Kentucky cracks the Top 10 of another Way-Too-Early Top 25...behind Louisville

As transfer portal news continues to slow down, more college basketball writers and personalities are updating their way-too-early rankings for the 2025-26 season. John Fanta just dropped his over at Fox Sports, and Kentucky is in the top ten; however, you may not agree with the team ranked just ahead of the Cats.

Kentucky is No. 8 in Fanta’s updated rankings, behind Purdue (No. 1), St. John’s (No. 2), Houston (No. 3), UConn (No. 4), Texas Tech (No. 5), Michigan (No. 6), and…Louisville (No. 7). Before we get into what he said about the Cards, here’s what he said about the Cats. Like several other national writers, Fanta also heard that Mark Pope had a $20+ million NIL budget, but if you listened to KSR last week, you know that Matt Jones said not to put much stock into that number.

Not to be outdone, Mark Pope, and what sources tell FOX Sports is a bankroll of over $20 million, has led to a star-studded Wildcats roster. Kentucky has the nation’s fourth-ranked transfer class, according to 247 Sports. If Otega Oweh returns for his senior season, he’ll be right in the mix for SEC Player of the Year. When you combine that with a guy who averaged 17 PPG in Jaland Lowe, a national champion in Denzel Aberdeen out of Florida, a big man with a ton of upside in Jayden Quaintance and intriguing talents Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama) and Kam Williams (Tulane), there’s a lot to like about this team. And don’t forget about top-20 freshman Jasper Johnson, who is a blur in transition and a guy who is wired to score. Now, the pressure is on Pope in Year 2 to make it all come together after a Sweet 16 season.

The pressure will definitely be on Pope to beat Pat Kelsey’s Louisville Cardinals at the Yum Center in December. Fanta believes the Cards will be the frontrunners in the ACC thanks to a strong cast of returning players (J’Vonne Hadley, Kasean Pryor), incoming five-star freshman Mikel Brown Jr., and a transfer class that includes all-conference players Ryan Conwell (Xavier), Isaac McKneely (Virginia) and Adrian Wooley (Kennesaw State).

Today, we found out Kentucky will face another opponent Fanta has ranked ahead of the Cats. St. John’s is No. 2 in Fanta’s rankings thanks to an impressive NIL budget funded in large part by Rick Pitino’s horse racing buddy Mike Repole, which helped the Red Storm reel in one of the best transfer portal classes in the country. This offseason, St. John’s has added Ian Jackson (North Carolina), Bryce Hopkins (Providence), Joson Sanon (Arizona State), and Oziyah Sellers (Stanford). Kentucky and St. John’s will square off in the CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 20 in Atlanta.

Other future opponents in Fanta’s Top 25: Arkansas (No. 10), Tennessee (No. 13), Auburn (No. 15), Florida (No. 16), Michigan State (No. 18), Alabama (No. 22), and Gonzaga (No. 23). The Cats will face Tom Izzo’s Spartans in the Champions Classic and Mark Few’s Bulldogs in Nashville on Dec. 5.

Here is where Kentucky stands in all the preseason rankings that have been updated since the transfer portal closed last week:

• On3’s James Fletcher III: No. 4
• John Fanta: No. 8
• ESPN’s Jeff Borzello: No. 10
• CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish: No. 11
• Jon Rothstein: No. 11

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