UK Fans of the Day want Kentucky's standing in new Preseason Rankings

MrsTylerKSR

Kentucky fans ahead of Tennessee game - Mont Dawson, Kentucky Sports Radio

It’s been about a week since the first “Way-Too-Early” rankings for the 2025-26 season dropped in the wake of the national championship. Given all that’s happened in the transfer portal since then, it feels like a month. In turn, a fresh batch of preseason rankings is out, and Kentucky is on the move after gaining two players (Jayden Quaintance, Andrija Jelavic) and losing another (Acaden Lewis).

Let’s run through them all before more portal news drops and they’re outdated once again.

On3’s James Fletcher III: No. 4 (Previously: No. 4)

Fletcher remains the highest on the Cats of the national writers (company man!), keeping Kentucky at No. 4 even after the loss of Acaden Lewis. His new rankings came out on Monday, before Lamar Wilkerson picked Indiana over Kentucky.

Key returns: Brandon Garrison, Otega Oweh
Key additions: Mo Dioubate*, Jasper Johnson, Jaland Lowe*, Malachi Moreno, Jayden Quaintance*, Kam Williams*
Key departures: Ansley Almonor, Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Jaxson Robinson, Amari Williams

Kentucky took a slight step backward in the roster building process when Acaden Lewis decommitted. Mark Pope has plenty of options left in the transfer portal to move back up the board over the coming weeks depending on how things land.

Ahead of the Cats? No. 1 Houston, No. 2 Duke, and No. 3 Louisville.

Field of 68: No. 6

THE @TheFieldOf68 WAY TOO EARLY TOP 25 IS HERE😳🔥 pic.twitter.com/hL1QtAPmyh
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) April 14, 2025

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello: No. 9 (Previously: No. 6)

Borzello released a new version of his rankings this morning. Kentucky was No. 6 in the first version that came out on April 7; today, the Cats are down to No. 9 (a lucky number). He has Quaintance, who committed on April 8, in his starting lineup, but notes that he may miss time as he continues to recover from ACL surgery. Although Kentucky is still pursuing another shooter, Borzello doesn’t seem too concerned about the Cat on the perimeter.

Kentucky could be loaded on the perimeter next season, with the arrivals of transfers Jaland Lowe (Pitt) and Kam Williams (Tulane) as well as five-star prospect Jasper Johnson. There’s also the potential return of leading scorer Otega Oweh and rotation players Collin Chandler and Travis Perry.

Mark Pope revamped the frontcourt with defense in 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)

Houston and Purdue are holding steady as Borzello’s Nos. 1 and 2, but Texas Tech leapt from No. 22 to No. 3 with the news that JT Toppin is back. Louisville, previously No. 3, is down to No. 4, followed by UConn, BYU, Michigan, and Arkansas.

Jon Rothstein: No. 14 (Previously: No. 15)

Kentucky is up one spot in Rothstein’s rankings from April 8. He has Collin Chandler in his projected starting five instead of Jasper Johnson.

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Projected Starting 5:

G Jaland Lowe

G Collin Chandler

G Otega Oweh

F Mouhamed Dioubate

C Jayden Quaintance

Rothstein has six SEC teams in his top 25: Auburn (No. 10), Arkansas (No. 11), Kentucky (No. 14), Florida (No. 16), Tennessee (No. 19), and Alabama (No. 20).

CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish: No. 15

Gary Parrish also has Kentucky in his top 15, contingent on Otega Oweh returning to school. Oweh announced last night he’s testing the NBA Draft waters while keeping open the option to return to school for another season.

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 and four-star freshmen Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno.

Right ahead of Kentucky? St. John’s (No. 13) and Louisville (No. 14). Parrish’s top three are Houston, Duke, and UConn.

Important Roster Building Dates to Know

Kentucky’s standing in these rankings will change as the roster-building process continues. Here are some important dates to keep in mind. The transfer portal closes for basketball in less than a week, but players already in the portal will have however long they choose to make their decisions.