LAWRENCE, Kan. – For the 35th-consecutive season, the Kansas men’s basketball team is ranked in the Associated Press (AP) Preseason Men’s Basketball Poll. The Jayhawks, ranked in each preseason poll since the 1990-91 season, are No. 17 in the 2026-27 AP preseason poll announced today.
The AP preseason poll started in 1962 and this marks the 49th time Kansas has appeared in the preseason poll that is selected by a media panel. The 49 appearances rank fifth-most in NCAA Division I history behind Kentucky (59), North Carolina (56), Duke (51), and UCLA (51).
Kansas is one of six Big 12 teams ranked in the AP preseason top 25. Kansas is ranked along with No. 2 Arizona, No. 10 Houston, No. 18 Iowa State, No. 19 Texas Tech, and No. 25 BYU. For the third-consecutive season, the six ranked league teams tie for the most in conference history – 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27. This also marked the sixth time in the last eight years that at least five Big 12 teams have been ranked by the Associated Press in the preseason.
Kansas will play 10 games against teams ranked in the preseason AP top 25, and potentially one more, Houston, in the third game of the Players Era 8. Those matchups include No. 2 Duke (Oct. 25, exhibition), at No. 4 UConn (Dec. 12), at No. 5 Arizona (Feb. 20), at No. 10 Houston (Feb. 1 and potentially Nov. 19), No. 11 Louisville (Oct. 21, exhibition), No. 18 Iowa State twice (at ISU Feb. 13, March 1), No. 19 Texas Tech (Feb. 6), No. 23 Kentucky (Nov. 10, Champions Classic), and at No. 25 BYU (Jan. 9).
Kansas features returning starters Melvin Council Jr. and Tre White, along with returning letterwinners Kohl Rosario, center Paul Mbiya, and guard Will Thengvall. KU head coach Bill Self welcomes 12 newcomers with five transfers – sophomore guard Leroy Blyden Jr., senior forward Keanu Dawes, senior guard Dennis Parker Jr., fifth-year center Christian Reeves, and fifth-year forward Trey Kaufman-Renn. KU’s freshman class is loaded with two McDonald’s All-American guards Tyran Stokes and Taylen Kinney and fellow guards Luke Barnett and Trent Perry, and forwards Davion Adkins, Grant Mordini, and Atticus Richmond.
The 2026-27 Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year and preseason all-conference selection, Stokes is Kansas’ second-consecutive No. 1 national recruit joining Darryn Peterson from last year’s class. Stokes is the fourth No. 1 national recruit to play for Self at Kansas, joining Peterson, Andrew Wiggins (2013) and Josh Jackson (2016).