The nation’s top basketball recruit will play in the Big 12
Rainier Beach Tyran Stokes (4) in action against Bishop McNamara during a high school basketball game at the Hoophall Classic, Sunday, January 18, 2026, in Springfield, MA. | Gregory Payan The Big 12 just added another star for next season. Consensus top high school recruit Tyran Stokes has committed to the Kansas Jayhawks, he announced Tuesday night on ESPN.
Breaking: Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 recruit in the SC Next 100 Class of 2026, has committed to Kansas, he announced on Inside the NBA. pic.
twitter. com/tPjZWdLYPo — ESPN (@espn) April 28, 2026 Stokes chose Kansas over a number of other notable programs, with former BYU head coach Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats coming in second place for his services. The 6-foot-7 small forward for Seattle’s Rainier Beach High is rated as a five-star prospect and the nation’s No.
1 player for the class of 2026 by 247 Sports, also ranking as the site’s No. 2 signee all-time for the Jayhawks. “He’s powerful, long, and explosively athletic,” wrote 247 Sports’ Adam Finkelstein of Stokes.
“But while he’s built like a forward, he can make plays like a guard with an ability to create off the dribble and an innate understanding of how to instinctively find a path to the rim, even when one doesn’t seem to initially present itself. “... Stokes has more sheer talent than anyone in the country and while he’s continued to grow his offensive game with each passing year, he now just needs to prove that he can consistently drive winning.