Who's Next?

I thought about making a list of breakout candidates for the 2026-27 school year, but that seemed a little too challenging, either because you don’t always see breakouts coming or because, sometimes, you tend to pick someone who already has broken out at least a little.

That shifted my mind to another category – fan favorites.

Identifying this group is equally challenging in a lot of ways, but it’s also a little easier to predict because so much of the fan favorite mentality is based on personality.

Whether that’s loud and boisterous or cool and confident — or a combination of those traits and a few others — fan favorites grab the hearts of fans every year because they’re easy to root for and they often have the personality or back story that makes pulling for them feel right.

Think Melvin Council Jr. last season for the KU men’s basketball team. He was a little bit of all of those things and he flat-out delivered, as well.

So, with that in mind, let’s take a quick look at a few of this year’s candidates to become the next Council.

In fairness, I’m not sure we’ll see many KU athletes like Council in the years to come. The dude they loved to bark for always felt like one of those one-of-a-kind guys and he’ll be remembered around KU for a long, long time.

So, too, though, might these athletes.

Here’s a quick rundown of the criteria we used to ID these guys as possible Council heirs.

They don’t have to be newcomers but lesser known at least
Having a huge personality, on or off the court/field is a major plus
These guys & girls give all they have to win, not necessarily for stats
And, while the spotlight is not what they seek, they are at least capable of carrying the load and taking a significant leadership role

We’ll do one at a time, taking us up to the start of the school year or slightly later, when a whole bunch of KU sports and athletes are on display.

Next up - KU women’s soccer midfielder Jillian Gregorski

Let me take you back a couple of years to Gregorski’s freshman season at KU, when she scored a hat trick in a game to put her name on the map for the first time.

I talked to her after that performance and she barely gave a flip.

Yeah, she was happy, but it wasn’t because of what she did. Instead, it was because of what her efforts did for the team.

That’s just my job, was her mindset then. And she has carried it with her for the next two seasons. Today, she has taken another step entirely, drawing serious praise from KU coach Nate Lie in the process.

Two days ahead of the Jayhawks’ season opener — 7 p.m. Wednesday night vs. Utah State at Rock Chalk Park — Lie said he was super-excited to see what his even more experienced and much more confident captain is capable of this season — all over the field.

“Jill's been on the receiving end of a lot of coaching that way,” Lie said Monday during the team’s preseason preview press conference. “And now, her level of assuredness and what she's supposed to do, and then her ability to execute, is very empowering for the whole team and the coaching staff. Jill looks like she knows what she's supposed to do a lot out there right now.”

And she cares about doing it — and doing it well for the betterment of everyone around her — even more.

KU junior Jillian Gregorski (34) battles an Iowa player for possession during the Kansas Jayhawks' 2-0 exhibition victory last weekend. [Kansas Athletics photo]

Maybe it was the way that she fit into the lineup as a freshman and found herself playing a key role right away. Maybe it’s her knack for finding the back of the net in the middle of chaos as well as anyone on this roster. Maybe it’s just her inner drive to be better than her opponents and take pride in showing it. Or maybe it’s a combination of all of those things mixed with something else entirely.

Either way, it has led to a fiercely competitive and driven emerging star, who, despite scoring 10 goals during the Jayhawks’ 16-win season a year ago, has people believing that she actually might be able to deliver a little more, which would be no small feat.

Part of that is the fact that fellow-all-Big 12 standout and leading goal scorer Lexi Watts graduated and the Jayhawks have to find a way to make up for her 11 goals from a season ago. Gregorski may be capable — and certainly is willing — to account for three, four or five of those simply by tapping into her want-to.

But the biggest part of it is how much she cares. It’s not a ridiculous claim to say that Gregorski would be completely fine not scoring a single goal all season if that meant she helped her teammates succeed and the Jayhawks won.

She’s reached that point in her career — junior year after contributing heavily for two seasons is a logical fit for that — and the longer she’s been a Jayhawk the more it has meant to her to represent the program and herself with class, style and greatness.

She’s an incredible talent. Cross her at your own risk. And don’t be surprised if, on the stat sheet or not, she catches your eye over and over and over this season when the Jayhawks are on the pitch.