Kansas basketball has hit the headlines a lot as of late, earlier today Pete Thamel of ESPN reported how the Jayhawks are set to hire University of Washington assistant coach Tony Bland,
Minutes later, Eric Bossi of 247Sports reported that class of 2026 five-star Tajh Ariza had set an official visit with the Jayhawks.
Five-star Tajh Ariza has added another official visit. He'll see #Kansas in late September. https://t.co/BftuJdrnAF pic.twitter.com/72EbdwuJ35
— Eric Bossi (@ebosshoops) August 19, 2025
Tajh's father Trevor played in the NBA for 18 seasons and totaled over 1,000 games as an NBA player, where Trevor marked around 10 points per game and a stubborn 42.2% from the field and 35.1% from beyond the arc.
Ariza [Tajh] tands at 6-foot-9 and weighs in at about 195-pounds according to 247Sports. Ariza currently plays for St. John Bosco out of Bellflower, Calif.
247Sports posts Ariza as the ninth-ranked prospect in the nation and is touted as the fourth-best small forward in the class and the fifth overall prospect from the state of California.
Director of scouting at 247Sports at Adam Finkelstein evaluated Ariza in July. Here is an excpert from that analysis.
"He has tremendous positional size and length. He's also a fluid mover who runs the floor beautifully, covers the court, is a high-rising vertical athlete, and even has naturally soft hands and quick reactions. Ariza needs to keep getting stronger and fill out his frame, but can already fit into a high-level game."
"Defensively, those measurables and physical traits give him glaring upside and potential versatility. Offensively, he can be an explosive transition athlete, has a fluid release on his jumper out to the three-point line, and shows some flashes as a cutter, with his footwork, left-hand, and in the mid-post. However, he isn't yet a natural creator or handler and isn't always a high-volume scorer either."
On3 hosts a prediction percentage where they look to forecast each school's chances of landing certain talents. USC is given the highest chance at 34.7%, followed by Oregon at 22.9% chance, before Kansas is filed in at third with 19.7%.
The class of 2026 is still filled with most recruits still narrowing down their final schools so for Ariza to have a visit to Kansas be filed towards the end of September is no worry.
How does Kansas attract Ariza?
With the recent reports of adding Bland, combined with the hire of Jacque Vaughn, the Kansas staff has a number of seasoned coaches and a stacked out of conference schedule next season which sees the Jayhawks reel in three massive early-season matchups against the University of North Carolina, Duke in the State Farm Champions Classic before taking on UConn all before beginning Big 12 play which will see Kansas look to take back the conference crown from the Houston Cougars.
The immediate development of Kansas' stars could also play a key role. Look no further than Darryn Peterson, 247Sports' No.1 player in the class of 2025 who committed to the Jayhawks, along with three other four stars in Kohl Rosario, Samis Calderon and Paul Mbiya.
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