Projecting KU basketball’s starting 5 after landing No. 1 recruit Tyran Stokes
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Tyran Stokes will be the Jayhawks' first scoring option next season.
- Taylen Kinney and Leroy Blyden are expected to provide spacing and ball handling.
- Paul Mbiya and Christian Reeves are expected to compete for the starting center spot.
The Kansas men’s basketball team landed consensus No. 1 recruit Tyran Stokes on Tuesday night. With his addition, the Jayhawks’ roster — and starting lineup — for next season is beginning to take shape.
KU currently has 10 players on the roster, with five open spots.
The Jayhawks have added three players from the transfer portal thus far: Toledo guard Leroy Blyden, Charleston center Christian Reeves and Utah forward Keanu Dawes.
The Jayhawks are also retaining two players from last season: guard Kohl Rosario and center Paul Mbiya.
That leaves a freshman class of five players: five-star guard Taylen Kinney, four-star forward Trent Perry, four-star guard Luke Barnett and four-star center Davion Adkins, as well as the five-star Stokes.
KU’s freshman class ranks No. 2 overall, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Here’s a look at the Jayhawks’ projected starting lineup at this time...
PG: Taylen Kinney
The Star’s take: This spot is no surprise. Like Stokes, Taylen Kinney views himself as a one-and-done prospect. An NBA Draft evaluator told The Star that Kinney is “big and strong,” even if that evaluator doesn’t necessarily see him as a one-and-done.
Stokes and Kinney have some history. They played together on the same AAU squad in eighth grade. Kinney averaged 24 points, four assists and three rebounds for RWE in the Overtime Elite league. He’s also an elite shooter, shooting 45.7% on 3-pointers on 9.2 attempts per game.
Whether Kinney is with KU for one season or longer, he has plenty he wants to improve upon.
“My shot-making, being a vocal leader, leading by example and really just buying in for 10 months,” Kinney told The Star. “We are going to have ups and downs, me and him (coach Bill Self), but he wants me to just buy in and trust him.”
SG: Leroy Blyden
The Star’s take: The Jayhawks picked up Toledo guard Leroy Blyden from the transfer portal. The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 16.4 points, 4.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 46.7% from the field last season.
He, like Kinney, is an elite shooter. He shot 40.7% on 3-pointers. Although he’s a little undersized for a shooting guard, he did average 1.8 steals per game.
Blyden was named MAC Freshman of the Year and to the all-conference third team with the Rockets during the 2025-26 season. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
He and Kinney will provide KU some much-needed spacing and ball handling alongside Stokes.
SF: Tyran Stokes
The Star’s take: Tyran Stokes is the crown jewel of KU’s starting lineup. He will be the first scoring option for the Jayhawks next season and the player the roster is built around.
The 6-foot-7 small forward averaged more than 30 points and 10 rebounds in his high school senior season.
An NBA scout told The Star that Stokes isn’t quite a 3-level scorer yet, but described him as a “transition bowling ball.”
“I like that he got better every time I saw him,” the NBA scout said, “whether it was small steps in his shooting, constantly becoming a better handler or showing he was taking steps with his passing. You can tell he really works on his game and puts time into his craft.”
The NBA scout noted that if Stokes were in this year’s NBA Draft, he likely would have been projected fifth after Darryn Peterson, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Duke’s Cameron Boozer and UNC’s Caleb Wilson.
That said, one NBA Draft evaluator has Stokes as the early favorite to go No. 1 in the 2027 NBA Draft.
PF: Keanu Dawes
The Star’s take: Utah forward Keanu Dawes was the Jayhawks’ first transfer portal pickup.
He fits the mold of what sources told The Star the KU staff was looking to add from the transfer portal: The Jayhawks wanted to get bigger, more physical and stronger.
Dawes averaged 12.5 points and 8.8 rebounds for Utah last season. The 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward also shot 31.4% on 3-pointers.
On offense, Dawes will likely be the third or fourth option. That said, he will provide something the Jayhawks sorely lacked last season: quality rebounding from the four spot.
This potential KU lineup should have elite rebounding from the 3-through-5 positions — and all three players should have the tenacity to do the dirty work inside.
C: Christian Reeves or Paul Mbiya (toss-up)
The Star’s take: This is perhaps the hardest spot to predict. The Jayhawks brought Paul Mbiya back after losing their starting frontcourt in the portal. They also added Charleston center Christian Reeves.
Both are similar in skill set. Mbiya averaged 1.2 points and 1.4 rebounds in 21 games during the 2025-26 season. Before coming to KU, Mbiya averaged 15.3 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots per game in the French Pro A League.
Mbiya’s best games happened in the NCAA Tournament. He scored a career-high eight points with three rebounds in 16 minutes during KU’s first-round win over Cal Baptist. He added four points and six rebounds in KU’s season-ending loss to St. John’s.
Meanwhile, Reeves averaged a career-best 11.1 points and 7.8 rebounds a game for the Cougars during the 2025-26 season.
Neither center is known for their shooting ability, but the starter’s main focus will be defending the rim and getting rebounds. Given the ability of KU’s guards and wings, the centers will be fed easy points inside but won’t be top options on offense. In fact, the 1-4 spots are where the bulk of the Jayhawks’ scoring will come from.
Both of Mbiya’s representatives told The Star they expected KU to add another big man and didn’t expect Mbiya to be named a starter automatically. Indeed, there should be competition for this starting spot.
Mbiya’s case will revolve around his offseason improvement. Reeves’ case will be about his production and if it can translate up a level. And chemistry with the rest of the team should also play a role.
