LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – It was an exciting afternoon for Kansas football as three Jayhawks were selected in the 2015 National Football League (NFL) Draft. Linebacker Ben Heeney and cornerbacks JaCorey Shepherd and Dexter McDonald were each selected on the third day of the draft, giving KU three draft picks for the first time since 2010.

Heeney was the first Jayhawk off the board as he was taken in the fifth round by the Oakland Raiders with the 140th overall pick. The Hutchinson, Kansas native led Kansas in tackles in each of the last three seasons, picking up First Team All-Big 12 honors in 2014.

“This is what I have been working toward since third grade,” said Heeney. “Just having my family and friends around me when it happened, it was so special. Everyone started crying and it’s just what I have been working toward since I started playing football. Never in a million years did I think I would be an Oakland Raider, but I couldn’t be more happy to be one.”

Heeney concluded his senior season ranking second in the Big 12 and 12th nationally with 127 tackles, including 88 solo stops—which ranked first in the conference and second in the NCAA. Heeney recorded a 2014 Big 12 high 21 tackles against Texas Tech. Of his 21 stops against the Red Raiders, 17 were solo hits, marking the second most-ever by a player in a Big 12 Conference game.

During his Kansas career, Heeney tallied 335 total tackles, which ranks eight in KU history. He also finished with 35.5 tackles-for-loss, which puts his name in fourth place on the KU all-time chart.

Heeney is the first Jayhawk drafted by the Oakland Raiders since 1978 when tackle Lindsay Martin was tabbed by the organization in the third round. Being taken with the 140th pick marks the highest draftee for Kansas since 2010, when safety Darrell Stuckey was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fourth round with the 110th pick.

Next up for Kansas in the 2015 NFL Draft was Shepherd who was selected in the sixth round by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 191st pick.

“There is a lot of excitement around here right now,” said Shepherd, who watched the draft with his family back home in Mesquite, Texas. “I have been working since middle school for this moment. I was getting a little nervous for a while, but now I am just ready to get to Philly and prove everyone who passed me up wrong. I knew when I visited the Eagles that they liked me a lot, so I knew going there was a possibility. They expected me to go earlier and told me they were very happy I was still around for that pick.”

Shepherd earned First Team All-Big 12 honors in 2014. He started all 12 games for the second-straight season and led the Big 12 with 19 passes defended, while also recording 30 tackles and a team-leading three interceptions, while only allowing two touchdown passes. Additionally, he averaged 20.9 yards on 33 kick returns.

Shepherd is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honoree and a four-time Athletic Director’s Honor Roll member. He was named the Lee Roy Selmon Community Spirit Award, a 2015 University of Kansas Men of Merit honoree and was a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award. He took home the Rock Chalk Choice Award for Best Jayhawk in a Supporting Role and was the University of Kansas nominee for the 2013-14 Big 12 Conference Male Sportsperson of the Year.

Shepherd is the first Jayhawk to be drafted by the Eagles since they plucked two KU players in the 1978 draft. In 1978 a pair of KU running backs, Norris Banks and (fifth round) Bill Campfield (11th round), were selected by Philadelphia.

McDonald and Heeney will remain teammates as McDonald was tabbed in the seventh round by the Raiders with the 242nd pick overall. The Kansas City, Missouri, native, started 24-straight games at cornerback for KU, earning All-Big 12 honorable mention accolades and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 6, 2014.

“Its amazing,” said McDonald. “I achieved a lifelong dream today. It was a relief to get that phone call from the Raiders and I am very grateful to them for picking me. A lot of people don’t have this opportunity, I feel very blessed to be in this exclusive position and have been able to share this time with my family.

“Oakland plays man defense so I am excited to get out there and show them that they made a good selection by picking me. Playing man is my strength and I am ready to get there and get work. I could not be more excited about getting to keep playing with Ben (Heeney). We have been on the field a lot together over the last few years and it will be nice having a fellow Jayhawk out there with me.”

McDonald joined forces with Shepherd to form one of the top secondary tandems in the NCAA. He collected 35 tackles, 13 pass breakups and two interceptions as a senior. His 13 pass breakups ranked fifth in the Big 12 Conference.

McDonald had a stellar junior campaign in the Crimson and Blue as he ranked eighth in the Big 12 with 12 pass breakups, to go along with 29 tackles and two interceptions.

Heeney, Shepherd and McDonald are the first Jayhawk trio to be selected in the NFL Draft since 2010 when KU players Darrell Stuckey (4th, San Diego Chargers), Kerry Meier (5th, Atlanta Falcons) and Dezmon Briscoe (6th, Cincinnat Bengals) were each tabbed.

— KU Sports Information —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – One year removed from rewriting the Kansas men’s basketball freshman records book, former KU guard Andrew Wiggins has been named the 2014-15 NBA Rookie of Year, the league announced Thursday.

Historically, the Toronto native is only the second Jayhawk to ever be named NBA Rookie of the Year as he joins KU legend Wilt Chamberlain who earned the accolade in 1959-60.

Kansas’ second-ever No. 1 overall NBA Draft selection in 2014, with the other being Danny Manning in 1988, Wiggins was originally taken by the Cleveland Cavaliers and prior to the season was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Wiggins averaged 16.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 39 minutes while playing all 82 games in 2014-15. He won the first four Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards to set the table for his NBA Rookie of the Year honor.

While at Kansas, Wiggins set the KU freshman single-season scoring record with 597 points in 2013-14, making him the second-straight Jayhawk to surpass Manning’s record-setting rookie mark in 1985. Former standout guard Ben McLemore broke Manning’s scoring record with 589 points in 2012-13 before being selected seventh overall in the 2013 NBA Draft, one of 18 draftees in the head coach Bill Self era at Kansas.

The 2014 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Freshman All-America and all-conference first team selection, Wiggins was his own highlight reel as a Jayhawk, including a half-court shot at Baylor (2/4), the game-winning basket at Texas Tech (2/18) and a KU freshman record 41 points at West Virginia (3/8).

On the defensive end, Wiggins led Kansas in steals with 41 and came in second to Joel Embiid on the team with 34 blocked shots. Gifted and athletic, the combo guard pulled down 5.9 rebounds per game as a Jayhawk.

Besides his 597 points, other Kansas freshman season records Wiggins set include: scoring average (17.1), field goals attempted (422), free throws made (176) and free throws attempted (227).

— KU Sports Information —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – McDonald’s All-Star Game and Jordan Brand Classic MVP Cheick Diallo has signed at Kansas and will be a Jayhawk next season, KU head coach Bill Self announced Tuesday.

Originally from Mali, Africa, Diallo comes to Lawrence from Centereach, New York. He is a five-star player and recently jumped up from No. 11 to No. 7 on the ESPN100. Those who didn’t already know him became quickly familiar after Diallo tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds to claim MVP honors at the McDonald’s All-American Game. Still rolling, Diallo put on a clinic at the Jordan Brand Classic with 26 points and 11 rebounds, picking up another MVP title.

“Today is a huge day for our Kansas basketball program,” Self said. “It has been our focus and our top recruiting priority to try to sign an inside presence and a rim protector to go along with our returning players. We feel like we’ve been able to sign a premier big man that has as much upside any big we’ve recruited in recent memory. Cheick reminds me so much of Thomas Robinson, late in Thomas’ college career. Cheick has a great motor. He runs as well as any big guy that we’ve had and certainly has a knack for finding the ball. He’ll bring a toughness and aggressiveness to our program. “

Diallo joins Carlton Bragg in KU’s incoming class of 2015. Both are McDonald’s All-Americans, with Diallo becoming the 38th in KU basketball history. Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden, Jr., are current McDonald’s All-Americans on the Jayhawk roster.

“With the addition of Cheick and Carlton and with what we have coming back, I think this puts us in a great position to be a much improved team next year,” Self continued. “We are still actively recruiting a few more players, but this could not have turned out any better for us with the two that we’ve signed.”

Diallo is widely known for his defense and length and, at 6-9, has the ability to step into a rim protector role for the Jayhawks. In high school, Diallo played at Our Savior New American in Centereach, averaging 19 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks per game during his senior campaign. The 2014 and 2015 New York Gatorade Player of the Year, Diallo also chalked up 18.5 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks per game as a junior.

“Cheick comes from a high school program that has won big at Our Savior and certainly has been well drilled there,” Self said. “Moving to the (United) States from another continent would be an adjustment for anybody but because of people in his life that are close to him, primarily Tidiane Drame, he’s been able to make the transition quite well. We anticipate his transition to college to be very seamless also.”

Much like Cameroon native, Joel Embiid, Diallo started his basketball career much later in life as he grew up playing soccer. Embiid played for Kansas in 2013-14, earned the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors and went on to be selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

“Personality-wise, I would compare him much closer to Joel (Embiid) but from a playing standpoint, I think he’s much closer to Thomas, the same size, same body, same type motor,” Self said.

— KU Sports Information —

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas Athletics has a fun day of events and activities planned surrounding the annual Kansas football Spring Game presented by Cox Communications. Kickoff is slated for Saturday, April 25 at 1 p.m., on Kivisto Field at Memorial Stadium and admission is free. With expected inclement weather in the morning, a couple of changes have been made to the schedule for the day’s events and activities—most notably the timing of the Train Like A Jayhawk clinic.

The Train Like A Jayhawk clinic for kids grades 1-6 will take place on Kivisto Field inside Memorial Stadium. The clinic, during which stations will be directed by KU football players, will now begin immediately following the conclusion of the Spring Game. Participating children will receive a Train Like A Jayhawk t-shirt. Registration for the clinic will begin at 11 a.m., at the southeast gate of Memorial Stadium.

Online registration for the Train Like A Jayhawk clinic is still available, but space is limited. Train Like a Jayhawk registration and more information on the various activities surrounding the 2015 Kansas football Spring Game can be found by visiting KUAthletics.com/trainlikeajayhawk.

The day will now begin with the Hy-Vee Hawk Zone, which will open at 11 a.m., on the Kansas football practice fields located adjacent to Memorial Stadium on the southeast side and will feature inflatable games for children, photo opportunities, poster-making, stickers and face tattoos. The Fun Zone will be open from 11 a.m., until kickoff of the Spring Game.

The sixth annual Bike Rodeo will also begin at 11 a.m., in lots 58 and 65. The Bike Rodeo will feature a bicycle course and free bike inspections, courtesy of Douglas County Fire and Medical. In addition, kids 15 and younger will be custom-fitted with a free bicycle helmet (while supplies last) as they learn about bicycle rules of the road, trail etiquette and pool safety.

Kansas football is welcoming back all former players for an alumni game. The alumni game is scheduled for a noon kickoff in Memorial Stadium and will be a flag football game. All KU football alumni interested in participating should contact director of traditions, Candace Dunback, via email at kclub@ku.edu.

Gates to Memorial Stadium open at 11 a.m., and numerous 2015 promotional items will be available for fans. With the entire stadium open for seating, fans will be allowed to enter the stadium at the NE, SE, NW, SW and west ramps as well as the suite elevators.

The KU Store will be open at two locations. Stands on both the east and west concourses will be open from 11:30 a.m., until the end of the game.

Parking for the Spring Game is free. KU Parking and Transit, however, will be on hand to assist fans with questions about open parking. The parking garage on Mississippi Street, adjacent to the Kansas Union, will be available for use, but patrons will be charged at its normal rate. Parking in the garage is $1.75 for the first hour or any portion of an hour, and $1.50 per hour for all subsequent hours.

The game will be televised live on the Jayhawk Television Network in the state of Kansas and the Kansas City metro area and nationally on ESPN3. Additionally, the game will be broadcast live across the state of Kansas on the Jayhawk Radio Network, with an audio stream also available at KUAthletics.com.

KU will begin the 2015 season on September 5 vs. South Dakota State. The Jayhawks will also host non-conference opponent Memphis (Sept. 12/Family Weekend, Band Day) before Big 12 rivals Baylor (Oct. 10), Texas Tech (Oct. 17), Oklahoma (Oct. 31/Homecoming, K-Club Weekend), West Virginia (Nov. 21) and K-State (Nov. 28) visit Lawrence.

Season tickets for the seven-game home schedule are now on sale for as low as $115. The Family Season Ticket Plan, which includes two youth and two adult general admission tickets, is $400.

Fans can purchase their season tickets at the Spring Game at ticket tables on Campanile Hill, in the Hy-Vee Hawk Zone, in the west concourse and in Section 3 inside the stadium seating area. Additionally, tickets are available online at www.KUAthletics.com, by calling 800-34-HAWKS or in-person at the Allen Fieldhouse ticket office.

— KU Sports Information —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Brandon Schneider, who has led Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball to the 2014 and 2015 Southland Conference regular-season titles, has been named head women’s basketball coach at the University of Kansas.

Schneider will be formally announced at a press conference scheduled for Tuesday, April 21 at 10 a.m., in the Allen Fieldhouse media room.

In five seasons at SFA, Schneider’s teams have won 95 games and reached postseason play three times, including an appearance in the championship game of the 2014 Women’s Basketball Invitational.

Before going to SFA, Schneider won 306 games and the 2010 NCAA Division II National Championship at Emporia State University in Kansas.  He led the Lady Hornets to 11 NCAA tournament appearances in his 12 seasons in Emporia, winning 81 percent of his games there.  In addition to the 2010 NCAA Championship, his Lady Hornets reached the Division II Final Four in 1999, two Elite Eights (2000 and 2006) and three Sweet 16’s (2001, 2005, 2008).

Schneider is a 1995 graduate of Wayland Baptist University and was a four-year letterman in basketball.  He came to coaching naturally:  His father, Bob, won more than 1,000 women’s basketball games in a coaching career that spanned 43 years, and coached West Texas A&M to the NCAA Division II Championship game in 1988.

“Brandon is an excellent fit for the University of Kansas,” said KU Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger.  “He is an exceptional teacher, and someone who has spent his entire career in Kansas and Texas.  He is known as a terrific recruiter and a firm, knowledgeable coach.  And we know he has coaching in his blood, having watched his dad have so much success for so many years.  We are confident that Brandon’s teams at KU will display the same tenacity and competitiveness that his teams have shown at Emporia State and Stephen F. Austin.”

— KU Sports Information —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas football finalized its non-conference portion of its 2016 and 2017 schedules by announcing two home contests Friday.

Kansas will open the 2016 season with Rhode Island on Sept. 3, while beginning the 2017 campaign with Southeast Missouri State traveling to Lawrence on Sept. 2. The Jayhawks were previously slated to match-up in a home-and-home series with Hawaii in 2016-17.

KU’s 2016 contest with Rhode Island will be the first time the teams have squared-off in the history of the two programs. The Rams are coming off of a 1-11 season in which they recorded a 1-7 record in the Colonial Athletic Association.

The Jayhawks will have faced SEMO just once prior to the 2017 game. Kansas opened the 2014 season in Memorial Stadium with the Redhawks, winning by a final score of, 34-28. SEMO completed the 2014 season with a 5-7 record, while finishing 3-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Head coach David Beaty and the Jayhawks will open the 2015 season with a home game against South Dakota State on Saturday, Sept. 5 in Memorial Stadium. The Jayhawks will also host non-conference opponent Memphis (Sept. 12/Family Weekend, Band Day) before Big 12 rivals Baylor (Oct. 10), Texas Tech (Oct. 17), Oklahoma (Oct. 31/Homecoming, K-Club Weekend), West Virginia (Nov. 21) and K-State (Nov. 28) visit Lawrence.

— KU Sports Information —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Two weeks after bringing his second state championship to Villa Angela-St. Joseph, Carlton Bragg made his college destination official. The 6-9 power forward will become a Kansas Jayhawk.

On Jan. 8, Bragg invited fans, family and the media to the VASJ campus to announce his decision. With the beginning of the spring signing period running from April 15-May 10, Bragg signed the National Letter of Intent as soon as he was able on Wednesday.

Rated as the nation’s 21st-best prospect on the ESPN100, Bragg narrowed his college potentials to Kansas, Kentucky and Illinois before deciding on KU. A five-star player who averaged 21 points per game during his senior season at VASJ, Bragg was named the Division III Associated Press Ohio Player of the Year on March 24. Adding to that, Bragg is the 37th McDonald’s All-American to sign at Kansas and will join Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden, Jr., as current McDonald’s All-Americans on the Jayhawk roster.

“We’re so excited to have Carlton on board,” head coach Bill Self said. “Norm (Roberts) did a great job in working with Carlton and his family to become part of our KU family. Carlton has great family support with his mother Monica Howard and his uncle Ezra Stokes.”

“Carlton is a legitimate 6-foot-9 inch, scoring and shooting type of power forward,” Self said. “Certainly, he’s one of the more skilled big guys that we’ve signed since we’ve been here. He comes from a great high school program with a great head coach in Babe Kwasniak.”

Known for his length, Bragg is also on the radar for his work on the offensive glass, his finishes in transition, and his explosiveness around the rim. His endurance isn’t too shabby either. Just hours after recording 12 points and a team-high five assists in the state championship game on March 28, the Cleveland native booked it to Chicago for the McDonald’s All-American weekend. While there, he finished second in the skills competition and third in the dunk contest in the Powerade Jam Fest on March 30 before scoring nine points in the MDAA-game on April 1. That game alone displayed his versatility with a breakaway windmill dunk and a long three from the perimeter.

“Babe was an assistant at UMKC and has done a great job with him,” Self continued. “Another great coach and great mentor with him has been Mike Graves (former VASJ assistant). So with Babe, Mike and his AAU coach Michael Duncan (Ohio Basketball Club), they’ve done a great job in developing and mentoring this young man to the point where I think it will be a pretty seamless transition for him into Division I basketball.”

— KU Sports Informatoin —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Dinner had wrapped up, head coach Bill Self was nearly done addressing the packed crowd and the team’s lone senior already said his thank yous – but one announcement still remained. When taking the stage to accept his Danny Manning “Mr. Jayhawk” award, junior forward Perry Ellis had something to say.

“I’ve been talking to my family and to Coach Self about the future. Looking back on this season, there is still a lot on the table,” Ellis said after his standing ovation had retaken their seats. “I feel that it would be best for me to come back.”

Another standing ovation, this time with even bigger smiles on the faces of Ellis, Self, his teammates and everyone in attendance at the 2015 Kansas men’s basketball banquet Monday night. Ellis’ announcement concluded what was a wonderful night of relieving memories from a year that included the Jayhawks’ 11th-consecutive Big 12 Conference regular-season championship. Self took time to reflect on the incredible streak, but wasn’t shy about admitting that the year didn’t end as his team wanted it to.

“When you expect excellence all the time, there’s going to be moments where you’re shot down and things don’t end the way you want,” Self said. “But don’t you want to be at a place where excellence like that is expected all the time?”

Though the night was emceed by longtime radio voice of the Jayhawks Bob Davis and included cameos by KU Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little and team chaplain – and former Kansas All-American – Wayne Simien, Self did the talking. After dinner, the crowd shifted its focus to an in-depth highlight video produced by Rock Chalk Video before Self took to the podium.

Full of jokes, Self poked fun at each of his players one-by-one, but also handed out sincere compliments to the guys that kept the streak going. Frank Mason III was a stud, while Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is younger than half of his current recruits and Brannen Greene’s patented temple tap after three-pointers gave him a slight concussion that disrupted his shooting for the rest of the year. All in jest, Self also made it clear that he was proud of his 2014-15 Jayhawks.

“The league was a monster this year,” Self said. “It had never been better and we beat each other up. That this team, with all the stuff that we dealt with, went and won it outright – not their 11th in a row, we shouldn’t say that. This team won its first in a row. It was prideful and it meant something to them. It was a fun year.”

Self also explained the difficulties behind deciding the future and reminded the crowd that although the fans and the coaching staff selfishly wish each player would stay all four years, that part of his goals revolve around making his players’ lives better. That if a recruit chooses Kansas, that his life will be better for it. Because of that, many of them choose to continue their game at the professional level.

“How selfish of them that they should leave us?” Self joked. “The reality of it is, we want every kid to be in the position to make that decision. We have two stud freshmen that have each made the decision (to go to the NBA) and should be 100 percent happy for them. All of us wish you two nothing but the very, very best.”

Earlier this month, Kelly Oubre, Jr., and Cliff Alexander both announced their intention to declare for the 2015 NBA Draft. Self spoke kindly of how Alexander handled his NCAA issues like a man and never stopped supporting his teammates. He also talked about how when Oubre’s light switched on, it never switched off.

Among the night’s laughs, memories and thank you’s, everyone involved with the program felt as if their contributions were appreciated. Before everyone rose for one final round of applause, Self thanked each of his coaching staff members, his “boss” Cindy Self and delivered one last message to the crowd.

“We’re going to get better,” Self smiled as he reeled off KU’s summer plans at the World University Games and the progress on the new McCarthy Hall. “No matter what happened this year and how it ended… think big picture. Because as much fun as you’ve had – we’re getting ready to have more.”

— KU Sports Information —