This year’s Kentucky Wildcats may have some extra motivation coming their way on Monday.
Monday is when the AP Preseason Top 25 will be released. Kentucky has the makings of a national championship team heading into this season, but it’s not a sure thing that they will be in the top 10 in the Preseason AP Poll.
To celebrate the season, CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone officially dropped his AP Top 25 preseason poll predictions, with Mark Pope‘s Kentucky Wildcats slotting in at No. 11.
Boone made sure to emphasize
that the predictions are not necessarily where he or his colleagues would rank the Wildcats, but where they will be ranked by AP voters when the first poll drops on Monday.
Mark Pope’s first team, last season, was ranked No. 23 in the Preseason Poll. They reached as high as No. 4 in early December, and won eight games against teams ranked in the top 15 of the AP Poll last season.
Kentucky will face Purdue in an exhibition game on the 24th of this month, which Boone has projected as the No. 1 team in the AP Poll. Houston, Florida, St. John’s, and UConn round out the top five, with Duke, BYU, Texas Tech, Michigan, and Louisville projected six through 10.
Kentucky has made it clear the goal of this season is “banner No. 9,” but if the Cats are going to be successful in what they’ve dubbed “The Assignment,” they’ll certainly have a gauntlet to get there.
UK basketball will kick off its 2025-26 season on Saturday, Oct. 11, with the annual Big Blue Madness preseason event. The Cats will then host the Blue-White scrimmage on Oct. 17 before kicking off inter-squad exhibition play on Oct. 24 with projected No. 1 Purdue. Big Blue Madness will begin at 6 p.m. ET and air live on the SEC Network+.
