Braden Wilmes has watched the Kansas football team turn their program around and he has not been far from the program.

Wilmes lives in Lawrence and attends Free State High School, where he has witnessed Lance Leipold take the Jayhawks to back-to-back bowl games for just the second time in school history.

“Just the whole energy around the program has flipped since Coach Leipold and his staff arrived,” Wilmes said. “The atmosphere on game days up at the stadium have been electric and Saturday’s in the fall the last couple of years have been very exciting. The coaches truly have changed the culture and have the right players in place to be successful now. I’m looking forward to seeing how the 2024 team and season plays out.”

Wilmes has been on campus a few times whether it was attending a game or watching last year’s spring game at Rock Chalk Park. In June he attended the KU Elite Camp and worked with offensive line coach Daryl Agpalsa.

“It was a great time getting back on campus,” Wilmes said. “I’ve been looking forward to the opportunity to work out with Coach Agpalsa and was really impressed with his energy and the workout he put us through. Great spending a little bit of time with him on the field.”

Agpalsa was hired prior to the spring season. In mid-June coaches were allowed to call 2026 recruits and they have been building a relationship.

“Up to this point in the few conversations we’ve had, it’s been all positive,” Wilmes said. “I’m definitely looking forward to getting to know him and his coaching style better and excited to see how I might possibly fit into the O-Line room at KU in the future.”

This summer Wilmes visited Iowa, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, and Minnesota. He said he worked out at Clemson, Oklahoma and Tennessee. His most recent visit was last Thursday at Kansas State’s late summer camp.

“It was a grind, but I came away from it with the unique opportunity to learn so much from some really great coaches,” he said. “I feel I’m much more prepared for the upcoming season because of the instruction from the coaches and the level of competition I faced. Very grateful for their time and the coaching they provided me.”

Wilmes gathered a lot of information on several schools during his visits. He got to meet with a lot of coaches over the last two months. He said he was grateful to have his parents go with him on the visits and fortunate to get a lot of interest from good schools.

“Like most other recruits, I’m trying to find the right balance between great academics, location, football skills development and of course, a sense of family between coaches, staff and my future teammates,” Wilmes said.

“Whether I stay in Kansas or go out-of-state to play, I’ve been told numerous times to enjoy the ride. It’s a privilege and only happens once. But first, I’m focused on my junior year and doing my part to help my team be successful.”