Where Kentucky ranks in updated preseason college basketball polls

We still don’t have the Associated Press or Coaches Poll for the upcoming college basketball season but there’s no shortage of media taking a stab at “way-too-early” rankings.

With so much portal activity this offseason it’s taken a while for pundits to digest all the roster movement. Now poll updates are in progress.

Jon Rothstein regularly updates his Rothstein 45, a ranking of the top 45 teams in the nation as he sees it. Rothstein now has Kentucky ranked No. 12 with a projected starting five of Jaland Lowe, Denzel Aberdeen, Otega Oweh, Mouhamed Dioubate, and Jayden Quaintance.

Rothstein’s top five, in order, consists of Purdue, Houston, St. John’s, Florida, and Michigan, with the Gators seeming to carry legitimate aspirations of a repeat.

Then the other teams he has ranked ahead of Kentucky are UCONN, UCLA, BYU, Duke, Texas Tech, and Arkansas. So Rothstein has Kentucky as the third-highest ranked SEC team behind Florida and Arkansas, though he has the Cats and Razorbacks almost interchangeable.

Last season Rothstein had Kentucky as the No. 31 team in the nation.

Rothstein isn’t the only college basketball analyst making an attempt at ranking the nation’s top teams. A team of USA TODAY Sports writers also put together a recent poll, meant to take account of all the portal happenings this offseason.

Those writers collectively decided on Kentucky as the No. 14 team going into the 2025-26 season with this explanation: “Getting leading scorer Otega Oweh back in the fold for another year will keep the Wildcats in the mix for the SEC crown under second-year coach Mark Pope. One huge factor that could determine where Kentucky lands is the health of sophomore transfer Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State), one of the top prospects in the nation and a potential difference-maker on the defensive end. Quaintance injured his knee last season but is expected to be ready in the fall. Kentucky also upgraded its backcourt by adding Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh) and Denzel Aberdeen (Florida).”

Houston, Duke, UCONN, Purdue, and Florida are the top-five in the USA TODAY Poll. The other teams ranked ahead of Kentucky are Michigan, BYU, Alabama, St. Johns, UCLA, Louisville, Texas Tech, and Iowa State.

Last year USA TODAY had a poll just before the season which placed Kentucky at No. 23.

Meanwhile, Rotowire has been counting down their preseason rankings and Kentucky checks in at No. 4.