On Sunday afternoon, Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks received some massive news regarding the status of one of their star players.
According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, freshman center Flory Bidunga is withdrawing his name from the transfer portal and will be returning to Kansas in 2025-26.
“I’m really excited to be back for another year to continue to grow and develop and bring a national championship to Kansas,” Bidunga told ESPN regarding his decision.
During his freshman season in Lawrence, Bidunga averaged 5.9 points and 5.4 rebounds on 69.8% shooting from the field. He saw action in 34 games for the Jayhawks, averaging 16.3 minutes per game.
Coming out of Kokomo High School in the Class of 2024, Bidunga was listed as a five-star prospect by the 247Sports index and the nation’s 14th-ranked player. He also checked in as the fourth-ranked player at his position and the top-ranked player in the state of Indiana.
The transfer portal officially opened on Monday, March 24, 2025. According to NCAA data, 1,296 FBS basketball players entered the transfer portal in the 2023-24 school year, with 864 (66.7%) undergraduates and 432 (33.3%) graduate transfers. Of the entrants, 70% reported that they enrolled in another school, 6% withdrew their names from the portal, and 23% are still active, transferred to a non-NCAA school, or left their sport.
The Heartland College Sports Twitter account is an excellent resource for keeping up with the latest Big 12 news and announcements. Make sure you check out our HCS member forum to connect with other Big 12 sports fans.
