{"id":83706,"date":"2025-10-22T16:30:54","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T21:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/?p=83706"},"modified":"2025-10-22T16:30:54","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T21:30:54","slug":"kansas-womens-basketball-ready-to-debut-new-look-ahead-of-2025-2026-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/2025\/10\/22\/kansas-womens-basketball-ready-to-debut-new-look-ahead-of-2025-2026-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Kansas women\u2019s basketball ready to debut new look ahead of 2025-2026 season"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Eric Lucio<\/em><\/p>\n

Kansas women\u2019s basketball head coach <\/span>Brandon Schneider<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>junior star S\u2019Mya Nichols<\/span><\/a> raved about the Jayhawks\u2019 new roster for the upcoming season at Big 12 Women\u2019s Basketball Media Day in Kansas City, Missouri on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Following a disappointing <\/span>16-14 season<\/span><\/a> and missing the NCAA tournament, Schneider rebuilt the Jayhawks\u2019 roster to further support Nichols in hopes of bouncing back.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re extremely motivated, especially after last season,\u201d Nichols said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have too much depth, and we like to say that we peaked too early. Honestly, we\u2019re just really focused on being consistent.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Schneider emphasized the need for depth as well, focusing on recruiting local high school talent, notably landing <\/span>Kansas City native five-star Jaliya Davis<\/span><\/a> \u2013 the highest-rated Jayhawk recruit since the beginning of ESPNW\u2019s rankings in 2007.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Davis attended Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, where she tallied 25 points and seven and a half rebounds per game in her senior year of high school, naming her a McDonald\u2019s All-American and awarding her the 2024-2025 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year honors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a part of this program is definitely something that I\u2019ve been looking forward to since I was a little girl,\u201d Davis said. \u201cBeing a hometown kid, [Kansas] is like a second family to me, so I think it\u2019s a really cool opportunity.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chasing a childhood dream isn\u2019t enough to commit to a school; Davis also highlighted the importance of a strong schematic fit with Nichols in her recruitment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe speed of the game [drew me to Kansas]. I think I\u2019m a really good rimrunner, and I think S\u2019Mya plays super fast as a point guard, and her ability to look up in transition for the open player and make the right play \u2013 I think that was the right fit for me,\u201d Davis said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Jayhawks also added <\/span>five-star Keeley Parks<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>four-star Libby Fandel<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>unranked Tatyonna Brown<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Indiana transfer senior Lilly Meister<\/span><\/a>. Schneider detailed the differences that this new roster makes on the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll play faster [this season], you\u2019ll see a lot more versatility, and my hope is that S\u2019Mya\u2019s usage rate drops significantly,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cYou\u2019ll see her in a playmaking role that maybe you\u2019ve only seen glimpses of [in past seasons].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Along with Nichols\u2019 changed role, Schneider pushed the guard to step up as a role model to the newcomers on the team. Nichols spoke about her new type of leadership, trying to become more vocal and assertive, in addition to leading by example. Kansas\u2019 star guard revealed that she chose to live on campus this year in order to provide guidance and grow relationships with the freshmen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nichols added that the newcomers were the missing piece for the Jayhawks, stating that this unit\u2019s bond exceeds just basketball. Schneider pointed out that a mixture of Nichols\u2019 leadership and how quick the team bonded stood out most for him this offseason.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to its high school recruits, Kansas returned six players alongside Nichols. <\/span>Senior Elle Evans<\/span><\/a> added some fire power for Kansas\u2019 offense last season, averaging 14.4 points per game while shooting 42.1% from beyond the arc. Evans\u2019 ability to shoot poses a dangerous threat in the Jayhawks\u2019 revamped offense, and her and Schneider worked on her effectiveness for her final season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis offseason, one thing that I really worked on was getting my [shooting] release off quicker,\u201d Evans said. [I know other teams] want to take that away, and when people do take it away, [I want to have] that second or third option of different reads.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Evans also stepped up as a leader for the group, stressing that the Big 12\u2019s parity and success elevated her responsibility as an upperclassman.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter who you play [in the Big 12], you\u2019re gonna get a competitive basketball game,\u201d Evans said. \u201cSo, [when] talking to the newcomers, that\u2019s something they\u2019re gonna be ready for\u2026 you\u2019re gonna have to give 100% effort, and be ready for whatever each team is going to throw at you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In such a competitive conference on the court, rigorous and intense team building follows. Schneider attributed his continued recruiting success for the Jayhawks to the notoriety and importance of playing basketball at Kansas. He acknowledged the value of Bill Self and the men\u2019s program, calling its success motivating for the women to strive towards.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not a better place to play basketball than the University of Kansas. We obviously compete in the most iconic facility in the world in Allen Fieldhouse,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cWe\u2019re envious [of the men\u2019s team], and we\u2019d love to be a team that\u2019s nationally prominent consistently.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nichols, Davis, Evans and the Jayhawks get their first piece of action in a home exhibition game against the Fort Hays State Tigers on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 6:30 p.m., then opening its regular season hosting the University of Missouri-Kansas City on Nov. 5 at 6:30 p.m. as well. Both games can be streamed on ESPN+.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Eric Lucio Kansas women\u2019s basketball head coach Brandon Schneider and junior star S\u2019Mya Nichols raved about the Jayhawks\u2019 new roster for the upcoming season at Big 12 Women\u2019s Basketball Media Day in Kansas City, Missouri on Tuesday.\u00a0 Following a disappointing 16-14 season and missing the NCAA tournament, Schneider rebuilt the Jayhawks\u2019 roster to further support Nichols in hopes of bouncing back. \u201cWe\u2019re extremely motivated, especially after last season,\u201d Nichols said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have too much depth, and we like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":83707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,8721,3262,610],"tags":[127,256,62],"class_list":["post-83706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-on-kjhk","category-more-from-kjhk-sports","category-sports","category-sports-articles","tag-basketball","tag-sports-2","tag-womens-basketball"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/processed-4728CEF3-B152-44FA-AF7F-13F30C57D870.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83706"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83708,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83706\/revisions\/83708"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}