The annual Preseason AP Top 25 was released last week, and the Kansas Jayhawks got here in at No. 19 in the nation.
They are the sixth Big 12 faculty featured in the ballot, which traces up with the place most nationwide retailers anticipate them to complete.
On Monday, CBS Sports analyst Gary Parrish released his Big 12 preseason projections and positioned Kansas at No. 5 in the convention. KU sits behind Houston, Texas Tech, BYU, and Arizona.
1. Houston
2. Texas Tech
3. BYU
4. Arizona
5. Kansas
6. Iowa State
7. Baylor
8. Cincinnati
9. Kansas State
10. TCU
11. Oklahoma State
12. West Virginia
13. Arizona State
14. Utah
15. UCF
16. Colorado
“After winning at least a share of 16 Big 12 regular-season championships in his first 20 years at Kansas, all while never finishing worse than third in the league standings, Bill Self has finished fifth (2024) and sixth (2025) in the conference the past two seasons,” Parrish wrote. “Clearly, the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach, and two-time national champion, needs a bounce-back season — and Self will have to out-perform the expectations placed upon his team here to truly produce one.”
Parrish picked freshman Darryn Peterson as his CBS Sports Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year, which matches the official Big 12 preseason awards.
He additionally included a observe about Bill Self and whether or not the Hall of Fame coach can return to his successful methods after two subpar seasons in Lawrence.
“Kansas has finished outside of the top four in the Big 12 in each of the past two seasons — and hasn’t made the Sweet 16 since 2022. So it’ll be interesting to see if Self can get things back this season to where they used to just always be pretty much no matter what.”
Parrish’s uncertainty about Kansas is comprehensible. After back-to-back down years, it’s exhausting to foretell which model of the Jayhawks we are going to see this season.
KU can be led by an unproven freshman in Peterson, not like latest years with veterans like Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris, and KJ Adams working the present.
However, this roster is perhaps probably the most proficient of the Self period, with a number of future NBA gamers and high-upside newcomers. The vary of outcomes is vast, however the expectation is that this revamped 2025-26 squad can deliver Kansas again to Big 12 dominance.
The Jayhawks will get their first unofficial take a look at this Friday with a scrimmage towards Louisville on the KFC Yum! Center.