Kobe Baynes was not in the transfer portal a week before he found his next college home. Baynes, who entered the portal after playing at Louisville, confirmed to Jayhawk Slant he committed to KU.

Baynes said earlier he wanted to play for a staff that was stable and after doing his homework he felt that was the situation at Kansas.

“Honestly, I just did my research on Coach Leipold and what he did at Buffalo and especially what he did with the ground game at Buffalo,” Baynes said. “I thought that was really appetizing for me as an offensive lineman. I feel like he knows the run game. It is a chance to play for a good coaching staff. They have sustainability.”

Kansas started recruiting Baynes the day after he entered the portal and quickly offered him a scholarship. He said he spoke with Leipold, offensive line coach Scott Fuchs, and general Rob Ianello during the recruiting process.

One thing he liked is how active Leipold was with communication.

“When I told them I was committing they loved it,” Baynes said. “Coach Leipold was constantly texting me back and forth. He did that throughout the whole process. And I felt like if a head coach can text me like that and have conversations with me that's really what kind of set them apart.”

The coaches told Baynes they like how he can play different positions.

“One of the things they like about my game is my ability to bend, and my ability to play athletically,” he said. “I can play multiple positions on the offensive line, guard to tackle to left tackle. They just said they think I'm a good player. I'm glad that they're recruiting me and that I have another chance to play Power Five football.”

Coming out of high school Baynes had close to 20 division one offers. He is ready to start a new chapter in his career.

“I'm excited and I'm anxious,” he said. “I'm anxious to get out there and get ready to work. I'm ready to go in and just do my job.”

Baynes said he plans to arrive in Lawrence on Tuesday and was hopeful to practice in a day or two after that. After he entered the portal, he had offers from Kansas, Illinois, Syracuse, Memphis, and South Florida.

“The coaches said Kansas is a great place to play and they're rebuilding,” Baynes said. “Coach Leipold was really talking about the last three games of the season and how you go back, and you could see they were turning things around the last three games.”