Where Kentucky ranks in way too early college basketball polls

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Published May 2, 2025

Where Kentucky ranks in way too early college basketball polls

Justin Rowland • CatsIllustrated

Publisher

@RowlandRIVALS

The college basketball season is about half a year away and some rosters are still in flux, but that hasn't stopped the sport's writers from sounding off with opinions on what's to come.

Here's a look at where the Cats have ranked according to various pundits and outlets, bearing in mind that there are ample disclaimers out there given how far out the season is.

Cats just outside Gary Parrish and Jon Rothstein's top-10

Gary Parrish has posted his updated early rankings at CBS. Parrish has Kentucky at No. 11, so lower than Borzello, and his rankings are more recent.

"This ranking is based on the Wildcats returning two of the top seven scorers -- specifically Otega Oweh and Brandon Garrison - from a team that finished 24-12 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament," Parrish wrote. "That core will be joined by a recruiting class highlighted by Arizona State transfer Jayden Quaintance, Alabama transfer Mouhamed Dioubate, Pitt transfer Jaland Lowe, Tulane transfer Kam Williams, Florida transfer Denzel Aberdeen and four-star freshmen Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno."

The top five teams in Parrish's poll are Houston, St. John's, Purdue, UCONN, and BYU.

Jon Rothstein has Kentucky at No. 11 as well. His rankings also reflect all of the roster movement to date for the Wildcats.

Rothstein has Arkansas at No. 10, on spot ahead of Kentucky, as the highest-ranked SEC team.

Houston, Purdue, St. John's, UCLA, and BYU are Rothstein's top five teams.

Fox Sports moves UK into the top-10

Fox Sports' way too early poll includes Kentucky at No. 8. Factoring the Quaintance addition, that's up from No. 16, where the network had the Cats before.

Interestingly enough, Fox Sports also reported that their sources indicated Kentucky's roster was worth $20 million or more.

Fox Sports has Kentucky as the top-ranked team in the SEC, but one spot behind Louisville, which is rated No. 7 in the poll.

On3 has Kentucky at No. 4 looking ahead to next season with the note, "Kentucky took a slight step backward in the roster building process when Acaden Lewis decommitted. Mark Pope has plenty options left in the transfer portal to move back up the board over the coming weeks depending on how things land."