Where Kansas Landed in ESPN's 2026 High School Recruiting Rankings

Bill Self has excelled on the recruiting trail during his tenure as Kansas basketball head coach, but he had one of the most impressive week-long stretches in recent memory last week.

After securing four commitments in eight days, the Jayhawks now boast one of the best recruiting classes in the 2026 cycle — and there is still even more room to grow.

5-star point guard Taylen Kinney, 4-star big man Davion Adkins, and 4-star wing Trent Perry all pledged to KU in the 2026 class, while 2027 phenom Javon Bardwell also committed to the program.

KU now owns one of the top incoming freshman classes in the country, and national outlets are hyping it up. ESPN analysts Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi recently updated their high school basketball recruiting rankings for the nation's rising seniors and had Kansas landing at No. 2 nationally.

"One year after landing potential No. 1 NBA draft pick Darryn Peterson, Bill Self is building his 2026 class around an immediate-impact, elite point guard," they wrote. "Kinney has the size and playmaking ability to cause matchup problems against smaller backcourts, he's a terrific scorer with a variety of finishing moves, and is developing as a playmaker."

"Self then followed up Kinney's commitment with a string of pledges: Perry committed three days after Kinney. Top-50 junior in the class of 2027 Javon Bardwell picked the Jayhawks a couple of days later, and then Kansas went back to work on the 2026 class, beating out Houston for Adkins a week after Kinney. Adkins' physical tools portend an incredibly high ceiling. Perry, meanwhile, is long and should give help at both ends of the floor."

ESPN's Top 5 2026 Recruiting Classes

1. Missouri
2. Kansas
3. Vanderbilt
4. Arkansas
5. Alabama

Kansas trails only its cross-state rival, Missouri, which holds commitments from 5-stars Jason Crowe Jr. and Toni Bryant in the 2026 class. Aside from them, the Jayhawks lead the way among all other programs in the country.

In ESPN's updated recruiting rankings, it lists Kinney as the No. 17 prospect in the country, followed by No. 46 Adkins and No. 77 Perry.

While Bardwell is technically a member of the 2027 class, he is looking to reclassify up one year to play at KU next season. That would give the program another top-30 prospect and potentially allow the Jayhawks to jump Mizzou.

ESPN's ranking echoes what other recruiting websites like 247 Sports are saying. Following the commitment of Adkins, KU jumped to No. 2 in the country there as well.

The 2026 class has been moving quite slowly, as top programs like Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina still have no commits, as Borzello and Biancardi noted.

That is why it was so significant that Self was able to land several commitments early in the cycle before signing day, as it leaves the program room to pursue international prospects and other targets down the road.