photo by: AP Photo/Gregory Payan

Prolific Prep's Tyran Stokes #4 in action against Westtown during a high school basketball game at the Hoophall Classic, Sunday, January 15, 2023, in Springfield, Mass.

With one of the top players in the 2025 class already in the fold in Darryn Peterson, Kansas will now get a chance to make its case to the consensus No. 1 player of 2026.

Tyran Stokes, a 6-foot-7, 245-pound small forward who attends Notre Dame High School, is going to visit KU.

“KU see ya soon,” he posted on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon, by way of caption to a video produced by KU indicating he would soon make a trip to Allen Fieldhouse. That followed a series of reports on Tuesday morning that he was slated to travel to Lawrence this coming weekend.

A native of Louisville, Kentucky, who previously played at Prolific Prep (Peterson’s most recent high school program, and that of incoming transfer Tre White), Stokes also visited the University of Louisville in October. He has offers from schools like Alabama, Auburn, Houston, Kentucky and more.

On3’s Jamie Shaw calls Stokes a “physically imposing player” who still manages to play bigger than his size.

“When Stokes turns on his alpha switch, this makes him a load for any high school player to attempt to contain,” Shaw wrote. “Where a good bit of Stokes’ production comes is in transition, where he shows a lot of instincts … Once Stokes fills the lane and gets downhill, he attacks the front of the rim with a purpose.”

Zagsblog reported on April 8 that Stokes will not play AAU basketball this summer, fueling persistent online speculation that he could be a candidate to reclassify to 2025 and start his college career early.

photo by: AP Photo/Ashley Landis

Southern California forward Harrison Hornery (30) defends against Eastern Washington forward Cedric Coward (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023.

KU in contention for Coward

On3’s Joe Tipton reported on Tuesday that Washington State transfer Cedric Coward has placed KU in his top five schools, along with Alabama, Duke, Florida and Washington.

Coward, a 6-foot-6 wing originally from Fresno, California, climbed the ladder of college basketball from Division II Willamette to two seasons at Eastern Washington, then followed head coach David Riley for one abbreviated campaign with the Cougars.

He averaged 17.7 points and seven rebounds per game on 55.7% shooting, including 40.0% from deep, before suffering a severe shoulder injury that ended his season at Washington State after just six games.

He will be looking to play his fifth year of college basketball with a medical redshirt; however, he is also expected to test the NBA Draft process. ESPN published a mock draft on April 8 that had him going No. 55 overall with one of the final picks of the draft.