Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks might lose one of their key bigs, Purdue transfer Trey Kaufman-Renn, as the NCAA appeals a preliminary injunction granted by Indiana Special Judge Justin Mills that gives the 2026 NBA draftee an extra year of eligibility.
Henry Greenstein at the Lawrence Journal-World first reported on the matter.
The Minnesota Timberwolves selected Kaufman-Renn at No. 59 overall in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft, but ultimately didn’t sign the four-year Boilermaker to a pro contract.
Self added Kaufmann-Renn to his roster despite the Big 12’s hardline stance on barring its member schools from fielding or rostering professional athletes anywhere in their programs. Asked about signing a former NBA Draft pick, Self kept his message simple:
“If we don’t play with them, we’ll play against them.”
Kaufman-Renn’s regular-season debut vs. Fordham included 9 points on 4-of-5 shooting, along with five boards through 23 minutes on the floor. He didn’t get the start, but it’s not hard to tell he’s certainly in high consideration for minutes as Self continues piecing together his roster; Starting center Christian Reeves finished with just 2 points, 2 blocks and 5 rebounds.
The Jayhawks are particularly deep in the frontcourt with Kaufman-Renn, Reeves, Utah transfer Keanu Dawes and second-year returner Paul Mbiya all making their case for floor time.
Kansas hosts Middle Tennessee on Friday at Allen Fieldhouse. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. CT.
