Examining what the addition of Trey Kaufman-Renn means for Kansas

Three days after fans of Kansas basketball got their first look at Bill Self’s 2026-27 Jayhawks, the roster changed yet again when it was announced on Monday that KU was adding another player. 

Not just any player, mind you. An experienced and talented and potentially season-changing type player in former Purdue big man Trey Kaufman-Renn. 

The mutual interest between TKR, as he’s known to many college basketball fans, and Kansas first surfaced a few weeks ago. But when KU welcomed back former starters Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. for their fifth years of eligibility, when their legal cases cleared the deck for them to return, it was believed that KU was out of room. 

However, an injury to Grant Mordini, which has been reported as potentially season-ending, opened another avenue for KU to add a body and Kaufman-Renn came running through it. 

Sure, the season starts in two weeks. And, yeah, KU has had an entire offseason and preseason to build chemistry and camaraderie with the pieces it had. But when you get the chance to add a player of Kaufman-Renn’s caliber, you pretty much have to do it. 

That’s true for just about any program in the country, but it’s particularly true for this Kansas team, which is loaded with talent and deep with guards and wings but potentially a little thin in the front court. 

Adding Kaufman-Renn, who may very well start from Day 1, not only adds depth and talent to the Jayhawks’ front court, but it also offers insurance against a number of potential issues the KU bigs might face this season, be it Christian Reeves continuing to struggle with injuries, Paul Mbiya not making the jump many want to see him make or Keanu Dawes not being quite big and physical enough to be a true big man. 

By adding one player, whether he starts or not, the Jayhawks immediately address all of those potential concerns. And if none of those prove to be a problem, then the depth on this team, which was already pretty insane, merely becomes even more of a strength. 

It’s worth noting here that neither Council nor White nor Kaufman-Renn is completely out of the woods in terms of their NCAA eligibility. Any or all of them still could be ruled ineligible at some point, but that’s all the more reason to add each of them to the roster. 

Depth. Options. Answers. 

Assuming TKR is the same player who averaged 17.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and shot nearly 60% from the floor during his junior and senior seasons at Purdue, it’s easy to envision him eventually starting for Kansas, likely sooner rather than later. 

KU coach Bill Self said in the news release announcing Kaufman-Renn’s addition that “because of his basketball IQ, we think his transition will be quicker than most put in the same circumstance.” 

So, let’s plug him in at the 5 — during the 2024-25 season, when he led the nation in field goals made, he did play as a slightly undersized 5 man, a la KJ Adams at Kansas in 2022-23 — and examine what his addition does to the rest of the roster and rotation. 

I still think Council and Taylen Kinney are your starting guards. Leroy Blyden Jr. may be in the mix there, too, but likely only if KU plays 3 smaller players. The Toledo transfer’s offense and ball-handling could be massive to have coming off the bench. 

Then you’ve got White, who is a versatile, aggressive and physical 3 and also can shoot the heck out of the ball. So that addresses those three spots. 

Since we know star freshman Tyran Stokes can play anywhere on the floor, let’s plug him into the 4 in this new-look lineup, where the 6-8, 240-pound wing can bully smaller players who guard him while still serving KU as a matchup nightmare for opponents given that he’s a good ball-handler, passer and outside shooter, as well.

It looks, on paper, like this… 

PG - Melvin Council Jr. | 6-4, 180

2G - Taylen Kinney | 6-3, 190

3 - Tre White | 6-7, 215

4 - Tyran Stokes | 6-8, 240

5 - Taylor Kaufman-Renn | 6-9, 240

While that lineup is impressive in and of itself, and probably makes up a Top 10 team that lands slightly higher than the No. 17 spot in the AP poll that KU opened the season, the pieces behind it, which include a handful of guys who spent most of the summer in the conversation as starters, really show you how deep and talented this roster suddenly is. 

You’ve got Blyden who can back up Council or Kinney, and freshman sharp-shooter Luke Barnett, who still may be able to carve out 5-10 minutes a game as instant offense off the bench. 

Kohl Rosario and Dennis Parker Jr. battling to back up White (or whoever else plays the 3) might be one of the most interesting dynamics on the roster moving forward, because it’s hard to see them both playing significant minutes. 

Keanu Dawes is now able to play his natural 4 spot, and he’ll still bring the type of versatility and experience that can fit in with anyone around him. And Christian Reeves, who had a strong showing in last week’s exhibition win over Pitt State — most notably because he was healthy — is another awesome option at the 5 and can play next to TKR if KU needs to go big. 

That’s 10 players and a few on the outside looking in. 

Nothing is set in stone today, of course. And, in some ways, it might not be for a while. Self has said that he likes the depth of this year’s team — he even jokingly asked the Late Night crowd if anyone knew how to play 11 players — and, while the Jayhawks’ schedule is as tough as always, he may be more willing than most years to let guys compete for time and show they belong in the rotation. 

He also might not. As most KU fans know — and many like to point out — Self has talked about playing a deeper rotation plenty of times in the past and not always followed through. 

Still, thanks to the October additions of Kaufman-Renn, Council and White, this group is better positioned than most of Self’s KU teams, and certainly most in recent years, to utilize the depth that they’ve built.

Now, we just have to see if they’ll do it and if there are any surprises — good or bad — along the way. 

KU will conclude its exhibition slate this week by welcoming Louisville to town on Wednesday night (7 p.m. on ESPNU) and fellow Blue Blood Duke to Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday (Noon on ESPN). 

— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com