KU Jayhawks basketball pursuing 2 high schoolers battling for top-of-class honors
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KU targets 2026’s top-ranked guard Brandon McCoy amid growing national interest.
- Darryn Peterson, KU's 2025 commit, holds top rank from 247Sports and other outlets.
- Tyran Stokes, elite 2025 forward, remains key KU target after standout Team USA play.
The Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team, for the second straight year, is wooing a high school senior guard ranked No. 1 in his class by at least one national recruiting service.
The Jayhawks — who on Oct. 31, 2024 received a commitment from Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Darryn Peterson, 247sports.com’s top-rated player in the class of 2025 — are currently high on the list of Brandon McCoy Jr., a 6-foot-4, 185-pound point guard/shooting guard from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California.
McCoy is ranked No. 1 in the class of 2026 by Rivals.com, No. 3 by 247sports.com and No. 6 by ESPN.com. KU freshman Peterson — 6-5 and 195 pounds and originally from Canton, Ohio — is ranked No. 2 by ESPN.com and No. 3 by Rivals.com to go with his No. 1 ranking from 247sports.com.
KU coach Bill Self watched McCoy play for Arizona Unity AAU at last weekend’s EYBL Session 4 in North Augusta, South Carolina. It marked McCoy’s summer basketball debut, as he did not participate in the other EYBL sessions while competing for USA Basketball.
McCoy told Zagsblog.com’s Sam Lance and On3.com’s Joe Tipton he does not have an official list of schools but has received more than 20 scholarship offers.
McCoy, who visited Duke last November and USC and UCLA the summer after his freshman year of high school, is being pursued by KU, Alabama, Arizona, Kentucky, Michigan, Arkansas, UCLA, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Oregon, BYU, UConn and other programs. He lives in close proximity to USC, another school that’s recruiting him heavily.
“They win,” McCoy said, asked what he likes about KU in an interview with On3.com. “Coach (Bill) Self is a solidified coach and has been a coach there for a long time. So you know what we’re going to get out of him. I wouldn’t be surprised if I went there. I feel like I know I would get better if I went there.”
McCoy said he would start planning official visits once the AAU season concludes.
“I feel like all of the coaches that have reached out to me have showed me great love,” he told On3.com. “Nobody is over anybody right now. Everybody is just even right now.”
McCoy was part of USA Basketball’s undefeated and gold medal-winning team at the recent 2025 FIBA Under 19 men’s World Cup in Switzerland. McCoy played in six of the team’s seven games. He received double-digit minutes in three of them, combining for 34 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists and six steals.
“It was a great experience,” McCoy told Zagsblog.com. “Playing for my country is a blessing. To do that three times is insane. ... Just winning is fun. It doesn’t get much better than winning, getting gold.”
Update on Tyran Stokes
KU also continues to recruit another player deemed the top prospect in the country by two recruiting services: Tyran Stokes, a 6-7, 225-pound senior forward from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California.
Stokes, who visited KU in late April, is ranked No. 1 nationally by ESPN.com and 247sports.com and No. 2 by Rivals.com.
Originally from Louisville, Stokes has visited Kentucky and Louisville and also is said to have Arkansas, USC and UCLA high on his list of schools.
Stokes was a Team USA teammate of McCoy at the Under 19 tourney. He finished the seven-game schedule with 68 points, 31 rebounds, 18 assists and 12 steals.
Stokes recorded a triple-double July 2 in the round of 16 against Jordan. He had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 140-67 victory as the Americans set the single-game record for most points in tourney history.
“Stokes’ flashes of dominant outputs are too much to ignore at this point in the cycle,” On3’s Jamie Shaw wrote. “When Stokes gets downhill, he is a load to deal with. Whether in the halfcourt or in transition, Stokes has a strong base with explosive burst and gets downhill with a purpose.”
As far as what he seeks in a college, Stokes said: “Just somewhere I’m comfortable, somewhere that feels like home and somewhere I can play my game.”
This story was originally published July 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "KU Jayhawks basketball pursuing 2 high schoolers battling for top-of-class honors."
