Kentucky WBB ranked No. 12 in ESPN's preseason poll

Kyra Elzy will begin her first official season as head coach of Kentucky Women’s Basketball as a top 15 team. Over at ESPN, Charlie Creme released his preseason Top 25 rankings ahead of the 2021-22 season where he ranked the Wildcats No. 12. Last week, the AP ranked Kentucky No. 13 in the country.

Kentucky finished last season ranked No. 21 in the Coaches Poll following a second-round NCAA Tournament exit. Elzy took over as interim head coach two weeks ahead of the 2020-21 season before being promoted to head coach as a result of a 6-0 start. UK finished the year with an 18-9 overall record.

Depth drives UConn, South Carolina ahead of Stanford in our preseason top 25 rankingshttps://t.co/XkiIyWslrm

— ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN_WomenHoop) October 28, 2021

Here’s what Creme had to say about the ‘Cats.

12. Kentucky Wildcats

Rhyne Howard will again be the center of the Wildcats’ attack. She could be the most versatile player in the country (20.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 3.8 APG, 37.3% on 3-pointers) and is on the short list of national player of the year candidates. Replacing the production of second-leading scorer Chasity Patterson (12.4 PPG) will be a challenge; Kentucky eclipsing last season’s fifth-place SEC finish will hinge on the improvements of junior forward Dre’una Edwards (9.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG) and senior guards Jazmine Massengill (5.1 PPG, 3.3 APG) and Robyn Benton (6.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG). Games against Indiana and Louisville in December should indicate if the Wildcats are truly ready to challenge in the SEC.

Charlie Creme, ESPN

Kentucky will go up against six of ESPN‘s Top 25: No. 2 South Carolina (twice), No. 6 Louisville, No. 8 Indiana, No. 13 West Virginia, No. 17 Texas A&M, and No. 19 Tennessee.

ESPN’s Top 25

1. UConn
2. South Carolina
3. Stanford
4. Maryland
5. NC State
6. Louisville
7. Baylor
8. Indiana
9. Iowa
10. Michigan
11. Oregon
12. Kentucky
13. West Virginia
14. Florida State
15. Iowa State
16. UCLA
17. Texas A&M
18. Georgia Tech
19. Tennessee
20. Arizona
21. Ohio State
22. Virginia Tech
23. Oregon State
24. Missouri State
25. Notre Dame