Wichita Kapaun Mt. Carmel guard to join KU basketball team as non-scholarship player

Will Thengvall, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound senior combo guard out of Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School in Wichita, has accepted an offer to walk-on the University of Kansas basketball team.

Thengvall averaged 17.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists while hitting 42% of his 3s this past season for the Class 5A state champs. He was named a top-5 overall player in Kansas, the player of the year in Class 5A, a Wichita Eagle all-metro pick and a first-team all-league pick in the City League.

He helped Kapaun win the 5A state title. In fact Thengvall was the leading scorer in this year’s 5A state tournament. He scored 73 points over three state tournament games, 12 more than any other 5A player in the tourney.

“I am excited to announce that I will continue my academic and basketball career at the University of Kansas,” Thengvall wrote Tuesday on social media site X. “I want to thank coach (Bill) Self and KU’s coaching staff for this amazing opportunity. Thank you coach LJ Goolsby (KC Run GMC) and coach Eck (Steve, Kapaun) for all of your help and support. Rock Chalk.”

Kapaun Mt. Carmel coach Eck spoke highly of Thengvall to the Wichita Eagle in a recent interview:

“His leadership really came out during the state tournament,” Eck told the Wichita Eagle. “I’d call a timeout and I barely got the chance to say anything because Will was talking to everybody. He’s a real strong kid and he was a all-state player in football too. He was a good shooter for us and everybody just liked him. He got along well with everybody and was just a likeable person and our kids followed him and our other two seniors.”

Thengvall told The Star on Tuesday that he made a campus visit to KU on Monday and was thrilled to accept Self’s offer to join the program as a non-scholarship player.

Thengvall’s twin brother, Nathan, is headed to KU also and will compete for the Jayhawks track team in 2024-25.

“My high school career is nothing but a dream come true. Today is a dream come true,” said Thengvall, who reported he received offers from several Div. II and III schools.

Of his upcoming KU career, he said: “I will take care of myself, work hard in the weight room and at practice, push everyone, be the best leader I can be. With all the recruits coming in now and the returning players, I expect greatness (out of the team).”

“Dajuan (Harris) and all the guards are great and I think we’ll have one of the best frontcourts in the country as well.”

Of his own game, Thengvall said: “I am a shooter I like to play fast, love transition. I take pride in defense a lot especially playing under coach Eck and coach Goolsby. I was a defensive back in football so I like to be physical.”

Thengvall — he said he was a Wichita State fan as a youngster then became a huge KU fan once he started high school — said he knows what he’s getting into as a walk-on player.

“Coach Self walked me through what my experience will be like if I totally committed (to program),” Thengvall said. “He talked to my parents and walked them through it. Obviously I got back to him (and accepted the offer). This is clearly my dream.”