Kentucky moves up in Preseason Rankings following addition of Tre Mitchell

Kentucky added its eighth newcomer yesterday in former West Virginia forward Tre Mitchell. How significant is the addition? It was enough for two national writers to move Kentucky up in their preseason rankings, one into the top 20.

CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish had Kentucky at No. 25 following last week’s news that Antonio Reeves is returning for a final year. Now that the Cats are adding another veteran in Mitchell, a grad transfer, Parrish moved them up even further, eight spots to No. 17.

“This ranking is based on the Wildcats enrolling the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class featuring four five-star high school prospects – among them Justin Edwards, DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw — plus West Virginia graduate transfer Tre Mitchell,” Parrish wrote. “Those newcomers will pair with Antonio Reeves and give John Calipari a chance to make the Final Four for the first time since 2015.”

Mitchell has played for three schools during his college career — UMass, Texas, and West Virginia — amassing 1,398 points and 597 rebounds in 102 career games, 92 of those starts. Last season at West Virginia, he averaged 11.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 30.0 minutes per game, shooting 47.0% overall, 36.4% from beyond the arc, and 78.9% from the free-throw line. Parrish has both Mitchell and Reeves in his projected starting lineup.

• G: Robert Dillingham
• G: DJ Wagner
• G: Antonio Reeves
• G: Justin Edwards
• F: Tre Mitchell

Jon Rothstein moved Kentucky up to No. 21 in his preseason rankings and went with the same starting five as Parrish. That lineup makes sense for now, as Aaron Bradshaw recovers from surgery on his fractured foot, but it’ll be interesting to see what happens when Bradshaw returns, and how John Calipari incorporates Ugonna Onyenso in the frontcourt.

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Kentucky Basketball’s 2023-24 Roster

• Freshmen (7): DJ Wagner (CG), Justin Edwards (SF), Aaron Bradshaw (C), Robert Dillingham (SG), Reed Sheppard (CG), Jordan Burks (SF), Joey Hart (SG)
• Sophomores (2): Adou Thiero (CG), Ugonna Onyenso (C)
• Super-senior (2): Brennan Canada (PF), Antonio Reeves (SG)
• Grad (1): Tre Mitchell (PF)
• Walk-ons (3): Kareem Watkins (PG), Walker Horn (G), Grant Darbyshire (G)

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