Big 12 Basketball: Houston, Kansas on top of way-too-early power rankings for 2026-27

Out of 16 teams in all of Big 12 Basketball, half of them (8) made the NCAA Tournament, including a big surprise in UCF. Arizona, the regular season and conference tournament champion, represented the conference in the Final Four.

The Big 12 hopes to get at least one team in Detroit for the 2027 Final Four, and on paper, there are a few programs that could do so. How does each team in the league stand out at this point in the offseason? Here’s a way-too-early look at the conference.

16. Kansas State Wildcats

2025-26 record: 12-20 (3-15)

Likely departures

PJ Haggerty (23.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, and 3.8 apg)
Nate Johnson (12.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, and 4.6 apg)
David Castillo (10.3 ppg and 1.8 apg)
Abdi Bashir (13.2 ppg and 2.3 apg)
Khamari McGriff (9.7 ppg and 4.4 rpg)
Taj Manning (4.2 ppg and 5.1 rpg)
Christian Jones (3.6 ppg and 1.8 rpg)
Dorin Buca (3.2 ppg and 3.3 rpg)
Elias Rapieque (3.7 ppg and 2.6 rpg)

Likely returnees

Andrej Kostic (5.2 ppg and 1.7 rpg)

Roster additions

Jaden Schutt (7.7 ppg and 1.6 rpg at Virginia Tech)
Montana Wheeler (8.5 ppg and 2.8 apg at Bradley)
Brandon Rechsteiner (12 ppg and 2.5 apg at Colorado State)
Isaiah Abraham (4.8 ppg and 2.9 rpg at Georgetown)
Timotej Malovec (4.2 ppg and 1.3 rpg at Miami)
Dezdrick Lindsay (5.3 ppg and 2.8 rpg at Oregon)
Brock Vice (2.0 ppg and 1.8 rpg at Murray State)
JT Rock (6.2 ppg and 3.5 rpg at New Mexico)
Pape N’Diaye (2.0 ppg and 2.3 rpg at Xavier)

Casey Alexander takes over from Belmont as the next head coach, with a completely new roster to work with. The issue is the lack of proven high-major talent, with a roster filled with former top-100 prospects that have yet to break out. That includes guys such as Abraham, Schutt, and Rock, all of whom will get larger roles on this team.

Alexander is a good coach but Big 12 Basketball is a different beast compared to the Missouri Valley. The main issue is the lack of high-end talent, with no one in this group likely to be an all-conference performer. Their only hope of being competitive is having lots of depth and being a surprisingly good defensive unit.

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