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Tyran Stokes, the No. 1-ranked player in the Class of 2026, has yet to make a decision on a school. As of November 1st, 2025, the Nike signature athlete is down to three schools: Kansas, Kentucky, and Oregon.
With the high school season wrapping up soon, Stokes’ commitment date could be in the near future.
One team remains a heavy favorite for the Louisville native, and that is Bill Self’s Jayhawks. Stokes recently visited Allen Fieldhouse to attend the Jayhawks’ heavyweight battle against BYU, where he was seen in the stands with Tay Kinney and Javon Bardell, two players who are signees under Self.
While Kentucky continues to make a push for the small forward who attends Rainier Beach High School, the Jayhawks are still the heavy favorite for the top-ranked prospect, according to On3’s Joe Tipton.
There are still ongoing NIL discussions between both parties, but Stokes has been telling people around him that the Jayhawks are still in the lead, according to Tipton.
While it seems likely that Kentucky won’t get Stokes, fans may feel a little better about the miss when they see how much it could take to sign Stokes.
Tipton reports that the estimated NIL value for Stokes is somewhere around $4-6 million. That’s certainly not cheap, and that kind of money could easily be spread out to sign multiple veteran starters next season.
Regardless of how much it takes to sign Stokes, it’s still going to sting at least a little for BBN to watch a Kentucky native go to another blue blood. But seeing how much it costs to sign him, the Wildcats may be better off using that type of money to sign multiple veterans to pair around hopeful returnees Malachi Moreno, Kam Williams, and Collin Chandler.
The Wildcats are still awaiting their first recruit in the 2026 class. It’ll certainly be interesting to see what Mark Pope and staff do as they are a bit behind in that category.