CBS Sports updates Top 25 and 1 following Hunter Dickinson commitment

Kansas reeled in the biggest fish in the transfer portal Thursday when former Michigan star Hunter Dickinson announced his commitment to the Jayhawks. Early impressions suggest Kansas could be the preseason No. 1 team, and CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish predicted as much in his updated Top 25 and 1.

Parrish put out his new-look rankings a few hours after Dickinson announced his plans to transfer to Kansas next season. His recruitment in the portal was an interesting one as Kentucky and Georgetown also entered the mix, among others, as they all tried to land the No. 1 player to enter the portal this cycle, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings.

By winning the Dickinson sweepstakes, Kansas moved up six spots to unseat UConn as CBS Sports’ top team in the Top 25 and 1 rankings.

1. Kansas
2. UConn
3. Purdue
4. Marquette
5. Duke
6. Florida Atlantic
7. Alabama
8. Michigan State
9. Houston
10. Arkansas
11. Creighton
12. Gonzaga
13. Miami
14. Kentucky
15. San Diego State
16. Tennessee
17. USC
18. Texas A&M
19. Texas
20. Baylor
21. Arizona
22. UCLA
23. Saint Mary’s
24. Auburn
25. Iowa State
26. Mississippi State

What Hunter Dickinson’s commitment to Kansas means for college basketball

In addition to the No. 8-ranked recruiting class in the country, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking, Kansas has added plenty of experience to its already talented roster one year after becoming a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Jayhawks have reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Dajuan Harris coming back. In addition to his success on defense, Harris also led Kansas in assists per game, meaning he’ll be able to help set up plays for Dickinson in Bill Self’s system.

Dickinson isn’t the only big move Kansas has made in the portal. The Jayhawks also landed a commitment from former Towson guard Nick Timberlake, who came in as the No. 9-ranked shooting guard to enter the transfer portal, per the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings. Timberlake was a big-time scorer at Towson last year, averaging 17.7 points to win CAA Sixth Man of the Year.

Now, Dickinson is also making his way to Lawrence after three strong seasons with Michigan. This past year, he averaged 18.5 points and a career-high 9.0 rebounds as he earned first team All-Big Ten recognition for the second straight season.

All told, in his three years with the Wolverines, Dickinson averaged 17.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game as a key piece of the Michigan attack. He also won Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2021 when he put up 14.1 points per game while pulling down 7.4 rebounds per contest, as well.