The Kansas men’s basketball team added some depth to its frontcourt on Thursday when it earned the commitment of Grant Mordini.
Mordini is a 6-foot-10 center who was previously at Lake Forest High School in Illinois but recently played a postgraduate year at Avon Old Farms, a boarding school in Connecticut. He announced his decision in a post on Instagram, in which he thanked his coaches from both schools, as well as the Chicago-based Fundamental U program.
“I also want to thank Coach (Bill) Self, Coach (Joe) Dooley and the entire Kansas coaching staff for giving me this incredible opportunity,” he wrote.
Mordini visited KU on Monday, three days before announcing his decision. He indicated in the Instagram post that he will be on scholarship. That’s not as notable as it might have been prior to the implementation of the House v. NCAA settlement, because beginning last year, teams received 15 roster spots among which any number of players can be on scholarship.
He did have an offer from Kansas City and its new head coach Mark Turgeon as well as one from Division II Franklin Pierce University.
Statistics from Mordini’s season at Avon Old Farms are scarce. He did earn an All-Founders League honorable mention. Nick Cozzolino wrote the following of Mordini in December for New England Recruiting Report: “The Illinois native runs the floor well, rebounds at a high level, and provides a physical presence as a rim protector. On offense, he stretches the floor with solid shooting form and a strong base. Mordini is helping anchor Avon on both ends as they look toward a strong season.”
Mordini becomes the 11th scholarship player on the Jayhawks’ roster for next season — they still have one remaining walk-on in Will Thengvall as well — and he will likely provide competition in practice for the likes of returning center Paul Mbiya and transfers Keanu Dawes, a forward from Utah, and Christian Reeves, a center from Charleston.
KU’s 2026 freshman class is now up to six players as Mordini follows Tyran Stokes in joining the previously signed Davion Adkins, Luke Barnett, Taylen Kinney and Trent Perry.
“I mean, Kansas is one of the top programs in college basketball, and it’s always been a dream of mine to play for a program like that,” Mordini told Shay Wildeboor of JayhawkSlant.com. “So, you know, obviously getting that call was a dream come true, and it was an amazing feeling.”
