It’s not lost on KU senior Dillon Wilhite that upcoming rule changes in college basketball could make him a small part of Kansas history.
With college basketball roster limits jumping from 13 scholarship players to 15 players total in the seasons to come, Wilhite, who joined the KU program as a walk-on before the 2021-22 season, knows that he could be the last true KU walk-on in the storied history of the program.
“New faces are always coming through now, but walk-ons are always (there)." — KU senior Dillon Wilhite
When most people think of walk-ons at KU, more than a dozen names from the past come flooding back to their minds.
T.J. Whatley, Terry Nooner, C.B. McGrath and Brett Ballard from the Roy Williams era.
Jeff Hawkins, Chrstian Moody, Conner and Chris Teahan, Tyler Self and Michael Jankovich in the Bill Self era.
You’ve got the local Lawrence products like Stephen Vinson, Brennan Bechard, Evan Manning and Garrett Luinstra; a handful of guys with notable last names like Chase Buford, Niko Roberts, Josh Pollard and Michael Jankovich; hardcore Kansans like Clay Young, Tucker Vang, Brad Witherspoon, Matt Kleinmann, Chris Zerbe, Todd Kappelmann, Lewis Harrison and Chris Martin.
Heck, Moody, an eventual KU starter, was once was called by late TV analyst the best walk-on in the history of college basketball.
So, yeah, at a place that boasts legendary names like Naismith, Allen, Chamberlain, Manning, Pierce and countless others, there’s also a pretty meaningful list of walk-ons who, in their own way, played just as big of a role in creating the KU culture and traditions.
“I’ve definitely thought about it,” Wilhite said this week, when asked if the significance of him potentially being the last true walk-on had been on his mind. “There’s good and bad, but I think it’s kind of a sad thing. It’ll be difficult on doing scout and stuff. There’s a lot of preparation that we do that we’ll be missing out on next year.”
With the recent rise in name, image and likeness opportunities and the transfer portal, Wilhite said he always viewed being a walk-on at a place like Kansas as him, and others, filling an important role.
“New faces are always coming through now, but walk-ons are always (there),” he said, noting that, during his time as a Jayhawk guys like Chris Teahan and Michael Jankovich always played a key part in “holding down the team.” “We know how it goes, how things operate around here.”
KU has plenty of walk-ons this season. Manager-turned-walk-on Patrick Cassidy, who joined the team before the 2023-24 season after serving as a manager the two seasons before that, also will be playing his last game inside Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday.
Wilder Evers has been a part of the program for the past three seasons, Justin Cross for the past two and Wichita native Will Thengvall joined the program as a walk-on before the start of the current season.
It remains to be seen how many of them — if any — are back with the Jayhawks for the 2025-26 season, and KU coach Bill Self said he was disappointed in what the rule change will do to what has always been a staple of any college basketball roster.
“(It’s) a terrible rule,” Self said. “Because it doesn’t grandfather in kids that have put two or three years of their heart and soul into a place.”
Self acknowledged that he’ll have to change his approach to filling the roster. But that, he said, doesn’t necessarily mean no walk-ons.
“I still think you can have walk-ons,” he said. “I don’t think you need 15 scholarship guys. But, the reality of it is, are you gonna pass out walk-on positions before you know what potentially is available out there?”
The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Wilhite took a chance when deciding to join the Jayhawks as a walk-on out of California back in 2021.
He had lower-level Division I scholarship offers and he was a good athlete, having starred on the basketball court and also excelled in golf and volleyball.
But KU had always been in his blood. His grandmother, Joanie Stephens, was (and still is) the program’s top administrative assistant — Self often refers to her as the first lady of Kansas basketball — and his family all grew up KU fans.
So, before contacting Self, Wilhite checked with grandma, who told him he should go for it. A few conversations later, he was on the team, and the next four years have been him living out a childhood dream.
“Just the opportunity to come here and be a part of this historical program has been the greatest experience of my life,” he said this week. “I’m definitely going to miss being around here, the team aspect, the basketball family, just being a basketball player in Lawrence. I look forward coming back for national championship reunions, hopefully, to bring my family, kids back here someday.”
For now, it’s one more home game, one mind-blowing senior speech and then locking in on doing whatever he can to help this Kansas team finish the season out the way people expect throughout the postseason.
Saturday’s game vs. Arizona is slated for a 3:30 p.m. tipoff at Allen Fieldhouse, with senior speeches to follow.
Wilhite will be one of seven seniors honored — joining Cassidy, KJ Adams, Dajuan Harris Jr., Hunter Dickinson, Zeke Mayo and Shak Moore — and one of five Jayhawks to give a senior speech.
— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com
