What Kansas Players Said About Jayhawks’ First-Round Opponent Cal Baptist

Kansas landed in San Diego on Wednesday evening and began preparing for its first-round matchup against Cal Baptist. The Jayhawks have a late tip at 8:45 p.m. CT but are set for a big game tomorrow.

Yesterday, head coach Bill Self made a brief media appearance to discuss his team's Round of 64 showdown. Today, a few Jayhawk players also spoke to reporters to share their thoughts on the looming contest.

Tre White Brings a Wealth of Tournament Experience

Tre White is one of the few players on this roster with extensive NCAA Tournament experience. He made the Big Dance as a freshman at USC and last year with Illinois.

White talked about how his experience in March has shaped his mindset going into this matchup and mentioned some valuable takeaways he has learned over the years.

"The tougher team usually wins. The more disciplined team usually wins," White said. "It comes down to the little things, I feel like this time of the year, we know all the plays that the team is going to run, they know all our plays. It's all about execution and who's tougher, I feel like those are the teams that make it the farthest.

As one of the team's best point-of-attack defenders, White was also asked about the matchup with Dominique Daniels Jr., the WAC Player of the Year who averaged 23.2 points per game in the regular season. White touched on some ways the team can limit the prolific scorer in tomorrow's game.

"Team defense," he stated. "Averaging 20-plus, I'm sure he's seen every coverage all year. So just try to make it a team game, he is a little smaller, so trying to make him see as much as bodies as we can. And also, fight fire with fire."

Mar 3, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Tre White (3) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Melvin Council Jr. is another player who brings March Madness experience from his 2024 tournament appearance with Wagner. Despite a subpar 1-for-14 shooting night in the Big 12 Tournament semifinal, Council assured the media that he is not nervous for the upcoming game, but instead excited to begin this new chapter with his teammates.

"Oh no, not nervous at all, not nervous at all," Council confirmed. "You know, I've been in March with Wagner, a lot of people don't know about that, but not nervous at all. I'm just excited to play with a new team, new group of brothers, and I can't wait.

Council also addressed the comments Coach Self made about him looking sluggish in the conference tourney. He said he was surprised when Self forced him to take a day off, though he had no issue with it.

"I was kind of upset, because I didn't know I was going to get a day off. I wanted to be there with my brothers. But I'm good though, but Coach Self knows what was best for me, so."

Kohl Rosario’s Confidence Boost

Kohl Rosario was one of the lone bright spots from KU's loss to Houston last week. He entered in the second half and quickly knocked down a pair of threes, finishing with eight points and four rebounds.

Although he had been phased out of the rotation for the most part, Rosario is encouraged by his latest outing and hopes it can lead to a larger role in the postseason.

"Yes, definitely. It's definitely better when you see a couple go in, especially down the stretch right there," Rosario said. "I think it’s good momentum going into the tournament, obviously we lost that game and I’m feeling a bit down from that game as well, but I feel like it’s good to see a couple go in."