Top 5 reasons Bill Self's Kansas can return to top of Big 12 in 2025-26 season

Bill Self and Kansas had a brutal 2024-25 season that everyone involved would probably rather forget. A 21-13 season marked the most losses Self had taken in a season since 1994-95 at Oral Roberts. For a program as used to success as Kansas, another brutal season would be shocking. The good news is there's reason to expect a turn-around.

Self has reached the Elite Eight nine times at Kansas. Given the quality of recruiting and talent Kansas stockpiles, a down season might represent nothing more than an opportunity to reset personnel. Here's five reasons that Kansas will bounce back in 2025-26.

Top 5 reasons Kansas will bounce back

Impressive freshman Flory Bidunga (at left) decided to pull out of the portal and return to Kansas, which may be a massive development. (Photo Credit: IMAGN)

5. Many of the portal losses were less significant than they seem.

A year ago, Kansas dived into the portal hard, but ended up with a group of players who weren't particularly productive at KU. Rylan Griffen and AJ Storr had combined to average 28 points per game at their prior schools. The averaged 12.4 points per game combined at Kansas. Losing players who didn't fit well in the first place isn't as serious as it might seem.

4. Self's high standards.

Again, nine Elite Eights for Self in just over 20 years. There have been downward swings before, but it's not like Bill Self doesn't know how to remedy those hiccups. For instance, in 2014 and 2015, Kansas went out in the second round of the Tournament and had iffy regular seasons. Self and Kansas bounced back to make the next three Elite Eights. He can fix the issues at KU.

3. The return of Flory Bidunga

One portal loss that was likely to hurt Kansas was Flory Bidunga. The 6-foot-9 forward showed signs of promise in a freshman season in which he averaged 5.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. but Bidunga pulled his name back out of the portal and is staying at Kansas. While Kansas didn't return many players, Bidunga is both a promising player and a post-up guy. His return was a big deal.

2. Excellent portal class

This time around, Kansas seems to be working more selectively in the portal. Guard Jayden Dawson, Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. seem better suited for KU than the prior round of portal recruits. Kansas should be able to mix and match returnees, portal standouts and freshman better than a year ago.

1. Darryn Peterson

In fact, the biggest key for Kansas might be an old-fashioned five-star recruit. Peterson is ranked as the No. 1 player in the recruiting class by 247sports. The California guard can take Self back to his roots coaching top talent. He's succeeded at Kansas before with top talent and grabbing Peterson was massive for the Jayhawks.

What do you think about Kansas's situation in 2025-26? Share your take on the Jayhawks below in our comments section!

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Edited by Joe Cox