Lance Leipold and Kansas have seemingly weathered the transfer portal storm, and a bit more sunshine has peeked through the clouds with news that the Jayhawks’ leading tackler is returning to Lawrence.
Kansas redshirt junior linebacker Trey Lathan withdrew his name from the portal, according to a video posted to his social media accounts on Thursday. It’s a considerable win for a defense that’s been heavily active in the portal this offseason, especially at linebacker with five new transfers.
In 2025, Lathan led all units with 86 total tackles (51 solo tackles, 10th in the Big 12), 7.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks five pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and one pick. The Florida native and West Virginia transfer was tabbed All-Big 12 Honorable Mention for the first time in his career.
It’s certainly a sigh of relief for D.K. McDonald, who now seemingly retains four of last season’s key names with Lathan, defensive ends Leroy Harris III, Dakyus Brinkley, defensive tackle Blake Herold, and cornerback Jalen Todd. That’s 1,643 career snaps of experience returning to Kansas in 2026.
When Lathan initially entered the portal in December, Leipold and linebackers coach Chris Simpson made it quite clear they weren’t messing around at linebacker.
The staff added five three-star linebackers with 363 career tackles between them: Jibreeel Al-Amin (Marshall), Daveon Crouch (Boston College), Jaron Willis (South Carolina), Quincy Davis (New Mexico State), and Landyn Watson (Kentucky).
Lathan is the first Kansas transfer to rescind their entry, and this late in the cycle, it’s understandable why. The reality is that most players will likely listen to their agent and test the waters – it’s just the nature of this industry now. A whole new facet to coaching is the understanding that every player may (and probably will) play the portal card.
More than 450 linebackers have entered the portal in this cycle, and there’s no doubt that Lathan gave a handful of programs a look. But Lathan, who didn’t commit or sign anywhere during his portal trip, obviously stayed in touch with Leipold enough to keep the door open for his return for his redshirt senior season.
Simply put, Lathan is betting on Kansas to give him the snaps he needs to turn pro. Even with five new faces in the room, Lathan is by far the most experienced among the lot and, should he stay healthy, could be due for a big sendoff.
