Kansas linebacker Trey Lathan (4) runs back an interception during the third quarter against West Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Photo by Nick Krug

The transfer portal looks a bit different this offseason, as it now consists of a single two-week period beginning Jan. 2 during which players may enter.

There will always be exceptions, and acquisitions that take place at unusual times — coaching changes provide a significant one — and indeed, Kansas already had Division II prospects visit campus even before its season ended, and signed one, former Grand Valley State defensive tackle Jibriel Conde.

Despite the changes, KU will have nearly as much work to do in the portal in January as it did all of last offseason, replacing graduating seniors at a variety of newly thin positions like receiver and defensive tackle.

With that in mind, it’s an opportune time to look back at the numerous transfer acquisitions from four-year schools from last offseason and examine how they panned out for the Jayhawks.

Kansas defensive end Alex Bray (91) celebrates a defensive stop against Fresno State during the second quarter on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Photo by Nick Krug

Alex Bray

Kansas got essentially what it needed from Bray, as he successfully served as a secondary option to Justice Finkley at strong-side defensive end, one whose distinctive body type — a listed 6-foot-4, 270 pounds — and experience playing inside allowed the Jayhawks to slide him to different spots on the line. He didn’t always make a particularly strong impression, though, and his season-long Pro Football Focus grade of 59.3 was the lowest of any regular contributor on the defensive line.

Bryson Canty

Lance Leipold lamented after Canty’s touchdown catch against Oklahoma State — which ended up being his only touchdown of the season — that his post-spring arrival (as a result of getting a degree from Columbia) and his injury in training camp prevented him from making as many contributions as he possibly could have. Indeed, Canty’s talent was clear and his ability to fight for contested catches may have been the best of any Jayhawk, but he finished the season with just 11 catches on 23 targets.

Enrique Cruz Jr.

Cruz ended up being one of the Jayhawks’ most successful portal pickups, particularly given that they got him in the spring window. He served as a full-season starter at right tackle and with the exception of one bad game against Texas Tech — many tackles have struggled against the Red Raiders this year — was solid and consistent.

Jaidyn Doss

Doss was a unique case given that he arrived at KU in late summer from Nebraska as a result of a one-time portal window for so-called Designated Student Athletes whose roster spots would have been affected by the new limits imposed by the House v. NCAA settlement (if not for their newly administered exemption). In a crowded wide receiver group, Doss did not play a snap of any kind all season and can return with two years of eligibility to go.

photo by: AP Photo/Matthew Putney

Kansas defensive end Justice Finkley (15) sacks Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht (3) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in Ames, Iowa.

Justice Finkley

Finkley pulled off the impressive feat of arriving in the spring and earning the role of team captain by the fall. If not the flashiest player, he was workmanlike and physical and finished the season with 26 tackles as the starting strong-side defensive end.

Syeed Gibbs

It was an odd year for Gibbs, who has one season of eligibility left to play. KU added him as a transfer from Georgia Tech in the spring in large part due to his ability to play nickel, as the Jayhawks transitioned to more frequently using five defensive backs. He battled with Mason Ellis at that spot and in rotational action behind Ellis early in the season showed some flashes. But he looked less consistent when he played more extended time, first at nickel when Ellis got hurt, and then as one of several options rotating through at outside corner when Jalen Todd moved inside to occupy the nickel role full-time. He found himself on the receiving end of some big completions late in the year — he allowed a touchdown in each of the last two games — and could not haul in a potential pick-6 in the loss to Arizona.

D.J. Graham II

Another player who found himself in a muddled cornerback rotation late in the year, Graham entered the season recovering from nerve damage that had hampered him in fall camp and missed the opener against Fresno State. The Jayhawks hoped he could bring a veteran presence to a young secondary. At times he did just that and added an element of reliability, but at times he was one of several corners who gave significant cushions to opposing wide receivers and provided short-pass opportunities to opposing quarterbacks.

Kansas tight end Boden Groen (88) catches a touchdown pass before Oklahoma State cornerback Raymond Gay II (27) during the third quarter on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Photo by Nick Krug

Boden Groen

When KU added Groen in the spring, it was primarily just seeking some depth at tight end, and the coaching staff didn’t necessarily know what to expect out of the Santa Ana, California, native as he came off a torn labrum suffered during his final season at Rice. He turned out to be one of the Jayhawks’ best talent evaluations of the cycle. In Groen, both before and after season-ending injuries to DeShawn Hanika and Carson Bruhn, the Jayhawks had the sort of reliable red-zone target they lacked in 2024. Groen was such a frequent target for Jalon Daniels as to once catch 13 passes in a game, and he finished the year with the best season of his career: 36 catches, 450 yards, five touchdowns.

DeAndre Harper

Time will tell what KU gets out of this Northwest Missouri State transfer, a reserve at offensive tackle who redshirted as one of a number of young linemen the team added over the course of the offseason. He played four snaps in one game.

Leroy Harris III

The Jayhawks found a diamond in the rough in Harris. It was always a little odd that a 6-foot-5, then-238-pound defensive end whose father played in the NFL and who had shown promise at the FCS level as a true freshman was receiving his primary transfer-portal interest from the likes of Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina. But Harris proved upon his arrival in Lawrence that he was not a redshirt candidate but an immediate contributor. He was frequently disruptive and played some of his best football in the late stages of the year, including in a game against Arizona in which he had a remarkable interception return called back due to a defensive hold and when he batted down three passes against Utah. He also blocked a field goal. Retaining Harris will be one of the biggest keys to KU’s offseason.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson Jr. pulls in a catch for a touchdown against Cincinnati at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Lawrence.

Emmanuel Henderson Jr.

Henderson got the opportunity to serve as KU’s No. 1 receiver after working primarily in the shadows during his tenure at Alabama. While he was inconsistent at times, he ultimately fulfilled the role well, as his 766 receiving yards were the second-most in a single season under Leipold, trailing only Lawrence Arnold’s 2023 campaign. He got 214 of those in a single memorable game against Cincinnati. All in all, Henderson caught five touchdowns and also brought back a kickoff. He and Daniels were out of sync at times late in the year and it took him, and KU as a whole, time to adjust when defenses keyed on him, but he certainly lived up to the high expectations with which he came out of the transfer portal.

Jahlil Hurley

Hurley, who claimed to have played a key role in bringing over his former Alabama teammate Henderson, was a peripheral player in the cornerback group as a redshirt sophomore. He impressed the coaches enough with his practice habits that they gave him a chance to play extensively against Arizona, which was one of the defense’s best games of the year. With two years left to play, he’ll get the chance to do much more going forward.

Efren Jasso

KU quietly added this backup punter from Prairie View A&M during the summer, and he redshirted and looked to be a prime option to start next season, but he announced on Tuesday that he plans to enter the transfer portal.

Bangally Kamara

The first piece in KU’s transfer class last offseason proved to be quite a foundational player for the Jayhawks. Kamara turned in one of the gutsiest performances of the Leipold era when he came back from a non-contact injury suffered in the week of practice leading up to Wagner just one game later, despite an ominous initial prognosis. That meant he was on the field for the rivalry game with Missouri, in which he excelled with nine tackles, including two for loss, and a pass breakup. Throughout the year, Kamara made game-changing plays with his athleticism and finished the year with 56 tackles. However, he was also the worst offender when it came to KU’s season-long tackling issues, and in fact he was one of the national leaders with 23 missed tackles on the season.

Gage Keys

This reunion never quite worked out, at least from an on-field perspective. Keys was always going to have to work his way up from the bottom of the defensive tackle rotation, as position coach Jim Panagos said during fall camp — and the rest of the players, including those younger than Keys like Marcus Calvin and Blake Herold, acquitted themselves quite well over the course of the year. Throw in the fact that he battled injury at the beginning and end of the season and he only played 25 snaps on the year.

Finn Lappin

Unfortunately for KU, it only gets one year of Lappin — and he only gets two years of college football — presumably because he had previously attended university in Australia. That said, he finished 2025 with one of the best punting seasons in program history. If not for a 27-yard punt against Iowa State that he kicked left-footed after tracking down a bad snap, he would have had KU’s single-season yards-per-punt record. Instead, he finished third in school history at 45.3 yards per punt.

Trey Lathan

Lathan became one of the Jayhawks’ leaders on defense and exceeded expectations throughout the season, which was particularly important given that fellow middle linebacker transfer Joseph Sipp Jr. proved to be a nonfactor. Lathan finished the year with a team-high 86 tackles, forced a fumble and recovered two, and intercepted a pass against his former team, West Virginia. He played more snaps than any other Jayhawk on defense and was a steady presence during a year in which KU had very few, and the Jayhawks could potentially get him back for another year.

photo by: AP Photo/Colin E. Braley

Kansas place kicker Laith Marjan (99) during an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Columbia, Mo.

Laith Marjan

For most of the year, Marjan was one of the best kickers in KU’s modern history. He started out the season by setting a school record with 14 consecutive made field goals, a stretch that included a gritty showing at UCF in which he battled through injury to make two key kicks in a seven-point win, as well as a 55-yarder at Texas Tech. Then he missed a chip shot as part of a highly scrutinized late-game sequence in the loss to Arizona and didn’t recover, as he missed his final two field goals over the last two weeks, both from reasonable distances. Even so, for much of the season he brought a level of consistency the Jayhawks have rarely enjoyed on special teams under Leipold.

Tyler Mercer

Acquiring Mercer from North Texas in the offseason was another long-term play, and after playing 44 snaps and redshirting in his first year at KU, the native of Prosper, Texas, will have a chance to anchor the offensive line at center for the next three seasons if all goes according to plan.

Cam Pickett

The slot receiver Pickett set the bar quite high with his first half of action as a Jayhawk, in which he caught six passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns — including the first-ever score in the new David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium — against Fresno State. But an injury late in that second quarter, which he continued to play through, but only in limited snaps, impeded his potential production over the course of the following weeks. Pickett upped his production around midseason, catching 17 passes for 186 yards in a three-week span in October, but he did not score a touchdown after the first two games of the year. He has one season of eligibility remaining.

Kansas safety Lyrik Rawls (2) celebrates a hit that knocked the ball loose from a West Virginia receiver during the third quarter on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

Lyrik Rawls

The fact that Rawls did not go through senior day was an encouraging sign for the 2026 KU defense, as it suggests the veteran safety could come back for a sixth season of college football and continue to serve as one of the Jayhawks’ leaders. Rawls had an impressive interception on opening night but impressed primarily as a hard-hitting tackler, with 73 stops on the year. He had one extremely poor game in coverage against Cincinnati, but generally performed fairly well in that aspect of his responsibilities as well.

Laquan Robinson

The former highly touted JUCO safety, who came to KU as an Auburn transfer in one of the lesser-discussed moves of the offseason, served primarily as a special teamer for the Jayhawks, a capacity in which he made a few big tackles and forced a fumble against Oklahoma State. Perhaps he’ll put himself in the picture on defense during his last year of eligibility.

Caleb Redd

Redd came to KU as a developmental prospect at defensive end, and unlike Harris he didn’t make the case for playing time right away. KU has plenty of time to figure out exactly what it has in the St. Louis native, who has three years of eligibility to go.

Joseph Sipp Jr.

It wasn’t necessarily his fault, but Sipp became one of the more underwhelming offseason acquisitions because after a first-team All-MAC season at Bowling Green in 2024, he played 18 snaps on defense for the Jayhawks. He battled injury in camp and was seen wearing a brace on his right arm in the early weeks of the season. With KU using fewer linebackers than ever before and Lathan and Kamara firmly ensconced at their spots, Sipp didn’t really get involved. The good news for the Jayhawks is that he redshirted and could be a significant factor next season.

Jack Tanner

The Jayhawks did not really need to use Tanner as a swing tackle because they added the veteran Cruz later in the offseason and had a role for Nolan Gorczyca behind Cruz and Calvin Clements. As a result, he redshirted and could compete for a spot on the offensive line going forward.

Tavake Tuikolovatu

After he missed a chunk of the spring, Tuikolovatu’s fall-camp battle at left guard with James Livingston turned into a battle with Amir Herring, who claimed the starting spot there and did not relinquish it over the course of a quietly consistent season. Nonetheless, Tuikolovatu still earned some rotational time and late in the year even worked as an extra offensive lineman at the tight-end spot, much like Gorczyca. Tuikolovatu has two years to play and with the graduation of Kobe Baynes could find himself a contender at one guard position next year.

Levi Wentz

Wentz was never the flashiest pickup among KU’s numerous wide-receiver acquisitions, but he brought a physicality that set him apart from the rest and ended up starting half the Jayhawks’ games. While he seemed to fade to the background a bit as the year went on with Canty increasing in prominence — Wentz at one point caught two passes for 21 yards in a five-game span — he still chipped in a few big plays over the course of the season with 50-, 41- and 30-yard catches and finished with 16 catches for 258 yards and two touchdowns.

photo by: AP Photo/Annie Rice

Kansas running back Leshon Williams (4) catches the ball for a touchdown during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game against Texas Tech, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Lubbock, Texas.

Leshon Williams

Daniel Hishaw Jr. was always going to take a beating in his first season as a feature back due to his physical running style, so it made sense for KU to bring in a similarly experienced complementary player in Williams. The Chicago native, who spoke in preseason about how joining the Jayhawks had restored his passion for the game, was quite productive on the year, leading all KU players with seven rushing touchdowns — he had three his whole time at Iowa — and averaging 5.8 yards a carry. He also caught a pair of touchdowns through the air.