photo by: AP Photo/Colin E. Braley

Kansas linebacker Trey Lathan (4) during an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Lawrence.

The hits keep coming for Kansas’ defense.

KU middle linebacker Trey Lathan, the Jayhawks’ leading tackler from the 2025 season, announced late Thursday afternoon that he will enter the transfer portal.

Lathan, who has one year of eligibility remaining, immediately becomes KU’s most significant offseason loss to this point, following other prominent departures on defense like linebacker Jon Jon Kamara and safety Lyrik Rawls. In his lone year in Lawrence, he earned an All-Big 12 honorable mention after recording 86 tackles, including seven for loss with 1.5 sacks, five pass breakups, an interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

The native of Goulds, Florida, began his career as a three-star prospect in the class of 2022 out of Gulliver Prep. He spent three years at West Virginia before joining the Jayhawks during the 2025 offseason.

Lathan slotted in immediately as KU’s starting middle linebacker and played 713 snaps, the most on the defense, according to Pro Football Focus. He was one of the Jayhawks’ highest-ranking defensive players with a 74.8 PFF grade, including a team-high 87.0 tackling grade. He quickly garnered respect within the program and served an important leadership role.

Perhaps Lathan’s most memorable moment of the season was an interception against his former team, the Mountaineers, one he said he had envisioned during the prior week of practice. He did drop a potential game-sealing pick in KU’s eventual loss to Cincinnati the following week.

The loss of Lathan creates an opening for Joseph Sipp Jr., a former Bowling Green transfer who was an All-MAC linebacker but barely played for KU in 2025 after an early-season arm injury and ended up redshirting. Otherwise, though, the cupboard is pretty bare for the Jayhawks at linebacker with Kamara, Logan Brantley and JaCorey Stewart all set to depart in the portal as well. They have young Malachi Curvey, who will be a redshirt freshman, and incoming signees Joseph Credit and Josh Galbreath.