Where Did Kansas Basketball Land In ESPN's Early Top 25 Rankings?

The start of the 2025–26 Kansas Jayhawks campaign is only a few months away. With that in mind, national rankings are beginning to settle into place.

ESPN college basketball analyst Jeff Borzello released an updated version of his early top 25 on Tuesday.

KU landed at No. 21 in his ranking, the same spot he gave the school in his last top 25 from June. That puts KU behind several Big 12 schools, including Houston (No. 3), BYU (No. 6), Texas Tech (No. 10), Arizona (No. 13), and Iowa State (No. 18).

As a result, Kansas ranks sixth in the Big 12, according to ESPN’s updated outlook.

The Jayhawks have made roster additions since Borzello’s last update, but it was not enough to move them up in his ranking. Highly touted freshmen Paul Mbiya and Kohl Rosario, along with Canadian point guard Nginyu Ngala, have all committed to KU this summer.

Even with those reinforcements, Borzello’s evaluation of KU as a middle-of-the-pack top 25 team remains unchanged.

Bill Self enters the season with a new-look roster as he hopes to bounce back from three consecutive early tournament exits.

ESPN Lists Kansas’ Best Nonconference Game

Borzello pinpointed the Nov. 7 road game against North Carolina as the top nonconference contest on KU’s schedule.

It will take place in Chapel Hill at the Dean E. Smith Center, marking the second half of a home-and-home series.

The Jayhawks hosted the Tar Heels in Allen Fieldhouse last year and came out on top in a thrilling finish. This time, they will trek out to face the team they defeated in the 2022 national title game.

While UNC is expected to take a step back this season, it is still a matchup between two of the sport's greatest programs. Between the connections to Dean Smith and Roy Williams and several key March Madness outcomes, the game will carry significant historical weight.

It may not be the toughest game on the nonconference slate, though, with KU set to face Duke, UConn, and NC State later on, among other opponents.

The North Carolina game is just the second of the season, following a home opener against Green Bay.

As Borzello noted, it will be a crucial early-season test for incoming freshman Darryn Peterson and KU’s other youngsters to show how ready they are.

"The following week's game against Duke at Madison Square Garden is a stiffer test, but the earlier we see Darryn Peterson, the better," Borzello wrote. "Peterson is ESPN's projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft, and a true road game in Chapel Hill the first week of the season is a great test. This is also as unproven a Bill Self roster as we've seen in some time."