She has a 40-point game under her belt already this season, is, once again, among the nation’s leaders in some of her signature stats and looks even more comfortable than ever as the unquestioned leader of the Kansas women’s basketball team.
So, how has the path to the middle of her third season as a Jayhawk treated KU junior S’Mya Nichols so far?
In short, it’s been everything she hoped for and more.
“I really wouldn’t want it any other way,” Nichols told R1S1 Sports before her junior season began. “It’s on the rise.”
That’s not to say that Nichols has achieved everything she envisioned when she became the biggest KU women’s hoops commitment in years a few years back.
But, so far, she’s been pleased with the journey, she feels a ton of support and she thinks the best is still yet to come, both for her and for the program.
“I don’t really think about me,” she said. “I just think about the process that it took. And I think that’s a blessing. It’s so cool, just to see the evolution of how everything has happened in these first two years.”
It’s two-and-a-half years at this point, with the KU women already a game into Big 12 Conference play. And Nichols has been right at the center of all of it.
The 40-point game came during a tournament loss in Florida over Thanksgiving break in a game the Jayhawks lost to Georgia by six points. KU coach Brandon Schneider recently said if Nichols had even just a little help in that game, Kansas would have won and secured an important non-conference win for postseason seeding.
The fact that they’re talking like that and looking at those sorts of things is a testament to what Nichols has done during her brief time as a Jayhawk. She hasn’t done it alone, of course. But she’s been a huge part of it. And these past two seasons, she’s been the face of it all.
So much so that Schneider has said on a couple of occasions this season that people around the program — himself included — should make sure not to take Nichols for granted.
“I go back and look at her numbers from last year — they’re incredible,” Schneider said.
The three most important? She averaged 18.6 points per game, 4.7 assists per night and a whopping 8.7 free throw attempts per game, as well.
Those same numbers this year? She’s averaging 20 points and 4.9 assists per game while getting to the line 8.9 times per game.
Images of S'Mya Nichols during non-con play with the Jayhawks. [Kansas Athletics photos]
“We, but more specifically her, have been able to establish her as one of the top players in the country,” Schneider said. “And she’s way more concerned about, Can we establish Kansas women’s basketball as one of the top teams in the country.”
He continued: “We knew what she could bring to a team. But for us to take the next step, let’s be quite honest, she needs more help. From a depth standpoint. From a usage rate. And all of those things are hopefully going to play a factor in her continuing to elevate not just her play but the program.”
Nichols loves that. And she lists her favorite accomplishment of her career thus far as the recruiting class that the Jayhawks put together during the offseason between her sophomore and junior seasons.
It featured three players who were the player of the year in their states as high school seniors, including one, in Jaliya Davis, who is, in many ways following in Nichols’ footsteps as a highly-rated prospect from the Kansas City area.
The addition of Davis, Keeley Parks, Libby Fandel and others addressed the emphasis of adding both depth and talent around Nichols. And now they’re hoping to see it all come together for a memorable run through the rest of the Big 12 slate.
Nichols and the Jayhawks opened the 2025-26 conference slate with a three-point loss at No. 10 Iowa State before Christmas. That game showed both what the Jayhawks are capable of and what they still need to do.
So, now, that’s the focus for Nichols and her team in the weeks, months and years to come.
“It’s not something that is too heavy on my mind,” she said of achieving everything she hopes to achieve as a college athlete. “Maybe because I have time. But I feel like I’m doing everything that I want to do.”
Added Schneider: “You know what she wants to know? What do I have to do to get better? Where can I improve? What do I have to do to play at the next level? She’s a kid that’s just constantly thinking about growth and improvement.”
When asked if she had heard Schneider’s comment about not taking her for granted, Nichols laughed and said no. As for her reaction to being told he said that?
“I feel like it's a blessing to have a head coach (who’s) just that invested and that supportive of you, as well,” she said. “I mean, that's cool. I actually don't think he would ever take me for granted. I mean, even my personality, the type of teammate that I am. Even those things.”
“I’m very comfortable within myself,” she continued. “I always tell people that. That's literally my phrase. That's what I tell everybody when they ask about me, I'm like, I am very comfortable and content with the person that I am.”
She wants to win, of course. And she’s done that at KU. Like anyone in her shoes, though, she now wants more. And, more importantly, she believes more is possible.
“There’s no ceiling,” she said when asked about how good this 2025-26 team can be.
Might as well say the same thing about her as an individual player, as well.
After 10 days between games, the Jayhawks (10-3 overall, 0-1 Big 12) will jump back into the schedule with a home game against West Virginia (11-2, 1-0) on New Year’s Day.
Thursday’s tipoff is slated for noon central on ESPN+ from Allen Fieldhouse.
— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com
