The Kansas Jayhawks have already lost five players to the transfer portal. Some were expected, others were a bit of a surprise. Nonetheless, this is the state of college athletics these days and head coach Bill Self and the Jayhawks staff will need to continue to make adjustments to how they recruit and shape their roster going forward. Who has hit the portal so far and what does this mean for the Jayhawks heading into next season?
Zach Clemence, Forward/Center
This one doesn’t move the needle much. Clemence has been with the program, left the program, come back to the program and is now leaving again. This won’t change the outlook of next season.
David Coit, Guard
The Super Senior guard had mentioned he wanted to come back and play another season, but apparently, he didn’t specify if that meant in Lawrence, Kansas or somewhere else. Coit has decided he wants to move on and play elsewhere. He was a solid off-the-bench player and had a few games where he led the team in three-pointers made, but he wasn’t going to be a starter on this team moving forward. He would have been a nice veteran player to have back, but the Jayhawks will have to look for that key bench piece from someone else.
Rylen Griffen, Guard
It was widely speculated that Griffen would likely jump back into the transfer portal after one year with the Jayhawks. He began the season as an off-the-bench player but eventually moved into a starting role. For the most part, his play was underwhelming, and while he would have been able to compete for a starting role again, there’s no doubt Self was going to be looking for a better option for the final starting spot in the 2025-2026 season with how things played out this past season.
Rakease Passmore, Guard
Passmore was one of two freshmen who joined and stayed with Kansas last season. Passmore didn’t see the court very often ,and when he did, it didn’t inspire Self to give him more playing time. There was always the chance he improved and made a bigger jump in year two, but the way things are in this college athletics climate, not many kids want to hang around and work harder while waiting for their chance. Passmore was a highly recruited player, so he shouldn’t have any issues hooking up with another school.
Flory Bidunga, Center
This was a shocker. Bidunga saw regular playing time this past year and it was expected he would make a big jump in year two as he took over as the starting center. Bidunga and incoming freshman Darryn Peterson were going to be the duo that led Kansas next season. Now, plans could be changing. From everything that’s been put out by Bidunga’s folks, there is still a chance he comes back to Kansas. Whether they are looking for the best NIL deal or seeing if there may be a better fit elsewhere, we shall see. Losing Bidunga would be the biggest loss of the offseason for Kansas. Who’s still around? After losing these five players, that makes 10 total due to five others being out of eligibility. Take a look at the list of current scholarship players on the roster.
AJ Storr, Senior, Guard
Noah Shelby, Redshirt Junior, Point Guard
Jamari McDowell, Redshirt Sophomore, Guard
Elmarko Jackson, Redshirt Sophomore, Guard
Bryson Tiller, Redshirt freshman, Power Forward
Darryn Peterson, Freshman, Guard
Samis Calderon, Freshman, Small Forward
This leaves Kansas with seven scholarship players. They have seven more scholarships to give. Self and company will need to fill out literally half of their roster before next season begins. Soon we’ll start seeing players in the portal making visits to Lawrence. This will be a critical time for Self and the Jayhawks basketball program. An offseason that was already going to be one of the most crucial in Self’s era at Kansas becomes even crazier. Time will tell if things continue to slide or if they are able to turn things
around to the standard the Kansas basketball program has set for itself.
