Where Kentucky stands in Preseason Rankings now that the Transfer Portal is closed

With the transfer portal now closed, the national media is weighing in on how teams added to their rosters over the past month. With five additions from the portal (Jayden Quaintance, Jaland Lowe, Kam Williams, Mouhamed Dioubate, and Denzel Aberdeen) and one from the international ranks (Andrija Jelavic), Kentucky is in good shape — and may not be done yet now that Travis Perry has gone portaling.

A fresh batch of rankings is out; the Cats are in the top ten in most and the top 15 in another. Let’s run through them and also see where Kentucky’s new players stand among those who entered the portal this cycle.

On3’s James Fletcher III: No. 5

Fletcher’s rankings came out Monday, and he continues to be the highest on the Cats, putting them in his top five behind Houston, Purdue, Duke, and Louisville.

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.

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ESPN’s Jeff Borzello: No. 10

Borzello moved Kentucky down one spot to No. 10 from his previous rankings. The Cats are just behind Arkansas (No. 9) and ahead of Duke (No. 11). Borzello’s top three teams? Purdue, Houston, and St. John’s. Rick Pitino’s Red Storm jumped from No. 15 to No. 3 after an impressive portal haul that includes former UNC guard Ian Jackson. Borzello loves Kentucky’s additions in the backcourt.

10. Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky is absolutely loaded on the perimeter next season, with the arrivals of transfers Jaland Lowe (Pitt), Kam Williams (Tulane) and Denzel Aberdeen (Florida) as well as five-star prospect Jasper Johnson to go with the potential return of leading scorer Otega Oweh and reserve Collin Chandler.

Mark Pope also revamped the frontcourt with defense at the front of his mind, with the additions of Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama) and Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State). Quaintance, however, could miss time after suffering a torn ACL in late February.

Projected starting lineup

Jaland Lowe (16.8 PPG at Pitt)
Jasper Johnson (No. 17 in ESPN 100)
Otega Oweh (16.2 PPG)
Mouhamed Dioubate (7.2 PPG at Alabama)
Jayden Quaintance (9.4 PPG at Arizona State)

Borzello also ranked the top players in the portal. All five of Kentucky’s additions made the top 100, with 6’9″ power forward Jayden Quaintance ranking in the top ten.

8. Jayden Quaintance
27. Jaland Lowe
61. Kam Williams
62. Mouhamed Dioubate
78. Denzel Aberdeen

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CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish: No. 10

Kentucky is also No. 10 in Parrish’s rankings, which came out Monday afternoon. That’s three spots higher than his previous edition and contingent on Otega Oweh taking his name out of the NBA Draft.

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. 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.

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Jon Rothstein: No. 12

Rothstein has Kentucky just outside his top ten. Houston, Purdue, and St. John’s are his top three. Arkansas is the highest-ranked SEC team at No. 10, followed by the Cats at No. 12, Auburn at No. 14, Florida at No. 17, Tennessee at No. 18, Alabama at No. 20, and Texas at No. 25.

Projected Starting 5:

G Jaland Lowe
G Denzel Aberdeen
G Otega Oweh
F Mouhamed Dioubate
C Jayden Quaintance

Projected Bench: Trent Noah, Jasper Johnson, Malachi Moreno, Kam Williams, Brandon Garrison, Andrija Jelavic, Collin Chandler

Key Newcomers: Jasper Johnson, Malachi Moreno, Kam Williams (Tulane), Jaland Lowe (Pitt), Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama), Andrija Jelavic, Denzel Aberdeen (Florida)

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247 Sports

247 Sports’ Isaac Trotter ranked the top 150 players from the portal cycle this morning with breakdowns of each. He’s also high on Quaintance, putting him at No. 12. Jaland Lowe and Kam Williams also made the top 50.

12. Jayden Quaintance
39. Jaland Lowe
45. Kam Williams
57. Denzel Aberdeen
64. Mouhamed Dioubate

I think you’ll like what Trotter said about Lowe, the Cats’ new point guard.

Only 15 players scored more points per game in ball-screens than Jaland Lowe. The sophomore guard had a huge year at Pitt, but his efficiency took a hit due to the heavy burden he was forced to carry. Lowe’s jumper can go a bit AWOL, at times, but he could see his efficiency rise if paired with another jumbo creator. Lowe shot over 35% on catch-and-shoot 3s as a true freshman next to lottery pick Bub Carrington. Regardless, Lowe, the driver, was terrifying for opposing defenses. Pitt couldn’t afford to play him off the ball, but good things happened when Lowe could attack long closeouts. He was routinely creating advantages for Pitt’s offense, and he’s a creative playmaker. Lowe’s usage rate will dip a little bit at Kentucky, but Mark Pope’s ability to elevate his personnel gives Lowe a chance to be one of the best guards in the SEC next season. He should also provide a real “get out of jail free” card for Kentucky’s offense in late-clock possessions.

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The Athletic

CJ Moore named Kentucky one of his five transfer portal winners along with Louisville, Iowa, Arkansas, and Auburn. You’ll need a subscription to read his whole breakdown of the Cats’ class, but he’s a big fan of the versatility Pope added to the roster, going as far as to say that Kentucky has so many options now that they could bring back the platoons. Moore said that in his mind, only Otega Oweh is a lock as a starter.

That’s a lot to manage, but Pope lived that life during the Rick Pitino days, where competition caused by depth seemed to be healthy for the program. Offensively, I’m betting on Pope figuring it out. The less proven side of the ball in his coaching career is the defense, and that’s what seemed to be the priority during this portal cycle. I love the Dioubate addition because he has the kind of facilitating abilities on the offensive end that fit Pope’s system, and his effort and defensive versatility are huge positives. He’s the type of player everyone seems to feed off. Lineups that include the foursome of Aberdeen, Oweh, Dioubate and Quaintance would be extremely hard to score against. The 2024-25 team, while awesome offensively, was not a legitimate title contender because of its defense. This roster seems to have everything on paper. Now we’ll see how it meshes.

Moore and Sam Vecenie ranked the top 100 players in the portal. They actually put Lowe ahead of Quaintance, with Vecenie calling the former Pitt guard “one of the most productive players in the portal at the high-major level.”

17. Jaland Lowe
19. Jayden Quaintance
35. Kam Williams
41. Mouhamed Dioubate
59. Denzel Aberdeen

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Kentucky Basketball 2025-26 Roster Tracker

Here is a running list of who’s coming, going, or being contacted by the staff as the 2025-26 roster comes together. Travis Perry entered the portal last night, just a few hours ahead of the deadline.

COMMITS (6)

• Kam Williams – G – Tulane – 9.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 48.5% FG, 41.2% 3PT | Committed 3/28
• Jaland Lowe – G – Pittsburgh – 16.8 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.2 RPG, 37.6% FG, 26.6% 3PT | Committed 4/5
• Mouhamed Dioubate – F – Alabama – 7.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 61.7% FG, 46.2% 3PT | Committed 4/7
• Jayden Quaintance – F – Arizona State – 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 52.5 FG% | Committed 4/8
• Andrija Jelavic – C – Mega Basket — 10.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.4 APG, 50.3% FG, 32.3% 3PT | – Committed 4/12
• Denzel Aberdeen – G – Florida – 7.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 41.8 FG%, 35 3PT% | Committed 4/21

RETURNING / INCOMING (6)

• Otega Oweh – G – Rising Senior – 16.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 49.2% FG, 35.5% 3PT | Going through NBA Draft process
• Brandon Garrison – C – Rising Junior – 5.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 50.9% | Confirmed return on 4/12
• Collin Chandler – C- Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 36.1% FG, 34.7% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/17
• Trent Noah – F – Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 45.1% FG, 33.3% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/18
• Malachi Moreno – C – Incoming Freshman – Great Crossing (Georgetown, KY)
• Jasper Johnson – SG – Incoming Freshman – Overtime Elite (Lexington, KY)

DEPARTURES (2)

• Kerr Kriisa – G – Senior – 4.4 PPG, 3.8 APG, 2.4 RPG, 27.9% FG | Entered Portal 3/31, Committed to Cincinnati
• Travis Perry – PG – Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 0.8 RPG, 0.6 APG, 31.3% FG, 32.1% 3PT | Entered Portal 4/22

HIGH SCHOOL TARGETS (1)

• Braydon Hawthorne – SF – Huntington Prep (WV) – 4-star, No. 48 overall