be the No. 1 pick in the 2027 NBA Draft because he can blend excellent positional size with real on-ball utility. Stokes is all of 6-7 and 230 pounds. He will bully smaller defenders and dust heftier defenders. Stokes' big-boy drives will be a staple of Kansas' offense, and he should automatically vault to the top of the charts in transition scoring.”

Trotter goes on to say that if Self can reel in the emotions of his young star, the sky could be the limit for him this season.

“Stokes' maturity and on-court antics have long been a point of emphasis, but if Bill Self can help his star freshman stay on the straight and narrow, he has a chance to be a terrifying two-way player who could up some bonkers counting stats as Kansas' head honcho,” Trotter continued. “An average stat line of 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists is firmly in Stokes' range of potential outcomes.”

Stokes is one of just four Big 12 players to earn preseason honors from CBS Sports. The others include Texas Tech power forward JT Toppin (Second Team), Arizona center Motiejus Krivas (Second Team), and BYU point guard Robert Wright III (Third Team).

KU fans will get their first real look at Stokes on Friday night when the Jayhawks take on Pittsburg State in their first exhibition of the season inside Allen Fieldhouse as part of this year’s Late Night in the Phog.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT with the game streaming live on ESPN+.

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