Brandon Schneider has coached the Kansas Jayhawks women’s basketball program for a decade, but he’s now one year removed from the end of a three-year string of 20-win seasons, with two NCAA Tournament appearances and a WNIT championship.
Coming off a 16-14 season, the Jayhawks have their eye on getting back closer to the top of the Big 12 Conference and getting back to the NCAA Tournament. Do they have the talent to make it happen?
Here is a preview of the Kansas Jayhawks.
Kansas Jayhawks
2024-25: 16-14, 6-12, 11th place in Big 12. Lost in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. Did not participate in any postseason play.
Head coach: Brandon Schneider is entering his 11th season at the helm of the program. He is 143-163 at KU, with two NCAA Tournament appearances and a WNIT title in 2023. He was previously at Stephen F. Austin and Emporia State and has a career head-coaching record of 545-301.
Big 12 history: Kansas is an original member of the Big 12 Conference and formerly a member of the Big 8 Conference, which merged with members of the Southwest Conference. KU last won a regular-season conference title in 1997.
Kansas Schedule: Click here for a complete 2025-26 Big 12 schedule.
Kansas 2025-26 Roster Review
Gone: G Wyvette Mayberry (5.2 ppg), F Freddie Wallace, C Danai Papadopoulou (1.4 ppg), G Zoe Canfield (1.7 ppg), G Carla Osma (2.2 ppg), G/F McKenzie Smith, G Jordan Webster.
Returning: G Laia Conesa (7.4 ppg), G S’Mya Nichols (18.6 ppg), G Elle Evans (14.4 ppg), G Sania Copeland (5.3 ppg), G Brittany Harshaw (5.8 ppg), F Regan Williams (9.0 ppg), C Nadira Eltayeb (2.7 ppg).
Incoming transfers: F Lilly Meister (6.7 ppg at Indiana)
Incoming freshmen: F Jaliya Davis (five-star, No. 19 in country per ESPNW), G Keeley Parks (five-star, No. 31 in country per ESPNW), G Libby Fandel (four-star, No. 43 in country per ESPNW), F Tatyonna Brown (four-star).
Projected Starting Lineup
G S’Mya Nichols: Last year’s leading scorer is a potential Big 12 player of the year candidate.
G Elle Evans: Was the second-leading scorer on the team last year and should be a threat from distance.
G Keeley Parks: One must assume that Schneider is going to be high on his freshmen playing early.
F Jaliya Davis: She wasn’t just at media days for show. She’s going to play.
F Regan Williams: Along with averaging nearly 10 points per game last season she grabbed nearly five rebounds.
Starting Lineup Crashers
G Libby Fandel: Will probably fight with Parks for playing time early.
C Nadira Eltayeb: More playing time should give her room to improve and produce more than a season ago.
Lineup Competition
The headlines are going to be about Schneider’s incredible freshman class, which includes three of the top 50 recruits in the country, along with the four-star player. But that serves as a complement to the fact that he returns his Top 2 scorers from a season ago in Nichols and Evans. Add Williams, who has the potential to be a more accomplished rebounder this season, and Schneider already has a solid mix of veteran presence and freshman star power in the starting lineup. The question will be how much of the team’s depth has improved to fill in the gaps? Schneider would like to play eight or nine deep, and he needs a couple of last year’s rotation players to emerge as more capable players.
Early Prediction
Kansas will be one of the most intriguing teams in the conference. With their Top 2 scorers returning, a quality inside presence and a bumper crop of freshmen, the Jayhawks could be one of the most exciting teams to watch and one that could give the top four or five teams in the league real trouble come conference play. If the freshman acclimate quickly and Schneider can integrate them in with the holdovers, Kansas could be a team that could crash the top half of the standings by March.
