KU’s Bill Self announces signings of high school power forward & shooting guard
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KU signs Davion Adkins and Luke Barnett, expanding its 2026 class to four.
- ESPN ranks KU’s current four-player group second nationally behind Missouri.
- Adkins offers size and versatility; Barnett provides elite shooting and scoring burst.
High school power forward Davion Adkins and shooting guard Luke Barnett have signed financial aid agreements to play basketball at Kansas, Jayhawks coach Bill Self announced Thursday.
The announcement came a day after KU’s 23rd-year coach welcomed the signings of high school senior guards Taylen Kinney and Trent Perry. Wednesday was the first day of the week-long early signing period.
KU’s four-player class at this point in the recruiting period is ranked second nationally by ESPN.com. No. 1 is Missouri and its class of Jason Crowe, Toni Bryant and Aiden Chronister.
A closer look at Adkins and Barnett
Adkins, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound native of Arlington, Texas, is playing his final season of high school basketball at Prolific Prep in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Adkins was the top-rated player in Texas before announcing his plans to play at Prolific Prep. He is ranked No. 27 in the recruiting class of 2026 by Rivals.com, No. 33 by 247sports.com and No. 46 by ESPN.com. He averaged 11.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 blocked shots while shooting 54.8 percent at the NBPA Top 100 camp this past summer.
“Davion is a prototypical power forward that can also be big enough to play the pivot,” Self said of Adkins, who has a 7-foot-2 wingspan. “We’re excited about him because he’s versatile. He’s an athlete. He can play above the rim and has shown great improvement over the last year. We feel Davion’s ceiling is very high.”
Adkins committed to KU on Oct. 6, choosing the Jayhawks over Houston and Rutgers. He made the announcement just a day after undergoing hernia surgery in Las Vegas, where Prolific Prep played St. John Bosco of California.
Adkins at one point considered Auburn, Indiana, UCLA, Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kentucky and programs.
“Going on my visit compared to other visits ... I saw it’s family oriented,” Adkins said on the day he committed to KU. “I love the culture they have. It’s a really heavy winning culture, My coach also had a great relationship with Bill Self, so it already felt like a family.
Barnett, a 6-foot-3, 170-pound senior from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, averaged 21.0 points, 3.7 rebounds 1.9 assists, 1.4 steals his junior season.
A native of Laguna Niguel, California, Barnett on Oct. 24 announced for KU over Miami and UNLV. At one time he also was considering TCU, Villanova, DePaul, Arizona State, Washington, Stanford, Purdue, Nevada, Boise State and other schools.
“Luke’s the best shooter we’ve recruited since Gradey (Dick),” Self said. “He has great range. He’s got good size and is a powerful, tough athlete. Luke’s an outstanding shooter, much like Gradey was when we brought him in.”
Barnett set school records by scoring 55 points and sinking 12 3’s last December in a game against Hoover High. He is ranked No. 113 by Rivals.com and No. 143 by 247sports.com. He is not ranked by ESPN.com at this time.
“Just going on the visit, talking to their coaches, seeing the culture at Kansas, the basketball history, I just feel like it’s a great spot I can go in to get better and really improve,” Barnett said. “It’s a great culture for me to be in order to get where I want to be eventually.
“They (KU’s coaches) talked about how they’d help me develop, what they see for me improving on what they think I’m already good at, what I can get better at, and also the fit they talked about, how they think I can come and help the team improve. It was definitely both, how they see me helping them, how they can help me.”
KU adds Bardwell verbal to class of 2027 recruits
Looking beyond 2026, KU has a verbal commitment from a player in the class of 2027.
Javon Bardwell, a 6-6, 175-pound junior forward from Overtime Elite — originally from Harlem, New York — announced for KU over Louisville, Texas and USC on Oct. 3. He has talked about possibly switching to the class of 2026 and playing for KU next season.
Bardwell is ranked No. 13 in the recruiting class of 2027 by 247sports.com, No. 24 by Rivals.com and No. 40 by ESPN.com.
Bardwell plays for Phoenix Prep, which in the OTE League goes by the name Diamond Doves. He averaged 17.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season.
This story was originally published November 13, 2025 at 12:54 PM.
