The Kansas women’s basketball team earned a significant commitment for its 2025 recruiting class in the form of Libby Fandel.
Fandel, listed as a 6-foot-1 guard from Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, announced on Monday night that she will join the Jayhawks.
She is the No. 41 prospect in the 2025 class as assessed by ESPN, with a numerical grade of 95. For comparison, KU’s current star guard S’Mya Nichols, the highest-rated player it has successfully recruited in the modern era, had the same grade and a No. 34 ranking when she was coming out of high school.
Fandel has also notably played for the All Iowa Attack club team, one perhaps best known nowadays for producing Caitlin Clark and some of her onetime Iowa teammates; it is also responsible for shaping players like KK Arnold of Connecticut and Sahara Williams of Oklahoma.
In the 2025 class, Fandel’s team has included players like Aaliyah Crump (ESPN’s No. 4 prospect), Jordan Speiser (No. 20) and Ava Zediker (No. 62).
Fandel had previously posted about scholarship offers from schools like Creighton, TCU, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin prior to her KU offer on May 31.
In January, she broke her high school’s record for points in a game with 34 and then proceeded to reset it with 36 in another game four days later. By the end of the year she was a first-team all-state selection; according to her online bio, she averaged 24.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and four steals per game during her junior season.
ESPN’s Shane Laflin wrote of Fandel in June: “Fandel has always shown a knack for understanding the flow of the game and making fundamental plays. She has become more assertive and provides a lot of value to a loaded All Iowa club team … As a 6-foot guard/wing, she also plays volleyball, so the promise of potential if she becomes a full-time basketball player is solid.”
KU will retain much of its current roster for the 2025-26 season, as the only departures at guard are expected to be Wyvette Mayberry and Jordan Webster.
