LAWRENCE — Zeke Mayo and AJ Storr are now officially members of the Kansas basketball program, after their signings were announced by KU on Thursday.

Mayo, a senior guard, is transferring in from South Dakota State. Storr, a junior guard, is transferring from Wisconsin. Both are set to be key pieces for the Jayhawks’ next season, as coach Bill Self continues to reshape the roster into another Big 12 Conference and national contender.

How Kansas basketball’s roster looks next season after transfer portal, recruiting

AJ Storr, a highly sought-after college transfer, commits to join Kansas basketball

“Zeke has had a terrific career at SDSU and led them to the NCAA Tournament two of his three seasons there,” Self said in a Kansas release. “Most importantly, Zeke is a proven shooter. He made 92 threes last year and will be able to help us in that area. Being a local kid, it will mean so much to him and his family to put the Kansas jersey on and run out of the tunnel.”

Self added in the release: “AJ is a great athlete, and one of the top wing players in the portal. He pulled his name out of the (NBA) draft and we are happy he chose to come to Kansas. We feel AJ will fit in well with our style of play. He comes from a winning program at Wisconsin. He actually visited Kansas out of high school when he was at IMG Academy.”

As Self stated, Mayo comes to Kansas as a Lawerence native. Storr started his college career at St. John’s and is from Rockford, Illinois. Both will have the opportunity to earn roles on a Jayhawks squad that has enjoyed Big 12 and national success in recent seasons, but went without any new championships during the 2023-24 campaign — which ended with a loss in the round of 32 of the NCAA tournament. Both have showcased an ability to hit shots from the perimeter.

Mayo, listed at 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds, was described as a combo-guard and is multi-time, All-Summit League honoree. He earned recognition as the Summit League’s player of the year this past season. While at South Dakota State, he helped the program to two Summit League regular season championships and a pair of Summit League conference tournament championships.

Storr, listed at 6-foot-7 and 205 pounds, earned All-Big Ten Conference recognition at Wisconsin this past season and All-Big East Conference recognition at St. John’s the season before that. At Wisconsin, he helped the team to the NCAA tournament. Before this past season he also played for the Bahamian national team, when Kansas played it during a trip to Puerto Rico.

“With great excitement and humility, I announce my commitment to the University of Kansas Basketball program,” Storr said Thursday in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “Joining the Jayhawks is a dream realized, and I’m incredibly honored for this opportunity to be a part of the tradition and culture of Kansas Basketball.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) – A Kansas City middle school was placed on “Hold Status” after an adult threatened a student on school property during dismissal.

The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department says that on Thursday, April 18, emergency crews were called to Gloria Willis Middle School, 1735 N. 64 Terrace, with reports of an individual who had threatened a student during school dismissal.

When police arrived, they said they attempted to intercept the suspect, however, they took off running in the woods next to the school. Officers and K-9s scoured the area for the suspect.

During the incident, first responders noted that the school had been placed on “Hold Status.” Most students were able to leave school with their designated rides, however, a few students remained on school property.

As of 5:45 p.m., no arrests have been made and no further information, including suspect identification, has been made available. The school’s Hold Status has also been released and no injuries were reported as a result.

Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.

Wisconsin star sophomore AJ Storr has committed to Kansas in the transfer portal, according to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Storr picked Kansas over Illinois, Texas and Arkansas.

The Badgers wing, who was considered one of the top players in the transfer portal, averaged 16.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game last season on 43.4% shooting from the floor, which included a 32.0% mark from three.

Kansas will be Storr’s third team in his three seasons of college basketball. Storr began his career at St. John’s, but departed for the transfer portal after Rick Pitino was hired as the new coach of the Red Storm.

Now, after a one-year stint in Madison, where he was the best player on a No. 5-seeded NCAA tournament team en route to a second-team All-Big Ten selection, will look to help revitalize a Kansas squad that went 23-11 and was eliminated in the round of 32 against Gonzaga last month.