LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider will be joined by S’Mya Nichols, Jaliya Davis and Regan Williams at 2026 Monster Energy Big 12 Basketball Media Day, which will be held at the T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri next Tuesday, Oct. 20.
Nichols is making her third appearance representing the Jayhawks at Big 12 Media Day, while Davis is attending for the second straight year and Williams gets her first opportunity to participate.
New for this year, each institution’s men’s and women’s basketball programs will participate on the same day. Eight institutions will be featured each day, creating a unified platform to highlight the depth and strength of the league. Kansas will be joined by Arizona State, Baylor, Cincinnati, Colorado, Iowa State, Texas Tech and Utah on Tuesday in Kansas City.
Coverage from the main set will air on ESPNU from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. CT each day. Matt Schick, Brooke Weisbrod, King McClure, Sydney Jones and Alex Glover Jemison will help preview both the men’s and women’s seasons. Kansas will be on the TV set beginning at 11:40 a.m., before Schneider and the players take their turn on the main stage at 2:20 p.m. Both days will also be simulcast on Big 12 Studios and BYUtv.
Schneider is now in his 12th season at Kansas. He’s guided the Jayhawks to the postseason in four of the past five seasons, including NCAA Tournament appearances in 2022 and 2024. Last season, the Jayhawks finished 22-14 and advanced to the semifinals of the WBIT. Schneider’s squad was picked fifth in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll, which was released last week.
Nichols is now a three-time All-Big 12 First Team selection, joining Lynn Pride as the Jayhawks’ only three-time first team honorees. She averaged 17.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game last season, while scoring in double figures 32 times in 36 games, with 13 games of 20 or more points. The most prolific free throw shooter in school history, Nichols led the nation in made free throws as a junior, hitting 243-of-287 (84.7 percent) attempts to establish a new single-season school record for the second straight season.
Davis is the reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Year following a record-setting debut at Kansas. She averaged 19.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, while scoring 20 or more points 15 times, which is third-most by a Big 12 freshman in conference history. During league play, Davis ranked second in the league in scoring with 21.5 points per game, while shooting a league-leading 63.6 percent (136-of-214) from the field.
Williams returns for her junior season at Kansas after ranking third on the team in both scoring (8.9 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg) last season despite missing seven games due to injury. A 2025 Big 12 All-Freshman Team selection, Williams has appeared in 59 games over two seasons for the Jayhawks, making 31 starts.