LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas Jayhawks have received an at-large bid to the 2026 NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the East Region. The 68-team tournament bracket was announced Sunday evening.
Making its 53rd all-time appearance in the tournament, Kansas will face No. 13 seed Cal Baptist in the first round on Friday, March 20 in San Diego, California. Tip from Viejas Arena will be at 8:45 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on CBS. The first-round matchup will be the first-ever meeting between Kansas and CBU.
Kansas enters the Big Dance with a record of 23-10, and the Jayhawks tied for third place in the Big 12 Conference during the regular season with a 12-6 league mark. KU has appeared in each NCAA Tournament contested since 1990, with the 2026 event marking its 36th consecutive tournament appearance. Kansas has an all-time record of 113-50 in the tournament, with 15 Final Four appearances and four NCAA Tournament Titles, most recently in 2022.
The Jayhawks have four players scoring in double figures and they are led by a trio of All-Big 12 honorees. Flory Bidunga is the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and an All-Big 12 First Team selection, while Melvin Council Jr. is the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and earned all-league honorable mention. Freshman guard Darryn Peterson is an All-Big 12 Second Team selection, and KU's leading scorer at 19.8 points per game.
Head coach Bill Self is leading the Jayhawks to the NCAA Tournament for the 22nd time. Under his guidance, Kansas has a record of 43-19 in the tournament with National Championships in 2008 and 2022.
From Riverside, California, the Cal Baptist Lancers are making their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance as the champions of the Western Athletic Conference. CBU enters the tournament with a 25-8 record after defeating Utah Valley 63-61 in the WAC Championship game on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Kansas earns a No. 4 seed in the tournament for the seventh time and first since 2024, when the Jayhawks defeated No. 13 Samford, 93-89, in the first round before falling to No. 5 Gonzaga. Kansas is 9-6 all-time when competing in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed.
The 2026 NCAA Tournament tips off in Dayton, Ohio, with the First Four on Tuesday-Wednesday, March 17-18. The first weekend of competition will then include the first round on Thursday-Friday, March 19-20, followed by second round play on Saturday-Sunday, March 21-22.
Kansas Athletics