After being bounced out of the NCAA Tournament in the 2nd Round for the second consecutive year, the Kansas Jayhawks basketball program could use a big-time win this spring. But because it will be over six months until their next game is played, that means the Jayhawks need a win in the recruiting game, which of course will set them up for success during the 2024-25 season… a season that Kansas head coach Bill Self admitted he’d already been looking ahead to as the Jayhawks sputtered to close the 2023-24 season. Thanks to five-star recruit Liam McNeeley, Bill Self’s excitement for the 2024-25 season may be warranted.
Liam McNeeley is the 15th-ranked player in the 2024 recruiting class, according to 247 Sports. The Texas native, who now plays his high school ball at Montverde Academy in Florida, is a 6’7″ wing who was called “one of the most consistently productive and reliable basketball players in the class,” by Adam Finkelstein of 247 Sports. McNeeley is a dead-eye shooter who has a great feel for the game, and as of a month ago, after decommitting from Indiana University, is the top-ranked player in the 2024 class who is currently uncommitted. Signing Liam McNeeley to a National Letter of Intent would be a big win for Bill Self, but the Jayhawks have some competition for the highly coveted recruit.
Along with the Jayhawks, McNeeley is considering the two-time defending National Champions Connecticut Huskies, the Arizona Wildcats, the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Michigan Wolverines and new head coach Dusty May, and the Arkansas Razorbacks and new head coach John Calipari. That’s a six-pack of stiff competition for the Jayhawks, but Bill Self can at least hang on to the hope that McNeeley provided before originally committing to the Indiana Hoosiers. It was the Hoosiers and the Jayhawks who were McNeeley’s final two choices when he initially committed to Indiana back in October.
Bill Self has already done a terrific job of making sure the Jayhawks were reloaded ahead of the 2024-25 season. As things stand right now, Kansas has the 8th-best recruiting class in the country according to 247 Sports, with 5-star center Flory Bidunga, the 11th-ranked prospect in the class, leading the way. Additionally, the Jayhawks are adding Zeke Mayo from South Dakota State and Riley Kugel from Florida in the transfer portal.
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