WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Big 12 Basketball Media Days is being held in Kansas City.
For Day One on Tuesday, 12 News had the chance to hear from the Kansas Jayhawks, with coverage of the Kansas State Wildcats coming on Wednesday.
12 News also heard an update on K-State’s former head coach, Jerome Tang.
Bill Self still on the sidelines
Back in March, it was uncertain if Bill Self would return to the court for the 2026 – 27 season.
Following KU’s loss to St. John’s in the round of 16, Self said he would think about his future and if he would retire or return to coaching.
Self has confirmed that he will be the coach as KU gets ready to tip off its season in Allen Fieldhouse. Both returning players and new faces are glad to be coached by the Basketball Hall of Famer.
Related Story: Bill Self will return to KU sidelines for 24th season in 2026-27
“He was my first year’s coach, and it’s always great. I wanted to go back and wanted to play for him. When he told me that he was coming back, it was a joy to be able to have that opportunity again this year,” said Kohl Rosario, KU Guard.
“He knows how to get the most out of you and kind of motivates you to be able to play for him every day and give like certain type of motivational speeches, if you will, that really make you want to go get it,” said Keanu Dawes, KU Forward.
KU led by No. 1 ranked freshman
The headliner of the Kansas team will once again be the number one freshman in the country – Tyron Stokes, the projected number one pick in the NBA draft next year.
“All the players that came through this university and put on this uniform. So I feel like when I put this uniform on and I go play against another team, I got to do whatever I can for that,” said Stokes.
“What surprised me of him is his basketball IQ is ridiculously high. It’s not a surprise, but I think to some people it could be a surprise. There’s nobody on our team that’s more coachable,” Self said. “I coach him hard, and he comes back for more every day.”
Stokes was named the preseason freshman of the year in the Big 12 Conference and also the only Jayhawk listed on the all-conference preseason team.
His teammates and coaches agree he has lived up to the hype surrounding him heading into the season.
The Jayhawks crack the AP preseason top 25 at No. 17.
Six Kansans joining KU Women’s Basketball
The Jayhawks Women’s Basketball program is brining back some key players from last year’s season, but the familiarity goes even deeper than just KU’s program.
Six athletes from Kansas are on the roster, and another is from Kansas City, Mo. The players say that the familiarity with each other and the state of Kansas provides dividends on the court.
“It’s more than money. It’s really about the love that you have for the program. The legacy that you want to leave,” said S’Mya Nichols, KU Senior Guard. “There’s nothing better than playing for your home state that you grew up in. And then, now you get to represent it.”
“You know, I grew up around everyone like Jaliya, Mariah. So this is just, it feels like much cooler when you have like all these locals that you’re playing with,” said Regan Williams, KU Junior Forward. “It feels like you’re working for more if that makes sense.”
Nichols and sophomore Jaliya Davis, both from the Kansas City area, will be leading the team. Both are listed on the preseason All-Big 12 team.
The two helped KU on a deep run in the WBIT, eventually falling in the semifinals in Wichita. They said that, albeit not the NCAA tournament, that type of postseason success can carry momentum into the 2026 – 27 season.
“I think we have a lot more fight this year. We have a lot of pretty players that get on the ground, jump on and lose ball. So I think that’s going to be really big for us this year to compete with other teams,” Davis said.
The Jayhawk women open up their regular season on Nov. 3 as the Omaha Mavericks make the trip inside Allen Fieldhouse.
NBA draft pick added to KU’s team
Court rulings have played a major part in the construction of the Jayhawks roster for the upcoming season.
The Jayhawks already planned to bring back two returners after they got extra eligibility via a court-granted injunction, but it didn’t stop there. On Monday, the team added Purdue transfer Trey Kaufman-Renn, who was drafted in the NBA earlier this year.
Related Story: KU basketball adds former first-team All-Big 10 player from Purdue
Self acknowledged that the addition was late, but said it was in part due to the delays in his eligibility case in Indiana.
Even though there is plenty in the air regarding eligibility, Self said he believes Kaufman-Renn has a strong chance to be good to go for the year. He has been on KU’s radar for months.
“I’ve known about him at the same time that Melvin and Trey were going through their things. So he’s been in the picture for a while,” said Self. “It didn’t become obvious for both parties that this was going to be a real possibility until relatively recently.”
Jerome Tang back with Baylor
Big 12 Basketball Media Days includes teams around the conference, like the Baylor Bears, where former K-State head coach Jerome Tang is an assistant once again.
Tang serves as an assistant under Head Coach Scott Drew, who spoke on Tuesday about bringing Tang back onto his staff.
“Coach Tang, we’ve been together for 19 years, and someone asked after the first week, what’s it like having him back? And I said, it’s like riding a bike. We haven’t missed a beat,” Drew said. “What’s so great is when you work with someone for 19 years, you know how to approach each other, you feed off of each other. And Coach Tang did an amazing job at Kansas State. I mean, won Naismith Coach of the Year his first year. Went to the Elite Eight. God just called him back to Baylor, and we’re blessed. We’re blessed to have him.”
Wichita Heights grad named to preseason All-Big 12 team
Many teams were present at Big 12 Basketball Media Days, including the Colorado Buffaloes, who feature a tie to Wichita.
Former Wichita Heights star Zianna Walker is back at Colorado for her fifth year of college basketball and cracked the preseason All-Big 12 team. Walker said it’s been a journey to get to where she is, but she’s excited for the upcoming season.
“It’s been good. Every single year I see improvement in my game on and off the court. I see improvement in me as a person,” Walker said. “So I just, you know, enjoy the moments, enjoying the journey because it’s just maybe growing a better person to this day.”
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