Jayhawks return to NCAA Tournament, Face Wolverines in Los Angeles

At this point last season, the Kansas Jayhawks were anxiously awaiting to hear their name called, only to be disappointed when the Selection Show passed without a berth. This year, they didn't have to wait until the end, as they came away with the 8th seed in the first Portland Regional. 

The Jayhawks talked all season about how valuable the experience was last season in the WNIT. But they also noted that anything less than a berth in the NCAA Tournament was unacceptable. And the combination of tough scheduling in the non-conference slate and a hot streak in the second half of conference play was more than enough to earn them a spot in the field this year.

The 8th-seeded Jayhawks will face off against the 9th-seeded Michigan Wolverines in the first round of the tournament on either Friday or Saturday this week. The winner of that game will likely face the 1st-seeded USC Trojans, who earned the third overall seed in the bracket. The other 1 seeds are South Carolina, Iowa and Texas. 

The Big 12 had 7 teams qualify for the tournament this season, as Kansas and Texas were joined by 4th-seeded Kansas State, 5th-seeded Oklahoma and Baylor, 7th-seeded Iowa State and 8th-seeded West Virginia.

The Jayhawks have now qualified for the postseason in each of the last three seasons. They won their first game as the 8th seed in the 2022 tournament against Georgia Tech before falling late to overall #2 Stanford in the second round. Last season, they won six straight games in Allen Fieldhouse to claim the WNIT championship.

It will be the final postseason opportunity for super-seniors Taiyanna Jackson, Holly Kersgieter and Zakiyah Franklin, but the first opportunity for true-freshman S'mya Nichols to make her postseason mark for the Jayhawks.