Pair of Top Kansas Basketball Recruiting Targets Sign Deal with Nike

KU’s chances of landing two of the most coveted 2026 high school basketball recruits in the country took a hit on Friday as it was announced by On3 that Tyran Stokes and Brandon McCoy have signed lucrative NIL shoe deals with Nike.

Stokes – a 6-foot-7 small forward out of Sherman Oaks, California – is the No. 1 ranked recruit in the country with offers from Kansas, Duke, Louisville, Oregon, USC, and others (according to 247Sports).

He’s taken official visits to all the aforementioned schools, with his visit to KU taking place in April earlier this year.

Playing for Notre Dame High School last year, Stokes averaged 21.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. He also won two gold medals as a member of the USA U16 team in 2023 and USA U17 team in 2024.

McCoy is a 6-foot-5 combo guard rated as the ninth best player overall in the 2026 class. He holds offers from more than a dozen schools, including KU, Duke, Kentucky, Tennessee and others.

As a junior last year at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California, McCoy averaged 16.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. He transferred to high school basketball powerhouse Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth, California, this offseason.

With both Stokes and McCoy signing multi-year deals with Nike, the chances that either player commits to head coach Bill Self and KU all but evaporates.

 The Jayhawks have been outfitted by Adidas since 2005, and KU Athletics renewed their contract with the apparel company in 2019 through the year 2031. The agreement is considered to be “one of the largest apparel partnerships in college athletics.”

Between KU’s deal with Adidas and Stokes’ and McCoy’s deals with Nike, it’s pretty much impossible that either player will take their talents to Lawrence. But while that reality is unfortunate, it doesn’t mean that KU’s 2026 class is shot.

The Jayhawks have landed a slew of recruits just this past week, including the class’s No. 1 point guard in five-star Taylen Kinney, a rising 4-star in small forward Trent Perry, and 2027 five-star small forward Javon Bardwell – who is rumored to potentially reclassify to the 2026 class.

2026 four-star power forward Davion Adkins is also scheduled to announce his college choice this weekend, and all signs are currently pointing KU’s way.

The class is currently ranked No. 11 in the country and that will only go up if Adkins commits.

All of this is to say that the class will survive without Stokes and McCoy as part of it. They’re great players, no doubt, but this 2026 recruiting class is still on par to be potentially one of the best that Self has ever had.