KU’s new McDonald’s All-American Jaliya Davis ‘super excited’ to arrive on campus
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Jaliya Davis arrives at KU as the highest-ranked recruit in program history.
- Davis headlines KU's top-10 ranked 2025 class and brings state, national honors.
- Coach Schneider expects Davis to contribute immediately on both ends of floor.
The Kansas Jayhawks women’s basketball program’s highest-ranked recruit since ESPN started its rankings in 2007 has made her long-anticipated arrival on KU’s campus for summer school classes and workouts.
Accompanied by her parents, acclaimed Jaliya Davis, a 6-foot-2 freshman forward out of Blue Valley North High School and KU’s third McDonald’s All-American, said she was “super excited” to enter the Jayhawks’ locker room and inspect some of the equipment that awaited in her stall.
“I think it was super cool to see my name on the back of the (No. 25) jersey. I’ve been dreaming about this moment since I was a little kid,” said Davis, ranked No. 19 in the recruiting class of 2025 by ESPN and No. 24 by 247sports.com.
“I came to games since I was really small and it’s just really cool to represent my home state.”
Davis joins an incoming freshman class that includes guards Keeley Parks (No. 17 by 247 Sports; No. 31, ESPN) and Libby Fandel (No. 43, ESPN; No. 45 247 Sports) and unranked four-star forward Tatyonna Brown.
Davis chose KU over the likes of Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas and South Carolina. She basically could have attended any school in the country.
“Kansas was one of my first offers (when she was in middle school),” she said, “so I was able to build a really good connection with the coaching staff and the team and I’m just super excited to get to get on the court with my new teammates.”
KU’s recruiting class of 2025 is ranked in the top 10 nationally by 247sports.com.
“I’ve seen that we were ranked No. 7 in our recruiting class and I thought that was super cool,” Davis said. “I mean, that hasn’t really happened here for a while, and I think that’s something that puts weight on our shoulders. But I think we can all work through it.”
At KU, Davis joins former Shawnee Mission West standout S’Mya Nichols, the No. 34-ranked player in the recruiting class of 2023, who is beginning her junior campaign. Both Nichols and Davis played for the Missouri Phenom AAU program.
“I think she’s a really good role model for me,” Davis said of Nichols. “Just kind of growing up watching her work out and just using her as my role model is something that’s kind of helped me a lot.”
Davis is the fourth player from the state of Kansas to play in the annual McDonald’s showcase game. She is KU’s first McDonald’s All-American since Jessica Washington in 2013. Former Jayhawk Lauren Ervin also participated in the game in 2003.
Davis, the leading scorer in Blue Valley North history (1,735 points), scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting with eight rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes in the East team’s 104-82 loss to the West on April 1 in New York.
“It was really exciting just kind of being able to play against and with some of the best players in the nation,” she said, “just making new connections and getting to know other people around the country.”
Davis’ dad, William, played college hoops at Oklahoma. Her sister, Tyara, plays at Harris-Stowe State in St. Louis.
But Darrives at KU with a long list of accomplishments all her own. She was co-winner of the 2025 DiRenna Award (with Addison Bjorn of Park Hill South), presented annually to the top high school player in the Kansas City area.
Davis’ Blue Valley North team won the Kansas Class 6A state championship in 2025 and 2023 and placed third in 2024.
She was the 2025 Gatorade Kansas girls basketball player of the year — the first state Gatorade winner from Kansas to sign with KU since Natalie Knight in 2011. She was also the 2025 Sports in Kansas state player of the year and 2025 Kansas MaxPreps player of the year.
Davis led the Mustangs to a combined record of 61-13 over her final three seasons, averaging 25.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.1 assists per game as a senior.
She set the school’s single-season scoring record in each of her final three seasons at BV North, scoring 463 points in 2022-23, 495 in 2023-24 and 620 in 2024-25. She was also a member of National Honor Society as a junior and senior, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a 4.31 weighted grade-point average.
KU coach Brandon Schneider is thrilled to have Davis on board for summer drills. She has been in Lawrence for about a week and a half.
“I think we have really high expectations for her in terms of being an immediate contributor,” Schneider said. “I think she saw the opportunity to come in and play right away. And I think she’s excited for that, for that kind of challenge.
“We are elated that Jaliya made the decision to stay home and become a Jayhawk. She has been one of the top-ranked players in the country for many years. She is a long and extremely athletic forward. She is a dominant rebounder and a matchup issue on the offensive end. She can post, she can attack off the bounce and she can stretch it to the 3-point line.”
The coach didn’t stop there.
“Her versatility carries over to the defensive end,” he continued, “as her quickness will allow her to guard multiple positions at our level. Jaliya Davis will impact Kansas women’s basketball immediately.”
Davis, who played with current KU teammate Regan Williams on the Missouri Phenom AAU team in 2023, is expecting a smooth transition from high school to college.
“I’m hoping that I can come out with a bang,” she said. “But I think I’ll be good. I’m expecting that I’ll be able to work through whatever comes at me and just kind of grow as a person.”
KU has veterans, too, such as Nichols, KU’s leading scorer (18.6 ppg) a year ago. That should help the team’s freshmen adjust.
“I think here’s a really good example of the type of person that S’Mya is,” Schneider said. “She could have lived off campus (in upcoming school year). My policy is, as a junior, if you want to live off campus, I’m fine with that.
“And S’Mya said, ‘No, I need to be on campus for the freshmen.’ So I think that’s what she can do for them.”
The presence of Nichols and Davis on KU’s team — as well as Williams (a Park Hill South grad) and Sania Copeland (from Olathe North) — could help the Jayhawks’ local recruiting efforts in the future.
“I think it’s extremely important,” Schneider said. “We’ve got some really, really good players in the in the 2026 class and the ‘27 class that are 25 to 40 minutes from campus, that have strong ties to KU.
“And I really think that S’Mya impacted the subsequent classes. And I hope that a player like Jaliya will do the same in those classes.”
