The Kansas Jayhawks came into the 2024-25 college basketball season as the No. 1 ranked team in the country in the AP men’s basketball poll. So far, they’ve lived up to that ranking, getting off to a 3-0 start. Kansas is coming off a big win against Michigan State, that proceeded the Jayhawks landing the commitment from a top recruit.
The Kansas Jayhawks picked up their second recruit from the class of 2025 in forward Samis Calderon, as per Joe Tipton of On3 Sports. Calderon is consider a four-star power forward. He chose Kansas over offers from other top Division 1 programs such as Auburn, Tennessee and Michigan.
Calderon is currently playing for Overtime Elite. Overtime Elite was founded as sort of an alternative to college basketball for top high school prospects. They also have a program in which players can retain their college eligibility, of which Calderon is a part of.
He joins five-star point guard Darryn Peterson as the Jayhawks’ two recruits from the class of 2025 so far. Kansas has offers out to other top player in the class of 2025 including AJ Dybantsa, the consensus No. 1 player in the class and a future NBA lottery pick.
Kansas looking for bounce back season
The 2023-24 season ended in disappointment for the Jayhawks. They battled injuries to Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. and were trounced in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by Gonzaga. McCullar is off to the NBA beginning his rookie season with the New York Knicks, while Dickinson opted to return for one more season.
Dickinson’s return is one of the reasons why the Jayhawks are ranked as the top team in the nation. They also added several impact transfers including potential NBA Draft pick AJ Storr and former Alabama forward Rylan Griffen.
Kansas began this season with a blowout win against Howard. They followed that up with impressive wins against good teams in North Carolina and Michigan State. Dickinson is leading the team in points (21.3), rebounds (9.3), steals (2.0), and blocked shots (1.3).
Transfer guard Zeke Mayo has been their second-leading scorer at 15.3 points. Fifth-year guard Dajuan Harris has given the team a major boost as well to the tune of 9.0 points and a team-leading 4.7 assists.
The Jayhawks continue their non-conference schedule with a home game against Oakland on Saturday. Following that game, they’ll take on UNC Wilmington before a highly-anticipated clash against Duke during Thanksgiving week.