The Kansas Jayhawks are among the schools in the final running for Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 recruit for the 2026 class. 

Stokes helped lead Seattle Ranier Beach to the Washington state high school championship Saturday. It defeated Lincoln High 75-53 in a game that was over by halftime. Stokes finished with 16 points. 

Afterward, Stokes received high praise from ex-Ranier standout and NBA star Jamal Crawford. Here's what Crawford posted on Instagram: 

"The best all around player I ever seen hit the state… 💯💯"

That's saying a lot considering Crawford, one of the best Sixth Men, in NBA history is arguably the best player from the state of Washington. Crawford's son, J.J., is also one of Stokes' teammates. 

Stokes averaged 21 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.5 steals as a senior. His finalists are Kansas, Kentucky Wildcats and Oregon Ducks. A decision is expected in the coming weeks. 

If he chooses KU, it would mark the second straight year of signing the top high school player. 

Kansas Earns No. 3 Seed, Double Bye in Big 12 Tournament

No. 14 Kansas men's basketball wrapped up its regualr season with a win in the Sunflower Showdown on Saturday and secured the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament following BYU’s win over No. 10 Texas Tech on Saturday night, finalizing the conference standings and giving the Jayhawks a double bye into the quarterfinal round.

Kansas, Texas Tech and Iowa State all finished the regular season tied for third place in the conference at 12-6. The Jayhawks earned the higher seed through the league’s round-robin tiebreaker after going 1-1 against Iowa State and 1-0 against Texas Tech.

With the double bye, Kansas will not play until Thursday night at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m., with the game set to air on either ESPN or ESPN2.

Kansas’ opponent will be determined through the first two rounds of the tournament. No. 11 seed Colorado will face No. 14 Oklahoma State on Tuesday night. The winner will advance to play No. 6 seed TCU on Wednesday, with that winner moving on to face the Jayhawks in Thursday’s quarterfinal.

ONE MORE YEAR FOR PETERSON?

Freshman guard Darryn Peterson may be one of the top projected picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, but the Jayhawks star sparked conversation about his future after suggesting he could return to Lawrence for another season.

Following No. 14 Kansas’ 104-85 victory over rival Kansas State on Senior Day at Allen Fieldhouse, Peterson delivered one of his most complete performances of the season. The freshman guard finished with 27 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals while shooting 10-of-15 from the field.

But it was Peterson’s postgame comments that quickly caught attention.

“I love Kansas. I love everything about being here and my team,” Peterson said after the win. “Maybe one more year. I might run it back.”

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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Jayhawks Roundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com