University of Kansas basketball recruiting

A busy week for Kansas men’s basketball recruiting continued with the Jayhawks’ first addition in the 2027 recruiting class.

High school junior Javon Bardwell on Friday announced his commitment to KU. He is a five-star prospect who ranks No. 26 in the 247Sports Composite rankings for his high school class.

The 6-foot-6 wing from Harlem, New York, currently attends PHHoenix Prep in Phoenix; he previously attended Desert Mountain and Hillcrest Prep in the same region. Playing for the Diamond Doves in Overtime Elite during the 2024-25 season, Bardwell averaged 17.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Bardwell recently visited Lawrence in mid-September after receiving his scholarship offer in August. He picked the Jayhawks over finalists Louisville, Texas and USC.

Rivals’ Jamie Shaw wrote of Bardwell during the summer, “Javon Bardwell has a great frame with length and projectability. He scored the ball well today, either shooting off the catch or finishing at the basket. He will need to continue adding strength and consolidating his game, but he is a high scoring wing around 6-foot-6 as things stand.”

By selecting KU as his destination more than two years before his collegiate debut, he becomes the prospect to choose the Jayhawks the furthest in advance of his actual arrival since Tre White. A member of the high school class of 2022, White committed to KU prior to his sophomore year before decommitting in the winter of 2019. (More than five years and several schools later, he transferred to KU and is on the roster for the 2025-26 season.)

The addition of Bardwell continues a week of momentum for the Jayhawks on the recruiting trail that featured the commitments of 2026 guard Taylen Kinney on Sunday and small forward Trent Perry on Wednesday; it may not be over yet, either, with 2026 center Davion Adkins set to announce his own commitment decision this Sunday, with Houston, KU and Rutgers as finalists.

Bardwell is the latest OTE player to commit to the Jayhawks, following Kinney and current Jayhawks Samis Calderon, Kohl Rosario and Bryson Tiller.