The Kansas men’s basketball program struck again in the transfer portal on Monday morning, with Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony reporting that Toledo freshman Leroy Blyden Jr. had committed to KU.
Blyden, who hails from Detroit, was the MAC Freshman of the Year last season, averaging 16.4 points, 4.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 40.7% from 3-point range on 189 attempts.
It's those attempts that really jump out. This wasn't just a guy who knocked down 20 of 50 3-pointers and called himself a 3-point shooter. He's proven himself as a good high-volume shooter with solid range and the ability to create his own shot and knockdown jumpers off the catch.
He was regarded by some college basketball/recruiting analysts as a top 15-20 player in the portal, and the 6-foot-1, 175-pound lead guard’s fit at Kansas seems to be solid.
He should pair nicely with incoming freshman Taylen Kinney, who can play on and off the ball, and their ability as play-makers and finishers should put pressure on opposing defenses.
Neither one is what you would consider to be a physically imposing presence, so they’ll both have to do their best work in the weight room this summer to get stronger and ready for KU’s schedule and life in the Big 12 Conference.
But, for Blyden, the rest seems to be there. And he’s shown it over a 34-game slate at the college level while playing 33+ minutes per game. He started 32 of those games and was one of the top players in the MAC throughout the 2025-26 season.
He scored 17 or more points in 17 games last season, including a high of 36 points in a win over Western Michigan in late December.
He made three or more 3-pointers in 14 games and shot 40% or better from downtown in 19 of the 34 games in which he played.
We’ve seen KU land players from lower levels who shot lights out before coming to Kansas, and it’s been a mixed bag of results. Zeke Mayo’s shot absolutely translated and he turned in one of the best individual 3-point shooting seasons in program history. Nic Timberlake and Rylan Griffen on the other hand were not able to see the same success from behind the 3-point arc after coming to KU from Towson and Alabama.
Nothing that has happened in the past, however, is an indicator of what will happen in the future — good or bad.
Watching guys struggle with their shot after coming to KU might make you gun shy about adding them in the future. Especially when you’re talking about guys from the mid-major level.
But Blyden seems like a no-brainer addition. For one, he’ll have multiple years at KU if things work out. For two, he’s lightning quick and seems to have much more to his game than just 3-point shooting.
From watching some of his film, it’s pretty clear that Blyden’s all-around game is solid. He’s got good vision, good handles and great feel on the floor. And he’s definitely a quick-twitch athlete who is both fearless in attacking the paint and fantastic in the start-and-stop game, while transitioning from offense to defense and in stepping into good looks.
Again, his smaller frame will need work and he’ll have to learn to adjust to a more physical style of play, night in and night out. But KU certainly has had smaller guards who have survived just fine. Think Dajuan Harris Jr., Russell Robinson and even Melvin Council a year ago, though Council had a couple of inches on those other guys.
What each of those players had working in their favor was incredible quickness and unending competitiveness. They also were all hard-working, relentless defenders.
If Blyden can use the summer to get bigger and stronger while falling in love with defense at the same time, we might one day look back on this as one of the better portal pickups Kansas has had.
He certainly projects as a starter with a pretty high floor because of that 3-point shot and an even higher ceiling if he can manage the jump up in levels.
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