Multi-year players are increasingly elusive in modern college basketball, and guard Elmarko Jackson stayed at Kansas over the course of two separate offseasons.
But he will head elsewhere for his final two years of eligibility, according to multiple reports on Monday afternoon. Jackson is set to enter the transfer portal, which opens on Tuesday.
“Yes, it’s true,” Jackson told Shay Wildeboor of JayhawkSlant.com. “I learned a lot, experienced a lot. The KU coaches have been my guys the last three years. I learned a lot with them and am grateful for the opportunity. I had a fun year.”
Jackson played in all 34 games with one start for the Jayhawks during the 2025-26 campaign as one of their primary reserves in the backcourt. He established himself as perhaps KU’s best perimeter defender while averaging 4.8 points per game, but dealt with inconsistency, especially on the offensive end. He also saw his season come to a grim conclusion when he was guarding St. John’s guard Dylan Darling on the play that resulted in the buzzer-beater that eliminated the Jayhawks from the NCAA Tournament.
A native of Marlton, New Jersey, who grew up playing mostly lacrosse, Jackson didn’t take long to develop into a nationally prominent basketball prospect. He was a McDonald’s All-American in the class of 2023 and headlined the Jayhawks’ recruiting class that year.
Jackson was thrust into extensive action as a true freshman on a roster that did not have many other backcourt options. He started 17 games in 2023-24, including the season’s first 15, before moving to the bench as Johnny Furphy began to rise. On the year, Jackson averaged 4.3 points and 1.7 assists in 18.7 minutes per game.
He seemed poised to make a significant leap entering his second season in the program, but suffered a torn patellar tendon in a camp scrimmage over the summer and had to miss the entire 2024-25 campaign.
Jackson remained in Lawrence for his redshirt sophomore season and didn’t appear to feel any ill effects from his long-term injury, with the possible exception of one period midway through Big 12 play in which he hit his knee against BYU, was limited against Texas Tech two days later and then missed the Utah game the following weekend. He displayed flashes of greatly improved offense, including when he scored 17 points to help will KU to a comeback win against Tennessee in Las Vegas and a career-high 19 in a road win over Kansas State.
Now he’ll attempt to continue his development elsewhere as a redshirt junior.
