The college basketball season officially ended on Monday evening when Florida defeated Houston 65-63 in the National Championship game.
Of course, Kansas’ basketball season has been over for a few weeks, since the Jayhawks were bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a 79-72 loss to Arkansas.
In the weeks since, it’s been hard to find good news for the Jayhawks. Since the portal opens before the postseason ends—which makes zero sense—nearly every school in the country has already had to deal with attrition, and it could continue until it closes on April 22.
Still, the mass exodus that Kansas has been forced to deal with seems pretty daunting for head coach Bill Self. Kansas has lost every major contributor from the 2024-25 team to either graduation or the transfer portal. If it weren’t for freshman Flory Bidunga announcing that he’d return to Kansas after entering the portal last week, things in Lawrence would be pretty bleak.
He was the one piece the Jayhawks could not afford to lose as he was expected to be a major part of the team heading into next season.
Sure, guys like AJ Storr, David Coit, and Rylan Griffen could have been nice role players and veterans, but
their departures won’t be nearly as hard to stomach as if Bidunga had left the program.
Self has been busy trying to fill the roster out, and still has some more time to do so. So far, along with Bidunga returning, the Jayhawks have added former Illinois wing, Senior Tre White, as well as former Loyola Chicago guard, Senior Jayden Dawson. Self will be adding up to a handful of others sooner rather than later.
With the way the roster is currently constructed as of the writing of this article, let’s take a look at the way-too-early starting five for the 2025-2026 Kansas basketball team.
Guard: Darryn Peterson (Fr.)
The incoming freshman phenom will be called upon to do a lot, but this should be his only year playing college hoops, as he is a projected top-five pick in the 2026 NBA draft. This will be the most exciting player Kansas has seen come through in a long time. He can do a little bit of everything, and the hype is real with Peterson.
Guard: Elmarko Jackson (RS-So.)
Jackson played a significant amount of minutes his freshman year at Kansas, even getting some starts mixed in his first year in Lawrence. An injury during the offseason prevented him from suiting up for the 2024-2025 season, but he should be the other starting guard alongside Peterson.
Wing: Tre White (Transfer, Sr.)
The Illinois transfer averaged 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game at Illinois last season. White was actually committed to Kansas as a high school basketball player, but it didn’t work out the first time around. Now, White will get a chance to be a Jayhawk as he closes out his college career. White is the type of wing player Self loves to use on both offense and defense. He should be able to compete for a starting role right away, and, with his experience, it seems like he is the early front-runner for a spot in the lineup.
PF/Center: Flory Bidunga (So.)
Folks in Lawrence expect Bidunga to make a major jump from year one to year two, and an increase in playing time should deliver an increase in production as well. In his limited role as a fill-in starter this past season, Bidunga showed why Self and Jayhawk fans were so excited about this guy. Bidunga plays incredible defense, is relentless in going after rebounds, and can provide highlight dunks on any given possession. He will be a big reason why the Jayhawks will be a contender next season.
Power Forward: Bryson Tiller (RS-Fr.)
Tiller joined the Jayhawks early, arriving on campus in January 2025 and taking the season to get up to speed. This gives Tiller an advantage over some of the other players that will enter the mix this summer. Tiller’s athleticism will give him a chance to shine early and help Bidunga protect the rim and be a force on the glass.
There is still a lot of time for more movement in the portal and on the Kansas roster. For now, this seems like a good place to star
