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EVERYTHING IN THIS NEWSLETTER IS BASED UPON WHAT I AM HEARING FROM PEOPLE I TRUST. PLEASE DO NOT MISTAKE THIS FOR FACT OR FOR ACTUAL JOURNALISM, WHICH HAS VERIFICATION STANDARDS THAT I HAVE NOT ADHERED TO. I DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT.

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• Hearings on a massive football recruiting weekend.

• There is a WILD number of football recruits visiting Lawrence on Saturday. See the top prospects visiting the Jayhawks.

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Sharp-shooting guard announcing tomorrow

I'm Hearing: Kansas has emerged as the favorite for 2026 4-star SG Luke Barnett. The No. 144 player (top 25 SG) from the greater Los Angeles area will announce his decision tomorrow at 1:15pm on YouTube.

This is the rundown:

The finalists

Barnett is choosing between Kansas, Miami, and UNLV.

• He visited UNLV on September 5

• Miami hosted him on October 9

• Kansas got the final visit on October 17. He was the only official visitor at Late Night in the Phog.

On Barnett’s game

Barnett is listed* as a 6'4", 180-pound SG from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California—ranked No. 144 nationally in the 2026 class by 247Sports.

* I’m a bit skeptical of the listed height, but KU has seen him in person, so it’s no huge deal.

Elite shooter with range:

• His shooting skill is clear when you watch his film.

• Set the Mater Dei scoring record with a 55-point performance (hit 12 threes) against Hoover in December

• Averaged 21.0 ppg as a junior, along with 3.7 rpg, 1.9 apg, and 1.4 spg (per MaxPreps)

• Shot over 36%+ from three on 6.7 attempts per game in Nike EYBL Circuit (per On3's Jamie Shaw).

KU’s loaded recruiting class

KU’s 2026 class is already loaded, so the staff can be picky with who they can take from here. Barnett would possibly join the current No. 2 overall class:

• 5-star Tay Kinney

• 4-star C Davion Adkins

• 4-star SG Trent Perry

• 5-star SF Javon Bardwell (reclass candidate for 2026)

In general, the Jayhawks are filling their roster with freshmen they want in Lawrence so they don’t have to dig deep into the portal. It allows the staff can focus on the big hitters.

It’s worth noting the Jayhawks continuing to target players from the Los Angeles area where new assistants Jacque Vaughn and Tony Bland have deep ties.

🔮 PREDICTION: He's a Jayhawk

Again, you can watch the announcement at 1:15pm CT right here.

Help Spread the Word:

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🏀 Watch Bill Self’s Big 12 Media Day press conference from Wednesday. And check out this pic of Self speaking to the KU football team from this week.

🏈 The Booth is officially sold out for KU-KState.

🏀 Check out highlights from 2027 hoops commit Javon Bardwell in his season opening double double for OTE.

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