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 a week for the next six weeks, taking us up to the start of the school year and a whole bunch of KU sports and athletes to follow.

Next up - KU outside hitter Grace Nelson

If there’s anyone on this list who can match Council’s demonstrative facial expressions and celebrations, it’s Nelson.

If you’ve seen her play even a single set, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

She’s energetic, electric, bubbly and passionate about all things KU volleyball. And she has a unique way of making her teammates feel that and put it into their repertoire, too.

Some of that is just the way she’s wired. But some of it comes from that fact that she’s been a part of the KU volleyball family for a lot longer than her three years on the roster.

Grace Nelson receives a ball during KU's recent alumni scrimmage. [Kansas Athletics photo]

You might remember that her older sister, Annie Nelson, was a setter for the Jayhawks from 2016-19, and Grace made countless trips from Chicago to Lawrence to cheer her on.

It was those days and watching her sister be a star that created her love of the Jayhawks and Lawrence. So, now that she’s here walking it and breathing it herself, it’s like she’s living a dream. And the excitement has not worn off either. She’s just as energetic and hype about her time in a KU uniform at Horejsi today as she was as a true freshman. Perhaps more so because she’s got a much bigger role today than she did then.

She’s been a contributor since she arrived, though. And her work ethic, passion for the sport and positive attitude about everything that happens is something that serves her and the team well.

Grace is just as likely to be fired up about the successes of her teammates as her own. And that shows in all of her reactions and celebrations from start to finish, each night out.

Grace Nelson showcases two of her many reactions during recent KU volleyball action. [Kansas Athletics photos]

After making 16 appearances as a freshman in 2024 and starting 33 matches last season, after which she earned a 2nd team all-Big 12 nod, the KU veteran figures to battle a host of newcomers for a steady role on the outside of KU’s attack.

She’s athletic and relentless in her pursuit of points and that pace should align nicely with the way the Jayhawks plan to play a faster brand of volleyball this season than they did a year ago.

Regardless of what her exact role looks like, Grace Nelson has proven that she’s both willing and capable of doing anything the team needs. The stats show that, as well.

She had 17 and 18 kills in a pair of matches last season and finished 4th on the team with 285 kills for the year. But she also was second in digs with 302 on the season, which broke down to 2.65 digs per set.

Dig, kill, hustle play, monster moment by one of her teammates or another KU win – after all of them, Grace has shown consistently that she has great passion for playing her sport and even greater passion for being a Kansas Jayhawk.

It’s impossible to watch her play and not smile.