Three-star prospect Draeden Punt announced on social media on Wednesday afternoon that he is committing to Kansas football.
Punt is a 6-foot-7, 220-pound defensive end from Orange City, Iowa, who attends MOC-Floyd Valley High School. His other FBS offer came from Kansas State, and he had additional interest from lower-division teams such as Lindenwood and South Dakota.
The Jayhawks’ recruitment of Punt occurred over a fairly short time frame, as he announced his scholarship offer from the team on Jan. 9 and reportedly visited KU for a Junior Day event later in the month.
Punt now becomes the second edge rusher to join KU in the 2026 recruiting class after Hunter Higgins of Maize South. Landen Anderson from Edmond, Oklahoma, is another end who projects as a defensive tackle at the collegiate level and also recently committed.
In Punt and Higgins, KU has two additional defensive ends to follow its 2025 signees, Adrian Holley and Garrett Martin. The Jayhawks also currently have on their roster Dakyus Brinkley and Kentucky transfer Caleb Redd from the 2024 class.
KU is now up to a dozen commitments in the class, months before they reached that number at the same point in the 2025 cycle, with a group featuring a majority of in-state players.
