Holly Kersgieter, Taiyanna Jackson, Zakiyah Franklin will return to KU women’s basketball

LAWRENCE — There were times, Holly Kersgieter said, that she, Taiyanna Jackson and Zakiyah Franklin talked about potentially returning to the Kansas women’s basketball program for one more season.

The trio were seniors during the Jayhawks’ 2022-23 campaign. Because of the pandemic, they each had one more year of eligibility available to them if they wanted to use it. And their decisions would affect each other’s.

But while their status as leaders on the team, as regular starters, led people publicly to group their decisions together, in the end they all treated their choices as individual ones. They allowed each other to decide for themselves, without the thought of pressure. And after the season ended with a 2023 Postseason WNIT championship run, they all ended up announcing themselves that they were going to return for one more year of college basketball.

“Of course, as a group, we want to be together and continue to do what we do,” Kersgieter said. “But, ultimately, you have to just look out for what’s best for each other and support each other.”

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Here’s a closer look at each athlete’s decision:

Holly Kersgieter

Kersgieter told herself she would wait until the season ended before deciding on if she would come back. There were moments here and there, during at times was a challenging season, that she considered moving on. But throughout the year her overarching thought was she would want to return.

Some of that had to do with her status academically. Kersgieter said she would have been around Lawrence to finish up her degree during the upcoming season anyway, regardless of if she remained on the team. But that wasn’t the only thing the tipped the scales toward playing another season, that made her eager to continue to be a part of this community.

During the WNIT run, Kersgieter played in front of crowds inside of Allen Fieldhouse that she never thought she would. She’s already seen ways that run will help them next season, as they look to build on their success. She’s grateful, not satisfied.

“It was a pretty big deal, because we had faced adversity that week prior in the Big 12 (Conference) tournament and we were that close to just being done and not even playing in the (WNIT),” Kersgieter said. “And then, out of nowhere, we just went on a run and were committed to it and it worked out really well. And it was just one of those things that even though we were frustrated, we just had to grow up and deal with it.”

The response that followed her announcement that she was returning was more significant than Kersgieter expected. She didn’t think it was that big of a deal, and part of saying something at all came from the fact she said she and head coach Brandon Schneider were both tired of people asking if she was coming back. But she added it felt good to receive a welcoming like that.

Kersgieter said when she and her teammates talk about having something to look forward to, they’re talking about the momentum and energy around the team that’s come from how they’ve handled the adversity that’s come their way. She appreciated that the fan base put immediate emphasis on whether she, Jackson and Franklin would come back once this past season ended. Now, it’s a matter of what they’re able to accomplish together.

Taiyanna Jackson

Jackson echoed Kersgieter’s sentiment about not letting the disappointment of missing out on the NCAA tournament dictate their emotions. Jackson noted the experience was a positive one. But she also explained that she didn’t think about her decision to come back or not during the season.

After talking with her family and other people she trusted, Jackson said she came to the decision to return for one more year. Jackson put off turning pro until 2024. And she’s looking forward to improving as a player individually and helping the team reach new heights.

“We have a vet team because we have the majority of our entire team coming back and we have some new people coming in who can help us immediately with our team,” Jackson said. “So, I’m just excited about a new year.”

While Kersgieter’s return helps Kansas on the perimeter, considering she’s a guard, Jackson’s return provides the Jayhawks with one of the best interior players in the nation — on both ends of the court. Jackson, a center, has been an All-Big 12 caliber talent in the two seasons she’s spent at Kansas since transferring in from a junior college program. She even averaged a double-double this past season.

Zakiyah Franklin

Franklin, a guard like Kersgieter, knew she was going to come back for another year before the season ended. The fact that Kersgieter and Jackson are as well mattered, of course. But Franklin saw the potential the team could have next season and wanted to be a part of it.

Much like Kersgieter, Franklin highlighted just how significant the WNIT run mattered in her decision. Franklin enjoyed everything that came because of the run, too. And she also talked with her family.

“We were pretty much all disappointed that we didn’t make the NCAA tournament, and we knew that we were a NCAA-caliber-type team, so we were kind of sad about that,” Franklin said. “But we responded much differently in the tournament and obviously we ended up winning it, and we’ve learned that good things happen to teams who, in that following year, following the (WNIT), coming off that championship. So, we kind of just wanted to stay together and go into next year with the hopes of that.”

Franklin started 34 of the 36 games she played in this past season, and led the team in scoring. In addition to averaging a double-double, Jackson averaged just more than three blocks per game as she started all 36 games she appeared in. Kersgieter started 32 of her 33 appearances, and averaged 13.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

Franklin’s goal for next season, first and foremost, is to win a Big 12 title. She wants to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Whatever individual accolades there are that are out there to earn, she said, will come with their team success.

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Why Kersgieter, Jackson, Franklin returned to KU women’s basketball