It’s that quiet time of the year well after spring sports come to a close, one that Kansas Athletics forestalled a bit this time around with a lengthy postseason run for its baseball team and a few strong track and field performances, but one that inevitably arrives every summer.
In reality, the start of the athletic calendar isn’t so far away. The KU soccer team begins quite early this year with a home exhibition on Aug. 8, just about three weeks in the future, and its opener on Aug. 12. By that time fall camp will be underway for KU football, with volleyball’s own exhibition match just around the corner.
Before all those seasons begin anew, it’s time to predict which new standouts might emerge over the course of the 2026-27 academic year. Below are a variety of Jayhawks across several sports who seem poised for big things during the year ahead. Some are already established contributors on the verge of becoming stars; others are just getting started. All could have great impacts next season.
Blakely Barber: It’s difficult to hone in on breakout players for KU softball next season because so much of the Jayhawks’ young talent already figured significantly into their tournament run during the 2026 season. KU’s best power hitter, catcher Ella Boyer, and highest-usage pitcher, Lila Partridge, were both freshmen. Their fellow Big 12 all-freshman selection, Barber, might be a candidate for bigger things herself in 2027. There are innings available for the taking as a result of a graduation (Lizzy Ludwig) and a transfer departure (Kennedy Diggs). If she can display more consistent control and stretch out longer in games — her four-hit complete-game shutout against Baylor was the only time she exceeded five innings — KU’s pitching staff could be a force to be reckoned with next season.
Bryce Barkdull: With everything that his older brother Ashton (an indoor pole vault national champion) and teammate Anthony Meacham (outdoor pole vault bronze medalist) achieved in 2026, it might have been easy to forget the high level of success Barkdull was experiencing at such an early stage of his career. Before he no-heighted at regionals — an anticlimactic conclusion to his sophomore year — he had finished in the top five of 10 of 11 events during the season, including a victory at the Beach Invitational when he cleared a personal-best 5.70 meters. With two years left to compete for Barkdull, he has plenty of time to work his way up toward challenging KU’s 5.81-meter records in in the indoor and outdoor pole vault.
Arthur Carlier: It wasn’t necessarily a surprise that Carlier performed well as a freshman out of Soissons, France, but he hit his stride in the spring of his first season, served as the Jayhawks’ top finisher at NCAA regionals (tied for 14th with a 5-under 208) and tied with Will Baker for the spring’s best per-round average among regular contributors (70.9 strokes). With senior leader Will King having exhausted his eligibility, those two will have a lot to say about how well KU performs as a team during the 2026-27. Carlier’s work this summer included a recent finish in a tie for third place at the European Amateur Championship, featuring some of the world’s best young golfers.
Jillian Gregorski: It’s not exactly intuitive to tag someone who scored 18 goals in her first two seasons and has already earned all-freshman and second-team all-conference honors in her career as a potential breakout player, but the fact is that KU will need Gregorski to reach yet another level as a junior to maintain its offensive production. Now that Lexi Watts and Saige Wimes are gone and the forward position features a bit of uncertainty — the Jayhawks will need to rely on former reserves as well as transfers Norah Jacomen (Butler) and Hannah Palmer (Kansas State) — Gregorski’s goal-scoring as an attacking midfielder will be of the utmost importance. Head coach Nate Lie said in the spring that she has grown as a leader and in her defending and “just looks hungry and looks like she wants to be an impact player … I think Jill is on the trajectory to hit another level.”
Paul Mbiya: A starting job is Mbiya’s for the taking as a sophomore, which is rarely the case for a player who doesn’t crack the rotation for most of his freshman year. But between his impressive showings off the bench in the NCAA Tournament, his eventual decision to re-sign at KU and Christian Reeves’ offseason surgery, it would be a surprise if the Congolese 7-footer doesn’t get the chance to start early in the season. Mbiya’s measurables — he has a 7-foot-8 wingspan — have always been readily apparent. But in spot action for much of his freshman year he looked ungainly and indecisive. Since he returned to Lawrence to join his teammates this summer, Mbiya has appeared slimmer and more agile. He doesn’t need to be anything close to a focal point for KU on offense given the players around him, but consistent rebounding and shot-altering around the rim could give the Jayhawks a big boost.
Brooklynn Renn: The KU women’s basketball team’s 2026 recruiting class didn’t receive nearly as much publicity as its predecessor, even as it was headlined by another McDonald’s All-American in Cydnee Bryant. But Bryant will also play for the KU volleyball team, and that could give opportunities to her classmate Renn in the frontcourt. Renn, 247Sports’ No. 74 prospect in the class, is a 6-foot-3 forward with shooting range from a basketball family who hasn’t even played the sport year-round yet because she participated in volleyball herself in high school, suggesting she has plenty of growth still to come. She will have the chance to claim minutes off the bench in relief of Jaliya Davis and Regan Williams early in the season and demonstrate her wide-ranging skill set in the post.
Riane Ritter: Ritter went from serving as an all-conference starter at St. Thomas as a freshman to becoming one of the nation’s most frequently deployed pitchers — he finished the year second in appearances at 38 — as a reliever at KU. With two members of the Jayhawks’ rotation recently selected in the MLB Draft, Ritter now has the chance to become a reliable weekend starter as a junior. He certainly has both the confident demeanor and the high-level stuff — he hit 98 on a pair of strikeouts at a key juncture in the Lawrence Regional title game — to succeed in such a role.
Taylor Stanley: This year’s KU volleyball team is exceptionally young, but it is also constructed more in the image of how head coach Matt Ulmer wants his rosters to look in terms of size and leaping ability, which Ulmer hopes will result in a more terminal offense this fall. Stanley, a 6-foot-3 freshman from Overland Park capable of touching 10-foot-6, could be at the forefront of those efforts. She enrolled early and was the Jayhawks’ only true opposite hitter in the gym in the spring. That gives her a head start over fellow freshman Tessa Dodd, who also played more on the left side as a club and high school player. Since KU didn’t bring in any veterans at the position, it’s safe to say the Jayhawks will be heavily reliant on Stanley, one of the top players nationally in the recruiting class.
Kansas pitcher Blakely Barber delivers a pitch during the game against Missouri on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, in Lawrence.
Sophomore midfielder Jillian Gregorski scores for Kansas with a penalty kick, tying the game at 1-1 against Kansas State on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in Lawrence.
Kansas center Paul Mbiya, left, looks to pass as California Baptist forward Thomas Ndong defends during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 20, 2026, in San Diego.
Brooklynn Renn of Silver Creek High School takes a shot during a game against Madison on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Charlestown, Ind.
Kansas pitcher Riane Ritter delivers during a game against Arkansas on Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Lawrence.
Taylor Stanley of the United States under-19 national team attacks against the Dominican Republic on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Surabaya, Indonesia.
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AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
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