Heralded hoops prospect whose brother signed with Jayhawks visits KU this weekend
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Maximo Adams begins KU campus visit following trips to Michigan State, Kentucky.
- Adams ranks top 30 nationally in Class of 2026 and excels in mid-range scoring.
- Top 2027 prospect Javon Bardwell also visits KU, showcasing versatile offense.
Maximo Adams, the brother of current Arizona State/former Kansas small forward Marcus Adams, is scheduled to begin an official campus visit to KU on Friday, The Star has confirmed.
Adams, a 6-foot-7, 205-pound senior shooting guard/small forward from Sierra Canyon High in Chatsworth, California, has already made visits to Michigan State and Kentucky. He is also slated to visit Texas on Sept. 27-28, North Carolina Oct. 31-Nov. 1 and Duke Nov 8-9.
He is ranked No. 25 in the recruiting class of 2026 by 247sports.com, No. 26 by ESPN.com and No. 29 by Rivals.com.
Originally from Gardena, California, Adams averaged 20.5 points and 11.4 rebounds per game and hit 42% of his 3-point attempts this past summer while playing for Vegas Elite AAU on the Nike EYBL circuit.
Along with the above-mentioned schools, he’s also considering Illinois, Purdue, Washington, Arizona State and USC.
“While Adams has a very versatile offensive attack, he has a few clear weapons. First, he’s an exceptional mid-range shooter off the dribble. He can create space with his handle, but has very advanced footwork, both at the end of his drives and in the mid-post,” wrote recruiting analyst Adam Finkelstein of 247sports.com.
“He’s even a threat to make some tough 1-foot step backs from 12-15 feet and now starting to makes 3’s off the dribble. He’s also a pick-and-pop threat to the arc, able to straight-line drive bad close-outs, put the ball on the floor in the open court, and make reliable decisions. At his best, he’s also putting pressure on the rim.“
Adams’ brother Marcus, a 6-8 forward, reclassified from the recruiting class of 2024 to 2023 and signed with KU on April 17, 2023 after initially committing to KU on March 3, 2023 as a member of the class of 2024.
Marcus Adams did not, however, play for KU as planned in 2023-24. He requested out of his letter-of-intent while enrolled in summer school.
Marcus Adams surfaced at Gonzaga but left before playing a game. He moved to BYU, playing in just one game for current Kentucky coach Mark Pope during the 2023-24 season. He then transferred to Cal State Northridge, where he averaged 16.1 points per game in 2024-25. Now he’s at Arizona State.
Maximo told On3.com he is “looking for a brotherhood. I want to go to a school where I trust the coach and have a good relationship with the coach, a school where I can just play and feel comfortable. I can fit into any type of playing style, so I won’t be looking as much at a style. I will look at their plan for me.”
Javon Bardwell to visit Kansas, too
Also visiting KU this weekend is Javon Bardwell, a 6-6, 175-pound high school junior out of Overtime Elite in Atlanta. He is originally from Harlem, New York.
Bardwell is ranked No. 13 in the recruiting class of 2027 by 247sports.com, No. 36 by Rivals.com and No. 40 by ESPN.com. He began his high school career at Desert Mountain High in Scottsdale, Arizona and later transferred to Hillcrest Prep in Gilbert, Arizona.
“Bardwell impressed with his all-around game. He looks to be pushing 6-7 at this point and the product of Phoenix Prep can do so many things out there,” wrote 247sports.com analyst Eric Bossi after scouting Bardwell at an AAU event this summer. “He was initiating offense off the dribble, delivering crisp passes and then going and getting his offense on slashing drives to the rim pretty much whenever he wanted to. A good athlete, he’s starting to develop some confidence with his jumper and as good as he is already, he still has another level that he can get to.”
This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 7:59 PM.
