Kansas head coach Bill Self and his staff watch the video introduction prior to tipoff against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025 at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug

Kansas coach Bill Self was somewhat surprised to learn in his Friday press conference that his team’s current 2026 recruiting class — which to this point consists of Davion Adkins, Luke Barnett, Taylen Kinney and Trent Perry — ranks among the top few in the country.

Indeed, it’s No. 1 on 247Sports, No. 2 on ESPN and No. 3 on On3.

“That’s pretty good,” Self said. “But I will say this: There’s a lot of things that can still develop that will elevate us, or whoever if they’re able to have a good November. That’s great, I love hearing that. I think if things fell right, then I certainly think this could be a class that would rank up there with one of the best we’ve had.”

Make no mistake, Self is pleased with the group of four he’s brought in already, as he reiterated to the media in the wake of his series of signing announcements on Wednesday and Thursday.

He’s got a skilled, athletic post player in Adkins; the best shooter KU has recruited in recent years in Barnett; a Mario Chalmers-like scoring point guard in Kinney, to use Self’s own comparison; and a “winner” of a wing, endorsed by fellow Mokan product Christian Braun, in Perry.

But Self said that as of now, the Jayhawks are “probably a player away from it being an elite, elite class.”

“We’re recruiting some guys, so hopefully that’ll play out to be true,” he said. “I don’t know if it’ll happen this early signing period, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Of course, under NCAA rules, the coach can’t speak about prospective recruits KU hasn’t yet signed. He did allude rather obliquely to the fact that KU also has wing Javon Bardwell, who is from Harlem, New York, but goes to school in Phoenix, committed for the class of 2027. Bardwell could potentially reclassify to 2026 down the line.

The remaining uncommitted 2026 player to whom KU has most often been linked is Tyran Stokes, the top prospect in the class. The 6-foot-7 forward from Louisville, Kentucky, who visited the Jayhawks back in the spring, has KU in his top three with Kentucky and Oregon. KU remains there despite the fact that Stokes signed a deal with Nike earlier in the fall.

Stokes’ recruitment took an unusual turn recently when he withdrew in the middle of the semester from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, and on Thursday reportedly enrolled at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle.

On3 also reported on Friday that KU had interest in 7-foot-1 Cameroonian center Amadou Seini, who recently entered school in Arizona.

It’s also worth noting in light of Self’s comments about when additions could theoretically take place that KU added several of its 2025 freshmen many months after signing day. Corbin Allen signed on in the spring and Paul Mbiya and Kohl Rosario joined over the summer ahead of the 2025-26 season.