With less than a month to go until the tip-off of the 2026-27 season, Kansas basketball is already being lauded as a top-10 team in the country. Bill Self has put together quite the team. On paper, they are well balanced, with star power, depth, multiple ways to win, and even a couple of returning veterans who should bring a sense of calmness and leadership to a pretty young squad otherwise.
The always-intriguing KenPom preseason rankings have officially come out, and the Jayhawks find themselves placed at No. 8 in the country. It certainly creates excitement as well as expectations for a much better outcome for KU than in the past couple of seasons.
KenPom’s preseason rankings are officially out, with Duke opening the season at No. 1 … pic.twitter.com/Gz6NuyULug
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) October 11, 2026
Even more intimidating is that the Big 12 has three teams ahead of KU (Houston, Arizona, and Iowa State), as well as Texas Tech coming in at 12th. It projects to once again be the best conference in the nation by a long shot. But it's nothing that Self and his past teams are not familiar with and have not overcome more times than not in his 20-plus years at the helm in Lawrence.
Melvin Council Jr. and Tre White project to have an outsized leadership impact on Jayhawks roster
While fans know the incoming crop of highly ranked freshmen in Tyran Stokes and Taylen Kinney, and transfer portal additions of Keanu Dawes and Christian Reeves, the Hawks like I mentioned earlier have two seniors returning by way of preliminary injunction.
Tre White, who returned to the team a couple of weeks ago, and Melvin Council Jr. also made his awaited homecoming to the team this past week. Self spoke on Council's return and why he expects it to mean so much to this growing Jayhawks unit.
"After being granted a preliminary injunction to play this season, Melvin Council will begin to practice with us immediately, like Tre White did last week. Melvin was the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year last season and had a major impact on our program both on and off the court. He brings a lot of experience and leadership to our roster, and we are excited to welcome him back," Self said.
Combined, White and Council in each of their single seasons at KU accounted for over 25 points per game, over 11 rebounds, nearly seven assists, and, in White's case, 40% from three-point range. Council was the ultimate competitor and playmaker at KU, and while he had trouble shooting the basketball, taking away his magical game versus NC State, he attacked the rim, guarded the opposing team's best player, and brought a level of energy and aggression that most rivals failed to match.
Kansas already had a solid roster before these two additions. Parsing out who will play when will not be an easy decision for Self. So often last year, both Council and White played nearly the entire game, but now with more depth as well as young star power at the guard positions, there is an argument that both might have to take on a reduced role. Either way, it's exciting news that Self's roster just got even better.
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